Remembering Masuteru Aoba (1939-2011)

29th July, 2011

On 9 July 2011, Masuteru Aoba lost his fight with cancer. He was a lifetime Icograda Friend, having been part of the original group of Japanese designers to launch this network in 1991. In 2003, his poster 'Clarity' was one of the four official posters for Visualogue, the 2003 Icograda World Design Congress in Nagoya, Japan.



Like the computer monitor today, the single sheet  of paper is a symbol of communication. A single sheet  can create peace. A single sheet of paper can imply the coming of war. Nagoya is to be the venue of an "International design congress that will reevaluate the quality of information" in an information-oriented  society. A sheet of paper stands for each and every  participant who will gather there. The rolled sheet represents a new wealth of information, newly cultivated intellects and technology. A single sheet symbolises the coming together of all the participants as one  great bird, flying to Nagoya. The bird looks over its shoulder because it is not a creature that will push on, chasing after advanced civilization and the convenience born of machines, but instead one that stops along the way in its journey, appreciating a moment of rest and conversation with others. The color orange
represents hospitality and humanism, through which we will extend a warm welcome to all who visit Nagoya from around the world.

About Masuteru Aoba
Born in Tokyo in 1939, he graduated from the Kuwasawa Design School in 1962. In 1969, he established the Masuteru Aoba Design Office. Awards he has received include the Asahi Advertising Award, the Mainichi Advertising Design Award, the Tokyo ADC Award, Second Prize in the Finland International Graphic Design Biennial, the Brno International Graphic Biennial Grand Prize, the Warsaw International Poster Biennial Gold Prize, the New York ADC International Exhibition Gold Prize and the JAAC Yamana Prize. He was a Tokyo ADC committee member, a director of Japan Graphic Designers Association (JAGDA) and a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI).

An exhibition of his peace posters in on display at the Chofu Culture Community Center through 31 July 2011.

Source: Icograda