Takashi Miyayama [Editor] and Hiroshi Ohchi [Art Director]: IDEA: INTERNATIONAL ADVERTISING ART. Tokyo: Seibundo- Shinkosha, 1955 [Vol. 2, no. 9, January 1955]. Original edition. Parallel texts in Japanese and English. Perfect-bound and stitched thick printed wrappers. 92 pp. Well illustrated in black and white. 4 pages in full color. Light wear overall, with a sun-faded spine and edges. Interior unmarked and very clean. Out-of-print and rather uncommon. Cover design by Paul Rand. A very good copy.
8.25 x 12 perfect-bound magazine with 92 pages of editorial and advertising showcasing the state of the Graphic Arts in Japan, circa 1955. Idea served as the Japanese equivalent of Graphis — a magazine dedicating to promoting the Graphic Arts of a certain region to the rest of the world. Idea offers the contemporary viewer a glimpse into Japanese Graphic Design Culture as it emerged from the ashes of World War II and made its influence felt on a global scale.
Idea promoted the best and brightest Japanese Graphic Designers, and also provided lavish coverage of international designers such as Kurt Weidemann and George Him.
Graphic Arts
- Includes Alvin Lustig [6 pages with 25 b/w illustrations], Georg Olden, Ladislav Sutnar [5 pages with 15 b/w illustrations], Will Burtin [6 pages with 16 b/w illustrations], Bill Sokol [8 pages with 44 b/w illustrations], Edward Carini, Paul Rand [6 pages with 16 b/w images], A. F. Arnold, Gene Federico [8 pages with 27 b/w illustrations], John Milligan and Lester Beall [6 pages with 21 b/w illustrations]
Editorial
- Contemporary American Advertising Art by S. Ogawa: 2 pages with 8 color illustrations including work by Lustig, Beall, Rand, Sokol, Burtin and Federico
- Letters from H. Ohchi and Y. Kamekura
- How to make the mark by S. Imatake
- A chapter on platonic design by K. Ito
- About the trade mark by Y. Kojima
- My own ad cuts by H. Hamada
- It’s not easy to write sideways by F. Okabe
- Copy writer may borrow ideas from others by S. Kurosuda
- An observation car named advertising (1) by K. Endo and T. Miyayama
- Editor’s notes
