Graphic designer/ CEO of Japan Design center.
Design is not about skills but is about the ability to see the essence of things. Designers always have to be conscious and awaken in this society.
Kenya was born in 1958 in Okayama, Japan. After graduating from high school, he went to Musashino University of Art and graduated with his Master’s degree, and then, started working at the Nippon Design Center, an advertisement production company in Japan. He is now the CEO of the company, a professor at Musashino University, the Vice President of Japanese Graphic Designers Association, and also the Art Director of MUJI.
He is known for his use of white space in his work. The poster on the left was designed for the Japanese Performing Art Program that was held by UCLA and Waseda University. The theme was Japanese traditional entertainment such as “Kyogen” and “Shamisen,” and Kenya was in charge of designing “Noh.” And the one on the right is a piece he designed for the program called “HIROSHIMA APPEALS” to pray for Hiroshima. In both pieces, you can see he pays attention to and takes advantage of the white space. And the reason for that is because he sees a potential in “emptiness.” It makes people think and find the meaning of the piece for themselves.
“Don’t let people consume your design. Once they know the answer, they will only consume it. Keep them thinking.”
His philosophy in design is to make it simple and leave some space for people to think what the message/meaning is. Once they know, the concept will only get old and out-dated. Communication is not about how much you convinced, but about how much you listened.