Katsuji Wakisaka: Japanese Textile Designer
From the Publisher. Katsuji Wakisaka, a Japanese textile designer, started his career as the first Japanese designer to work for Marimekko, the Finnish textile company, in 1968. Surrounded by the beautiful nature of Finland, he developed an aesthetic for organic shapes and bold colors. After coming back to Japan in 1980s, he started SOUSOU, the apparel brand whose projects are created based on Japanese tradition. These days, Wakisaka starts his day with a walk and takes inspiration from the landscape of his hometown, Kyoto. After returning to his studio, he paints everything from seasonal changes in nature to traditional Japanese patterns. Many of his textile designs for SOUSOU begin as postcards, which serve as initial drafts for his designs, and he mails each one to his wife. He is prolific that he has made more than 10,000 postcards until now. Most of the contents of this book are his textile designs and products for Marimekko and SOUSOU. Behind-the-scene stories of how he is active in his SOUSOU brand, his interview, and his episodes for his designs are also included. This is a title for designers, textile lovers, and those who are interested in Finnish and modern Japanese designs. Even those who do not know Wakisaka will enjoy and be inspired by the book.
A biography of a Japanese textile designer who worked for prominent textile design firms such as Marimekko and Larsen. After working over 40 years as a textile print designer, Wakisaka currently designs for SOUSOU, a fashion brand based in Kyoto. This book is a full of inspirational sources—over 10,000 of them—celebrating Wakisaka’s long and successful career.
Announcements
Louis Kahn: The Importance of a Drawing
Louis Kahn: The Importance of a Drawing
Edited by Michael Merrill
Publisher: Lars Müller Publishers
Published: October 2021
The first in-depth study of drawings as primary sources of insight into architect Louis Kahn’s architecture and creative imagination. Based on unprecedented archival research, with over 900 illustrations and written contributions by Michael Benedikt, Michael Cadwell, David Leatherbarrow, Louis Kahn, Nathaniel Kahn, Sue Ann Kahn, Michael J. Lewis, Robert McCarter, Michael Merrill, Marshall Meyers, Jane Murphy, Gina Pollara, Harriet Pattison, Colin Rowe, David Van Zanten, Richard Wesley, and William Whitaker.
Why Design Matters: Conversations with the World’s Most Creative People
Why Design Matters: Conversations with the World's Most Creative People
By Debbie Millman
Publisher: Harper Design
Forthcoming: February 22, 2022
Debbie Millman—author, educator, brand consultant, and host of the widely successful and award-winning podcast Design Matters—showcases dozens of her most exciting interviews, bringing together insights and reflections from today’s leading creative minds from across diverse fields.
Louis Kahn: Architecture as Philosophy by John Lobell
Louis Kahn: Architecture as Philosophy
By John Lobell
Publisher: The Monacelli Press
Published: June 2020
Noted Louis I.Kahn expert John Lobell explores how Kahn’s focus on structure, respect for materials, clarity of program, and reverence for details come together to manifest an overall philosophy.
Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn by Harriet Pattison
Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn
By Harriet Pattison
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: October 2020
An intimate glimpse into the professional and romantic relationship between Harriet Pattison and the renowned architect Louis Kahn. Harriet Pattison, FASLA, is a distinguished landscape architect. She was Louis Kahn’s romantic partner from 1959 to 1974, and his collaborator on the landscapes of the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, and the F.D.R. Memorial/Four Freedoms Park, New York. She is the mother of their son, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Nathaniel Kahn.
Reading Graphic Design History: Image, Text, and Context by David Raizman
Reading Graphic Design History: Image, Text, and Context
By David Raizman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Visual Arts
Published: December 2020
An innovative approach to graphic design that uses a series of key artifacts from the history of print culture in light of their specific historical contexts. It encourages the reader to look carefully and critically at print advertising, illustration, posters, magazine art direction, and typography, often addressing issues of class, race, and gender.
David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian by Rick Poynor
David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian
By Rick Poynor
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: September 2020
A comprehensive overview of the work and legacy of David King (1943–2016), whose fascinating career bridged journalism, graphic design, photography, and collecting. King launched his career at Britain’s Sunday Times Magazine in the 1960s, starting as a designer and later branching out into image-led journalism, blending political activism with his design work.
Recent Articles
