This publication is a reproduction of the articles originally published in Idea Magazine No. 306 (September, 2004).
Contens:"Invention of White" HAPTIC Exhibition / Matsuya Ginza Renewal project / Signage for Umeda Hospital / Signage for Katta Hospital / Nagano Winter Olympic Games Program / Book Design / Takeo VI Communication Tools
"On White" by Kenya Hara
"Encounters with Everyday Lives"
EXPO 2005 AICHI Promotion / Works across Japan / Final entry draft for the Beijing Olympics symbol mark / RE-DESIGN Exhibition / MUJI
"Encounters with Japan" by Kenya Hara
A Long Interview with Kenya Hara
Designers who influenced Kenya Hara
Comments on Kenya Hara from 8 standpoints
Shinichi Nakazawa / Ross Lovegrove / Kazuko Koike / Naoto Fukasawa / Makoto Saito / Shutaro Mukai / Munenori Harada / Kenmei Nagaoka

The revised and enlarged edition of Idea No.310: Typography in Japan 1995-2005.
Typography works of 66 Japanese designers to observe the renovative changes over the turn of the century.

Designers: Shoichi Akazaki, Shin Akiyama, Shintaro Ajioka, Taii Ashizawa, Yukio Azuma, Tatsuya Ariyama, Kazuo Ito, Yukihiro Unno, Tsuyoshi Endo, Tetsuya Ota, Shuichi Ogata, Kaoru Kasai, Mitsuo Katsui, Nobuyoshi Kikuchi, Yuji Kimura, Junichi Kusaka, Kudo Tsuyokatsu, Craft Ebbing & Co., Yoshinobu Kuwahata, Hitoshi Koizumi, Kazuya Kondo, Akira Saito (Veia), Eiji Sakagawa, Koichi Sakano, Jun Sato, Naoki Sato, Mayumi Sawachi, Masami Shimizu, Yoshihisa Shirai, Kohei Sugiura, George Sugishita, Seiichi Suzuki, Hitoshi Suzuki, Shin Sobue , Fumio Tachibana, Tztom Toda, Nobuo Nakagaki, Hideki Nakajima, Masayoshi Nakajyo, Yasuhito Nagahara, Gino Nakayama, Minoru Niijima, Hiroshi Nishino, Kazunari Hattori, Kenya Hara, Reiko Harajo, HeiQuiti Harata, FiSH design, Mitsuo Fukawa, Yasushi Fujimoto (CAP), Fragment, HOLON, Yukimasa Matzda, Shunichi Mamura, Ken Miki, Gow Michiyoshi, Milky Isobe, Hirokazu Mukai, Junichi Munetoshi, Reiko Mochizuki, Daishiro Mori, Kijyuro Yahagi, Nobuhiro Yamaguchi, Hideharu Yamada

A detailed analysis of Japanese typesetting in relation to it's elements, attributions and structure.
Japanese text only!

This large volume includes 1650 typefaces from 18 foundries, with many typesetting examples and detailed technical notes. A must for designers, editors and publishers.
Japanese text only.

[1]Dialogues with Tatsuya Ariyama[TEXT IN JAPANESE]
[2]Critical Mass 80 pages [TEXT IN JAPANESE & ENGLISH]
Compiled by Ian Lynam + Idea magazine
An inquiry into contemporary critical practices in graphic design featuring: Mark Owens, Zak Kyes, Jon Sueda, Brian Roettinger, Daniel Eatock, Scott Ponik, Michael Worthington, Yasmin Khan, Metahaven.
[essay] Subterranean Modernism: A Critical Retrospective by Randy Nakamura + Ian Lynam
[3]On the Uselessness of Design Criticism by Randy Nakamura
[4]Design of Techno on Paper : Japanese Techno Flyers in the 90s

A number of young designers in Europe and America are attempting to develop their own paths in exploring graphic design through innovative small-scale practices. Many of the designers featured here were born in the 1970s and 1980s, coming of age in commercial practice in the digital environment. The majority of those featured operate within the sphere of graphic design production from the approach of a more personal practice, inflecting their work with nuanced, idiosyncratic conceptual and formal approaches.
While widely varied due to cultural context and social/environmental differences, all have a kinship in unique approaches to developing formal options for clients. The use of the word "option" as applied here is perhaps the most relevant key point for the latest wave of graphic design from abroad- perhaps the "solution" as an end result of graphic design as a process is a dead methodology. What are instead offered are graphic "options" in lieu of "solutions"- inquiries answered with inquiries, questions answered with questions. The work featured offers playful, tentative answers instead of cold, hard end results.
Also includes: A recent history of writing & drawing. Text and Design: Alex Rich & Jürg Lehni - Forms of crossing the boundaries: Vol.2 Shunnichi Mamura - Memory of Yoshio Hayakawa 1917-2009 - Memory of Kiyoshi Awazu - Renewal of Miffy series by Shin Sobue

Haruka Sugita, Tokyo Pistol, So Hashizume, Yuma Harada (UMA / design farm), Hiroshi Iguchi, Koh Chihara, Akira Sasaki, Kenjiro Harigai (ANSWR), Shun Kawakami (artless), Yoshio Nakano, Yuri Suyama, SKKY / iTohen, Semitransparent Design, Midori Kawano, GraphersRock, Yoshimitsu Sakoda (1057)

TAKORA Kimiyoshi Futori, Daijiro Ohara, Kazunori Sadahiro, Yuichi Yokoyama, Isamu Gakiya, Tomoe, JUN OSON, Shu-Thang Grafix, Hideki Tanaka, Yuko Shimizu, Yusuke Nakamura, POST POPPERS [Lie Fujishiro, lilicalolica, odayaka, umelabo], shk, Ayano, suzuko, MYNA, Maho Nishimura / Interview Tadanori Yokoo "Y-ji Machi" / Interview Steven Heller "Design into Words" / [Bound-in zine] Akatoki inaugural preparatory issue Edit & design : Yasuyo Iwata, Akari Ohno, Kaname Kawamoto, Yasuo Totsuka

Special Feature: formgiving onethingmakesanotherandanother&...
A Speculative Essay on Process - as seen through the lens of the Floating World (Ukiyo-e) featuring the work of tomato:underworld, other collaborative work, an approach to typographics by John Warwicker, Assisted by Toru Yoshikawa.
Bob Gill - Forming illustration and design solutions
Japanese Techno-zines & FreePapers
Text by Kentarou Takaoka & Barbora, Assisted by Kengo Watanabe
Bound-in Poster - Fumio Tachibana x NIKE SPORTSWEAR

Graphic designs for Otaku culture have become more highly developed over the past decade, evolving from mere images of printed characters to The sequel to Idea issue No.334.
more integrated graphic packages full of detail and rich interpretations of the titles.
In this special issue, Idea explores the world of design for Otaku culture, which are not confined to the rules of Western design with their composite gestalts.
Tadanori Yokoo Manga Designs
Altanative Designs for Manga Magazines
Range Murata Design Works
Rebuild of Evangelion Graphics

Designers File: Tsuyoshi Kusano, Noriyuki Jinguji, Kazuo Miyamura, Milky Isobe, chutte, matic-log, Hibiki Chikada, Shiyu Yanagiya, Tatsuya Ariyama, Bunpei Yorifuji, Hiroshi Niigami, Hideaki Shimada, Junji Takahashi, Bay Bridge Studio, ARTEN, Shindosha, Banana Grove Studio, Teruhisa Tajima

Also contains:
Osamu Tezuka Title Letterings
For a coming research on Manga Typography
SPEEDFREAK DESIGN!! --NERDCORE/J-CORE/GABBA/TECHNO-
[Special Talks]
Akira Saito x Shinichi Konnno
Manabu Koga x Quentaro Fujimoto
Mitomo Kanose x Yoichi Someya x Berbora
Ideas of VISUAL DESIGN LABORATORY INC. --For the contemporary Japanese Display Types

MeMe Design Journal Vol.6
Shin Sobue and Ryo Tanaka, "Letters and Images"
Design by MeMe Design School + Nakagaki Design Studio
The Shape of Things to Come Vol.5
Text by Takashi Serizawa, Design by Tokyo Pistol, Photo by Toshie Kusamoto
Fumio Tachibana x NIKE SPORTSWEAR
Bunrei-kana, Soukyu-kana -- New Directions of Japanese Typefaces at the completion of DTP/

Max Huber - Design Beyond Design with commentaries by Antonio Boggeri, Gianpiero Bosoni, Bruno Munari, Massimo Vignelli,
Heinz Waibl, Roberto Leydi, Toshihiro Katayama, Bruno Monguzzi
Essays:
Concrete Art, Geometrical Forms, Typography
Design and Society in The Age of Reproduction
Constructive Photography and Superimposed Types and Colors
The Dynamism of Three-dimentional Layou
Toward The Production of The Space

Contents also include:
Masayosshi Nakajo v.s. Kazunari Hattori -- "NakajyoHattoriHacchomeShinju" Idea special Edition
The special "on-paper" exhibition by two graphic designers in diffferent generation.
Corporation: Kaworu kasai, Graph.

Liner Notes: Works of Tentou Mishima
Working as an illutrator and designer, Tentou Mishima have drewn amorphic phenomenon, such as line, wind, light, and so, with line strokes of a pen and ink. His drawings depict movement and noise in liminal perception which photography and human eyes cannot capture. Morever, his drawings try to represent lines themselves by lines in thier medium-specifc quality which connect to Japanese graphic culture from Ukiyo-e to Manga. In this spring, Mishima published "LINE STYLE"a collection of his drawing works of almost thirty years. Every strokes in this large volume reflect his thoughts and life consisting sublime univers of lines. This article observes his track of activities reaching his "lines".

Obituary: Tsunehisa Kimura, Shigeo Fukuda
contribution; Kazumasa Nagai, Mitsuo Katsui, Toshihiro Katayama, Masayoshi Nakajyo

MeMe Design Journal Vol.5
Mitsuo Katsui and Takao Sato, "Optic illusion, colors and design"
Design by MeMe Design School + Nakagaki Design Studio

Fumio Tachibana x NIKE SPORTSWEAR

Graphic designs for Otaku culture have become more highly developed over the past decade, evolving from mere images of printed characters to more integrated graphic packages full of detail and rich interpretations of the titles.
In this special issue, Idea explores the world of design for Otaku culture, which are not confined to the rules of Western design with their composite gestalts.
Designers: Shin Sobue+cozfish, Shin Sobue, Heiquiti Harata, Junichi Kusaka, Norito Inoue, VOLARE, Shinichi Sekine's Working Room, Chord Design Studio, Veia, Mach55Go, Kohei Nawata
Special Project : Works of YOTUBA SUTAZIO
Special Supplement Comic: "Chihayaburu Otamajyakushi" by Shin Sobue

The Swiss typographer Emil Ruder was one of the pioneers to abandon the conventional rules of traditional typography and create new laws that satisfied the requirements of a "new typography". In the 50s and 60s Basel became the meeting place for young typographers and designers from various countries, mainly due to Emil Ruder's work and personality.
This issue of IDEA, conceived and designed by Helmut Schmid (who studied under Ruder and also published "The Road to Basel" and "Typography Today") contains contributions by many leading typographers and graphic designers; the contents of the issue are:
Ruder and Serif typography;
Aims for the teaching of typography at Allgemeine Gewerbeschule Basel / Typography from the classes of composition at AGS Basel / Set elementary ornaments / Unified design of printed matter / Colour guide for printers / Kleine Stilkunde [A Brief Style Guide]
Emil Ruder and Sans Serif typography;
We can only begin to understand ... / On drinking tea, typography, historicism, symmetry and asymmetry / On Bauhaus-typography / Typo-compositions, an attempt / Kleine Stillehre der Moderne / On Present-day Typography / Election propaganda - well designed
Emil Ruder and Univers typography;
Univers 55, 12pt test size / Univers and contemporary typography / Compositor, typographer, typographic designer? / Typographie - a manual of design / Phototype setting - a new period of typography begins
on Emil Ruder;
Leon Maillet, Armin Hofmann, Karl Gerstner, Kurt Hauert , Lenz Klotz, Wim Crouwel, Adrian Frutiger, Hans Rudolf Bosshard, Andre Gutler, Juan Arrausi, Ake Nilsson, Fridolin Muller, Harry Boller, Maxim Zhukov, Taro Yamamoto, Fjodor Gejko, Helmut Schmid and Susanne Ruder-Schwarz

Are we not living in a time of change?
More than eighty years have passed since the term "graphic design" was born in the early twentieth century. Nonetheless, the nature of work carried out by graphic designers has not experienced any fundamental change. Yet, it is apparent that the line between the private and public domains of activity is blurring. The movement to acquire autonomy in client-oriented, heteronomous activities as well as the movement to gain a larger public audience for the products of self-initiated, autonomous activities are already underway. These two movements are not isolated from one another but, in fact, intermingle in the daily practice of designers.
So let us ask: in modern society, what mode of production will designers attempt to utilize and, on a daily basis, how will they attempt to construct the world in which they live? The projects gathered here may not lead to a dramatic change that is visible to the eye. But, make no mistake: these projects depict the reality before our eyes.

Special Feature: How does graphic design CHANGE? / Mike Meiré, Alexandre Bettler, Alex Rich & Åbäke, Alberto Folch Studio, Byggstudio, Work Worth Doing, onlab, Twopoints.Net, Practise, Dexter Sinister, Adrian Shaughnessy, Charlotte Cheetham, HudsonBec, Urs Lehni, Onomatopee, Rob Giampietro, Will Holder, Sean Donahue & Jon Sueda, Thumb, Stephen Coates, Dave Eggers, Office, Sam Potts, Stefan G. Bucher, William Drenttel (Winterhouse), Zak Kyes, Metahaven / The story of the Guardian typefaces 2003-2005 Text by Paul Barnes / A Cultural History of Contemporary Design Vol. 3 Ken Fujieda (Coa Graphics)Text by Barbora / The Shape of Things to Come Vol. 3 Text by Takashi Serizawa Design by Tokyo Pistol / MeMe Design Journal Vol.3 "Printing and Design" Hitomi Sago and Toppan Printing / NEWS & INFORMATION / Fumio Tachibana x NIKE SPORTSWEAR

Special Interview] Kenya Hara, Naomichi Kawahata, Hitoshi Suzuki, Kouhei Sugiura / [Contribution] Kan Akita, Katsumi Asaba, Tatsuya Ariyama, Keiko Itakura, Koji Iyama, Madoka Iwabuchi, Naohiro Ukawa, Akira Uno, Tatsuo Ebina, Takeaki Emori, Yasuyuki Okusada, Yukimasa Okumura, Masahiro Kakinokihara, Mitsuo Katsui, Kensaku Kato, Shun Kawakami, Atsuki Kikuchi, Issey Kitagawa, Tsuyoshi Kusano, Tsuyokatsu Kudou, Tadahiro Gunji, Masayoshi Kodaira, Yousuke Kobayashi, Kazuya Kondo, Koichi Sakano, Akira Sasaki, Kashiwa Sato, Naoki Sato, Yasuhiro Sawada, Mayumi Sawachi, Yuko Shoji, Yusuke Shono, Yoshihisa Shirai, Shin Sobue , Masami Takahashi, Kazumasa Nagai, Nobuo Nakagaki, Hideki Nakajima, Nakajo Masayoshi, Yasuhito Nagahara, Norio Nakamura, Naoko Nakui, Minoru Niijima, Kazunari Hattori, Noriaki Hayashi, Heikichi Harata, Kenjiro Harigai, Ichiro Higashiizumi, Keiko Hirano, Kouga Hirano, Kotarou Hirano, Naomi Hirabayashi, Satoshi Machiguchi, Kei Mtasuhita, Yukimasa Matsuda, Shin Matsunaga, Syunichi Mamura, Marubashi Katsura, Manabu Mizuno, Kijuro Yahagi, Nobuhiro Yamaguchi / The Shape of Things to Come Vol. 2 Text by Takashi Serizawa, Design by Tokyo Pistol / MeMe Design Journal Vol. 2 "Language, Letter and Space" Nobuhiro Yamaguchi and Kiwao Nomura, Design by MeMe Design School + Nakagaki Design Office

Special Feature: D&DEPARTMENT PROJECT 2005-2008 / Kenmei Nagaoka Long Interview / Talk with Tetsuo Matsumoto, Talk with Naoto Fukasawa [Japanese Only] / What is long life design? / Total contents of 'd long life design' / Long Life corporate marks in Japan / The Shape of Things to Come Vol. 1 Text by Takashi Serizawa, Design by Tokyo Pistol / A Cultural History of Contemporary Design Vol. 2 Manabu Koga / MeMe Design Journal Vol. 1 "From format to Layout" Hitoshi Suzuki and Tatsuya Ariyama, Design by MeMe Design School + Nakagaki Design Office

Special Feature: Typo-Graphics of Herb Lubalin / Alan Fletcher: Fifty Years pf Graphic Work (and Play) Text by Emily King / "sans serif does not represent the final stage" karl gerstner international designer, artist and author. new books and a new typeface. Text and Design by Helmut Schmid / drawing works of Isao Makino / A Cultural History of Contemporary Design Vol. 1 Masaki Kojima, Text by Idea with Barbora / Interview with Fumio Tachibana "about Kyutai" Comments from Tasuya Ariyama, Gabin Ito, Yoshihisa Shirai, HeiQuiti Harata / "The History of Typos" Text and Design by Hirokazu Mukai / A Recent History of Writing and Drawing by Alex Rich and Jurg Leni / My Famicase (NES cartridge) Design Exhibition 2008

Includes work by: Tatsuya Ariyama / Shin Akiyama / Kenjiro Harigai (ANSWR/ADAPTER) / Naohiro Ukawa / Takeaki Emori (tone twilight) / Enlightment / Yasuyuki Okusada / Kasetsu / Karera / Bluemark / Akira Sasaki / Naoki Sato (ASYL) / Yusuke Shouno / SKKY / Yurio Seki / Isao Tanaka / Tokyo Pistol / Yasuo Totsuka / Kazunari Hattori / HeiQuiti Harata / Bit Rabbit (Tattaka+Juca) / Koga Hirano / Mitsuo Fukawa / Satoshi Machiguchi /
Japanese text only!

Special Feature: Book Design in China Today / Works of Lu Jingren / Chinese Book Design in Bloom - Collected works of 13 contemporary designers / [dialogue] Kohei Sugiura x Lu Jingren / The new blood of Chinese design / Study on the Historical Development of Graphic Design and Typography in China 1805-1949 Text: Sun Mingyuan / TDC BCCKS The 20th Anniversary Exhibition / Typefaces of Past and Present (1) "Dwiggins Revisited" Text: Sibylle Hagmann / The current state and future of Japanese Gothic Typefaces Text: Hiroshi Komiyama / Kallos-graphe Selection of Works by Brody Neuenschwander / Film Kunst Grafik - German Film Poster from the 1960s

While being "globalized" with the rapid economic growth, Chinese book design is developing its unique language. This issue features this most exciting scene of design to explorer possibilities between information and materials.
"Chinese book design is becoming more and more well known as design industries outside China realize its potential as an alternative model for areas like graphic design and book design that have been at an impasse in the face of industrial restructuring and globalisation. It is not just the look of Chinese books, but their actual fighting spirit that inspires." (from the introduction)

"This special issue introduces the book and magazine design of Kono Takashi (1906-1999), a leading force in graphic design in Japan for more than half a century, beginning in the 1930s. But Kono hardly limited his talents to book design. Rather, he is known for the breadth of his career, which included the art direction for Ozu Yasujiro's I Was Born, But...(1932), and the exhibition design for the Japanese pavilion at the Osaka Expo in 1970. In fact, compared to his work in other genres, Kono's book and magazine designs have really been given short shrift.
So why introduce them now? The short answer is that they express his interest in modernity and locality." [from Introduction]

"The work of Vier5 is based on a classical notion of design. Design as the possibility of drafting and creating new, forward-looking images in the field of visual communication. A further focus of our work lies on designing and applying new, up-to-date fonts." (from Vier5's statement)
This special feature presents Vier5's recent design works, including a series of posters for CAC, guiding system for documenta, movies, FT magazine, and others.
An Interview with Vier5: "In Search of Something New"

Column [Japanese Only] Taro Yamamoto "Fournier's Ornaments" & Yoshihisa Shirai "On Printers' Flowers"
[Japanese Translation] "Printers' Flowers and Arabesques" Francis Meynell, Stanley Morison [Notes on this article by Mitsuo Kono]
[Japanese & English] Feature II: Various Aspects of Contemporary Ornaments and Patterns (Including: Zuzana Licko, The Pattern Foundry, Andrea Tinnes, Kapitza, Marian Bantjes, House Industries, Typographic Masonry -Richard Niessen/Esther de Vries)
When Flying Pigs Design vol. 38 Text by Kyoichi Tsuzuki "Bangkok-Japanese, 1963: Japanese posters made in Thailand"
Critical eyes for Japanese typeface vol.3 by Mitsuo Fukawa, Toshiaki Maeda
**Special Supplement: The Treasury of Printers' Flowers

This special feature consists of the thematic maps and diagrams produced by Japanese designers from the late 1960s and 70s.
Contributing Designers are Kohei Sugiura, Nobuo Nakagaki, Takanori Makitani, Nobukuni Takada, Nobuo Morzishita, Mitsuo Katsui, Ryohei Kojima, Hiroyuki Kimura, Tztom Toda and Yukimasa Matsuda. Contains an interview with Kohei Sugiura: 'Generating diagrams, transforming subject'.

Special Feature 2: Andrew Blauvelt / Walker Art Center 1998-2007 From Work to Text. Andrew Blauvelt is Design Director and Curator at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. As a practicing graphic designer and as a creative director, he is one of the most influential figures in US graphic design. As a critic and historian, Blauvelt has authored essays and guest-edited special issues on design and culture for many publications. This special article features both his works and texts using 40 pages edited by himself.

Wim Crouwel (born 1928) is one of the most influential Dutch designers of the 20th century. His typographic designs, envisioned through his unique combination of functionalism and aesthetics, have been influential on designers of younger generations.
This issue of Idea specially devoted it's 190 pages to Wim Crouwel's representative design works, including posters, book designs, logotypes, stamps, typefaces and others. His legendary New Alphabet is also reproduced with full details.
It includes two historical essay's by Crouwel "Type Design for the Computer Age" and "Typography: A Technique of Making a Text 'Legible' and comments on Wim Crouwel from important design figures such as Karel Martens, Hamish Muir, Helmut Schmid, Lars Muller, Wolfgang Weingart, Shigeru Watano, Ian Anderson, Experimental Jetset, David Quay, Tony Brook, Bibliotheque, Bryan Edmondson, Michael C. Place are also featured.

This issue of Idea Magazine with it's full page illustrations of his work and it's exceptional lay-out is a fine tribute to Crouwel's legacy and shall surely become a collectors item.

Special Feature: Otl Aicher the world as design / Contributors: Markus Rathgeb, Martin Krampen, Ian McLaren, Albrecht Hotz / [Japanese Translation] Otl Aicher "the world as design" / 72: Otl Aicher and the Munich Olympaid Exhibition Supplement, Curated and designed by Bibliothèque / Special Feature: Journal Culture / with contribution from William Drenttel / Clip/Stamp/Fold The Radical Architecture of Little Magazines 196X-197X / Journal Culture Reader / helmut schmid: design is attitude [exhibition preview] / When flying pigs design Vol. 36 Text & Photo by Kyoichi Tsuzuki / Critical eyes for Japanese Typefaces vol. 1: Letterform, Mitsuo Fukawa & Kazuo Koike / On Hand Lettering vol.6 Chapter II Part 3, Koga Hirano, Naomichi Kawahata and Osamu Torinoumi.

Extensive, well designed issue about Jan Tschichold, one of the most exceptional figures in modern typography and design.
Prologue "JT Resuscitation" Photograph and Design by Yoshihisa Shirai
Introduction "Life and work of Jan Tschichold" by Kiyonori Muroga [Japanese Only]
[Illustration section] Works of Jan Tschichold / Studies and Early Works / For New Typography / Typographic Posters / Modern Revival of Traditional Typography / Reformation of Penguin Books / Writing and Publishing / Designs for F. Hoffmann-La Roche & Co. Ltd. / Design of Sabon / Interests in the East / Miscellaneous
[Contributed essays]
Robin Kinross / Christopher Burke / Martijn F. Le Coultre & Alston W. Purvis / Richard B. Doubleday / Jost Hochuli / Alexander L. Bieri François Porchez / Christopher Burke / Taro Yamamoto / John D. Berry
Jan Tschichold, 'Willkürfreie Maßverhältnisse der Buchseite und des Satzspiegels' [Japanese translation]
Translation by Tomoko Takemura
Special Supplement:
Jan Tschichold, 'Formenwadlungen der & Zeichen' [Japanese edition]
Translation by Tomoko Takemura

As a medium, print has consistently and continually ensured the transmission of things and thoughts across time and space. In this special issue of IDEA, four designers (Nobuhiro Yamaguchi, Kazuya Kondo, Daishiro Mori, Hideki Nakajima) take the material specifics of paper and ink as their order for attempts to rethink the function or possibilities of printed matter as a medium.
Also includes: Nouvelle Vague 'Bande a part' Artwork Revisited Dylan Kendle & Julie Verhoeven / Designers and the political - An interview with Daniel van der Velden / "Zine Library" No.12 gallery and Nieves Books presents: Taro Hirano and Benjamin Sommerhalder / design mannerism vol.7 "Typus Typographicum" Text by Hiroshi Takayama / On Hand Lettering vol.5 Chapter II "Fascination of letters - hand lettering for cinema advertising " Part 2 Koga Hirano, Naomichi Kawahata and Osamu Torinoumi.

Idea issue 319 special feature "Cut + Paste" focuses on Ohtake's collage works in particular with full use of special paper, printing, insertion and even two miniature books bound. As he mentioned in the interview for this issue, Ohtake's works essentially deviate from the word "collage'" of the western Art terminology. This issue of Idea presents what his "Cutting + Pasting" is all about with pure joy of graphics.
Further 319 contains; 'A Debate [3rd phase]' a project by Anna Gerber and Anja Lutz / When Flying Pigs Design vol. 35 "A Clipped Paradise: visiting a 94-year-old active scrapper" Text & Photo by Kyoichi Tsuzuki / On Hand Lettering vol.4 Chapter II "Fascination of letters - hand lettering for cinema advertising " Part 1 Koga Hirano, Naomichi Kawahata and Osamu Torinoumi / Shinro Ohtake Original Serial Poster [2nd impact] Part 21 Side A(inside): Zen-Kei VII, Side B(outside): Zen-Kei VIII / MIniature Book A: Daily Life and Windows on the Building, Miniature Book B: America 1989
The collectable issue.

Special Feature: Edward Fella / Introduction by Lewis Blackwell / "Lettering beyond the borders: the work of Ed Fella" by David Cabianca / The Essences of Type design - an Interview with Matthew Carter/ Triangular Interview with Dot Dot Dot magazine Stuart Bailey, Peter Bilak and IDEA / design mannerism vol.6 "Paradoxia (Post)moderna" Text by Hiroshi Takayama / When Flying Pigs Design vol. 34 "A Letterpress Print Shop in Nashville" Text by Kyoichi Tsuzuki / On Hand Lettering vol.3 Chapter I "From a writing brush, a pen to a mouse" Part 2 Koga Hirano, Naomichi Kawahata and Hiroshi Komiyama / Shinro Ohtake Original Serial Poster [2nd impact] Part 20 Side A(inside): Zen-Kei V, Side B(outside): Zen-Kei VI

Special Feature: Kazunari Hattori 100 pages / An Interview with Kazunari Hattori / What is professionalism? an interview with Michael Rock / A Debate [2nd phase] a project by Anna Gerber and Anja Lutz / design mannerism Vol. 5 "Charta Tabula" Text by Hiroshi Takayama / On Hand Lettering Vol.2 Part.1 "From a writing brush, a pen, to a mouse" Koga Hirano, Naomichi Kawahata and Hiroshi Komiyama / Water Towers photo by Fumio Shiizuka / News + Information / Shinro Ohtake Original Serial Poster [2nd impact] Part 19
Side A(inside): Zen-Kei IV, Side B(outside): Nature and Bonsai

"How is graphic design possible?
Asked so many times in the past, this question has often functioned as a life prolongation device that drove the infinite cycle of deconstruction and reconstruction of graphic design itself. But we would like to first accept the fact that it is not easy to understand graphic design in the post-historical world, and that it is not possible to describe and tell about the official history of graphic design after the Modern Era.
Here, in this special feature article, we would like to cut the continuity of such movement of graphic design so that we could record and mark in details the present moment of graphic design. Works and texts of different designers with different contexts are juxtaposed in every spread so that they are violently dissimulated beyond the context of each. We hope the readers will be able to form the image of today's graphic design that may appear like a constellation in the night sky." (The Editors of Idea)

Includes the work of: 2x4, 3 Deep Design, A Practice for Everyday Life, Åbäke & Daniel Eatock, Adrian Shaughnessy, Alon Levin, &&&, Andrew Blauvelt, Angela Lorenz, Anna Gerber, Anne Burdick, Base, Bibliothèque, Bluesource, Brighten the Corners, Browns, Build, Cartlidge Levene, Catalogtree, Christos Lialios, COMA, Cornel Windlin, Coup, Cyan, Default, Design Machine, The Designers Republic, Dmitri Siegel, Elektrosmog, EricandMarie, Event10, Experimental Jetset, Fabio Ongarato, Fons Hickmann, Fraser Muggeridge, Fuel, Giampietro+Smith, Goodwill, Graphic Thought Facility, Hanna Werning, Hyperkit, Ingo Offermanns, Jonathan Barnbrook, Jop van Bennekom, Julia Born, Julie Joliat, Juliette Cezzar, Kasia Korczak, Kerr|Noble, Laurent Fétis, Leonardo Sonnoli, Lust, M/M Paris, MadeThought, Manuel Raeder, Manuela Porceddu & Derk Reneman, Marc Atlan, Maureen Mooren & Daniël van der Velden, Mevis en Van Deursen, Morality of Objects, Muriel Paris et Alex Singer, Nick Bell, Non-Format, Norm, North, Onlab, O-R-G, Paul Elliman, Paul Sahre, Peter Bilak, Philippe Apeloig, Practise, Project Projects, RBG 6, Ruedi Baur, Rumbero Design, Sara de Bondt, Spin, Ständige Vertretung, Stefan Sagmeister, Stiletto, Struktur Design, Stuart Bailey, Will Stuart, Studio FM milano, Studio Thomson, Suburbia, Sulki & Min Choi, Surface, Tania Prill & Alberto Vieceli, Thomas Buxó, Toffe, Toko, Tom Hingston, Tomato, Universal Everything, Vier5, Why Not Associates, Winterhouse.
Designers' Workshop / Designers' Profile / A DEBATE Anna Gerber and Anja Lutz / News + Information / Shinro Ohtake Original Serial Poster [2nd impact] Part 18 Side A(inside): Zen-Kei II Side B:(outside): Zen-Kei III

The Collected Drawings of Aquirax Uno Le Cahier de Coquelicots / Une Recontre sur Papier: A Propos des Objets pour la Conception des Livres Mitsuru Katsumoto / Works of Terry Dowling Design: Vaughan Oliver, Text: D.W.S. Gray / Encyclopedia of Kuchusen Shokyoku Poetry and Book Design of Mio Hibixi / The World of Fumio Tachibanam Fumio Tachibana of the World / Book Design of Yuri Nonaka for Poetry and Literature / On Typewriter: Visibe Writing Machine / The Sketches of Chris Cunningham / Concettismo: Cover art of Shuji Tateishi / design mannerism Vol. 4 "Tabula Mundai" Text by Hiroshi Takayama / On Hand Lettering Vol.1 What is Hand Lettering? Koga Hirano, Naomichi Kawahata and Hiroshi Komiytama Design by Hirokazu Mukai / Shinro Ohtake Original Serial Poster [2nd impact] Part 17 Side A(inside): 'Puzzle Punks 2006', Side B(outside): 'Zen Kei I

Special feature: A Graphic History of Emigre magazine 1984-2005 / Penguin books Design of Great Ideas/ design manierism vol.3 "Mirable visu" by Hiroshi Takayama / When Pigs Design Vol.33 by Kyoichi Tsuzuki "How cool not to be cool is--Great airbrush painters Part.2" / Typography Review vol.12 "The Node of Modern Visual Language" Text by Yusaku Terayama, Supervision by Jiro Katashio, Design by Yoshihisa Shirai, Typeset by Akira Okayasu / Shinro Ohtake Original Serial Poster [2nd impact] Part 16 Side A(inside): Uchumisaki II Side B:(outside): Exposure IV
This is a very special issue of Idea and a honoured tribute to a great fellow magazine.

Special Feature: Graphics of Warp Records / Special Feature 2: 2x4 "12 ideas for Idea" / Special Feature 3: Namaiki A.R.S.E - Agricultural Research Super Extraordinary / Talk Session "Typography with love, uniqueness and affluence"
Nobuo Nakagaki, Mitsuo Fukawa, Hirokazu Mukai / design manierism vol.2 "Characteristica Universalis" by Hiroshi Takayama / When Pigs Design Vol.33 by Kyoichi Tsuzuki "How cool not to be cool is--Great airbrush painters Part.1" / Invisible Language vol. 17 An interview with Emma Clarke by Paul Elliman / Shinro Ohtake Original Serial Poster [2nd impact] Part 14 Side A(inside): At Marco, '93 Side B:(outside): Police Journal

Special Feature: Sound Cosmography. Response in Silence: on the way to ECM covers / "the heaven is round and the earth is square" The world of Kohei Sugiura's record jackets./ datamatics = C4I + data.series--a project by Ryoji Ikeda / Karlheinz Stockhausen's original drawings: between sound and sight / Emotions and Expressions--Works of hidetoshi Mito / When Pigs Design Vol.32 by Kyoichi Tsuzuki "Tempting 4 color process prints--City Heaven, the printed cosmos of 2500gram" / Typography Review vol. 9 "The Origins and Historical Changes of the Shueitai Typeface" Text by Taro Yamamoto, Design by Yoshihisa Shirai,Typeset by Akira Okayasu / Kuni Metal--Design of the new special paper by GRAPH / Variations on a Silence:Project for a Recycling Plant / News + Information / Shinro Ohtake Original Serial Poster <2nd Impact> Part 12, Side A: 'Office Room', Side B: 'What's already there'

Special Issue: Typography in Japan 1995-2005 / Introduction / Shin Akiyama, Shintaro Ajioka, Yukio Azuma, Tatsuya Ariyama, Yukihiro Unno, Tetsuya Ota, Shuichi Ogata, Kaoru Kasai, Mitsuo Katsui, Nobuyoshi Kikuchi, Yuji Kimura, Junichi Kusaka, Kudo Tsuyokatsu, Yoshinobu Kuwahata, Hitoshi Koizumi, Kazuya Kondo, Akira Saito (Veia), Koichi Sakano, Jun Sato, Naoki Sato, Mayumi Sawachi, Masami Shimizu, Yoshihisa Shirai, Kohei Sugiura, George Sugishita, Seiichi Suzuki, Hitoshi Suzuki, Shin Sobue, , Fumio Tachibana, Tztom Toda, Nobuo Nakagaki, Hideki Nakajima, Masayoshi Nakajyo, Yasuhito Nagahara, Minoru Niijima, Kazunari Hattori, Kenya Hara, HeiQuiti Harata, FiSH design, Mitsuo Fukawa, Fragment, HOLON, Yukimasa Matzda, Shunichi Mamura, Ken Miki, Gow Michiyoshi, Milky Isobe, Hirokazu Mukai, Junichi Munetoshi, Reiko Mochizuki, Daishiro Mori, Kijyuro Yahagi, Nobuhiro Yamaguchi, Hideharu Yamada / Comment and Biography / Contact Address / A perspective on the present state of typography in Japan: Taro Yamamoto / The 10 years, this 10 years, that 10 years--standing on a road of the eternal way of typography: Jiro Katashio / Round-table Talk: Seven Lamps of Typography attendee: Junichiro Kori, Yoshihisa Shirai, Kiyonori Muroga / Bibliography / Information

Special Feature: Design Liberated /Feature: Latest visual identities for museums and galleries Experimental Jetset, North, Spin/Influences Edit by Anja Lutz and Anna Gerber /When Pigs Design Vol.31 by Kyoichi Tsuzuki "The World's Fastest 'Photoshopper' I met at the Bangkok International Airport" / Invisible Language Vol.16 by Paul Elliman "Venice as a Game for Water and Voices" / Typography Review vol. 9 "Thinking about Modernity in Typography" Text by Taro Yamamoto, Design by Yoshihisa Shirai,Typeset by Akira Okayasu, Supervision by Jiro Katashio / News + Information / Shinro Ohtake Original Serial Poster <2nd Impact> Part 12, Side A: 'EZMD', Side B: 'EZMD I'
Available the second week in April.

This issue of IDEA devotes 80 pages of images and text to the Dutch design duo of Armand Mevis and Linda van Deursen. Mevis & van Deursen is a partnership which began at school in the late eighties and has continued and grown into one of the most inspirational factors in contemporary graphic design in the Netherlands. Their work is mainly related to cultural sectors such as museums, galleries, and theaters. In particular, M&VD have worked on many art books and exhibition catalogues of young contemporary artists who have been active in the fields of conceptual art, media art, performing art, video art, architecture and photography.
M&VD are also well known as enthusiastic educators. Many of the 'cutting edge' young designers, such as Experimental Jetset, Maureen Mooren & Daniel van der Velden, Goodwill(Will Holder), and Jop van Bennekom have studied under M&VD.
The issue also includes a.o.: Invisible Language Vol.15 by Paul Elliman; When Pigs Design Vol. 30 by Kyoichi Tsuzuki; a serial poster by Shinro Ohtake; and Telephone cards designed by Experimental Jetset.

This issue of Idea magazine is devoted almost entirely to graphic design in Korea today. It includes the work of Kim Doo-sup; Lee Se-young; Min Byung-geol; Kymn Kyung-sun; Ahn Byung-hak; Park Kum-jun; Sulki & Min Choi; Park Woo-hyuk; Rhee Na-mi; Cho Hyun; Chung Byoung-kyoo; Han Jae-joon; Shur Ki-heun. There are also the following contributions: Corresponding to the Qi of Heaven and the Li of the Earth by Kobei Sugiura; The visual commentator Ahn Sang-soo by Helmut Schmid; The Structure and Philosophy of the Korean Society Viewed Through Design, a interview with Kizo Ogura; The History of Korean Graphic Design by Park Arm-jong; The Current State of Hangul Font Design by Han Jae-joon.

This issue of Idea Magazine is entirely devoted to type design today and includes: Robin Kinross; Jean François Porchez; Fred Smeijers; Akira Kobayashi; André Baldinger; LettError; François Rappo; Matthew Carter; Type Foundry Today; Exhibition 'Frische Schriften'; When Pigs Design Vol.27 by Kyoichi Tsuzuki; New Serial + 2p illdesigners; Typography Review vol.5 by Mitsuo Kohno; Shinro Ohtake original Serial Poster <2nd Impact> part 8.

This issue of Idea Magazine contains: The Bright World of Cuban Posters; Jop van Bennekom, Magazine as Designer's Private Medium; Glass on table Alexander Geiman; Stefan Sagmeister's latest works; Hiroshi Ohchi-Design, Education and Journalism; Invisible Language Vol.12 by Paul Elliman; When Pigs Design Vol 25 by Kyoichi Tsuzuki; Typography Review vol.3, Supervision by Jiro Katashio, text and design by Yoshihisa Shirai and text by Baumann & Baumann; Shinro Ohtake original Serial Poster <2nd Impact> vol.6 "Denkame".

Saul Bass (1920-1996), graphic designer and filmmaker, was one of the great figures in 20th century American graphic design. He developed numerous trademarks and corporate identification systems for industrial enterprises including Bell System, AT&T, Celanese Corp., United Airlines, Alcoa, Quaker Oats, Rockwell International, Warner Communications, Minolta, and many others. He was for years responsible for the packaging of many of the most prominent food companies in the United States and he created the graphic symbols for over sixty motion pictures in the fifties, sixties and seventies.
This special Idea Archive 01 is a complete and faithful reproduction of Saul Bass & Associates Idea extra issue from 1979.

"To many, Milton Glaser is the embodiment of American graphic design during the latter half of this century. His presence and impact on the profession internationally is formidable. Immensely creative and articulate, he is a modern renaissance man - one of a rare breed of intellectual designer-illustrators, who brings a depth of understanding and conceptual thinking, combined with a diverse richness of visual language, to his highly inventive and individualistic work." (Patrick Argent, excerpted from CSD, Aug/Sept 1999)
This special Idea Archive 02 is a complete and faithful reproduction of Milton Glaser's Idea extra issue from 1968 and was designed by Tadanori Yokoo.