Art director Takashi Maeda, whose book "Winning Design" published in 2021 was a huge hit and created a sensation in the design industry. As the representative of the design company "NASU", he works for many clients, and is also active as the head of "Maede", an online community for creators. He is a new type of designer who has freedom of design expression, a playful way of working, and makes full use of social media to expand his fan base and increase his value. Maeda's motto is "Bring design to the living room". His clients are diverse, and from bulldozer companies to the latest cafes, anything in Maeda's hands can be expressed in an interesting and fun way. In this special feature, Maeda's unique design thinking is thoroughly explained with abundant visuals while following the process of his most recent work. It is a must-see that shows the way designers are in the SNS era.
Maeda Takashi: Born in Hyogo Prefecture in 1977. After graduating from the Department of Design at Osaka University of Arts, he joined Nintendo Co., Ltd. After working in graphic design for advertising and promotion for about 15 years, he went independent in 2016. He founded NASU Co., Ltd., and is focused on corporate design management with the motto "achieve success through design." He launched "Maeda (Maeda Design Office)" to pursue creativity that cannot be experienced at work. His achievements with members of the community include the design special move card game "Desig-win" and the rough dot download site "DOTOWN." His main work includes the logos and brand visuals for Panasonic's audio distribution services "CHEERPHONE," "Breaking Down," and "Machiroku ch," as well as the logo for car buying service "Sokokara." He is the author of "Winning Design" and "Loved Design" (Gentosha, 2021, 2024), "Demonic Feedback: The Power of Design Grows Through "Negative Feedback" (MdN, 2021), and "The Power Designers Acquire in the First Three Years" (Soshim, 2024) as NASU. He has received awards including the 2006-2007 NYADC merit, the 2007 The One show merit, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's Director-General of the Commerce and Information Policy Bureau Award at the National Catalog and Poster Exhibition, the 2021 and 2022 Good Design Awards, the 2022 Special Award for the Japan Typography Yearbook, and the Shizuoka Shimbun Advertising Award 2023 Advertiser Division Grand Prix.
■Table of Contents
INTERVIEW Takashi Maeda (NASU)
NASU PARK & STAFF / Takashi Maeda Relationship Chart / 6 DESIGN POINTS
Takashi Maeda's design rules and tools
CHEERPHONE / Watanabe Bulldozer Construction Co., Ltd. / 8go (Ego) / With Midwife / BreakingDown / GOOD AID / Machiroku ch. Pu Co., Ltd. / Shunsuke Satake Portfolio Site / OTHER WORKS
Special Talk: Masayoshi Furuhira (FLAME) x Takashi Maeda Creators Value: The work of 35 creators
Released on 02/14
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Design Note Premium: Takashi Maeda's Complete Works: Design Strategy Guide | Seibundo Shinkosha Co., Ltd. (seibundo-shinkosha.net)