Title: Takenobu Igarashi: A to Z
Editors: Sakura Nomiyama, Haruki Mori
Preface: Takenobu Igarashi
Essays: Sakura Nomiyama

Spanning early print works, hand-drawn experiments, self-initiated sculptural pieces, and high-profile 3D identities for a range of international clients and institutions, A to Z is an overview of a revered graphic designer, Takenobu Igarashi.

In the mid-1970s Igarashi began a prolific, decade-long exploration into possibilities of three-dimensional typography. His first experiments with axonometric lettering appeared on magazine covers, posters and record sleeves – taking influence from the avant-garde typography of the 1920s but rendered afresh as bold, sculptural letterforms. Timeless, arresting and technically dazzling, Igarashi’s signature style demonstrates a mastery of three-dimensional type and perspective draftsmanship.

The book 

Presented in thematic sections, from ‘A’ to ‘Z’, which set out the principles and practices of Igarashi’s distinctive spatial and typographic thinking, the book eschews a traditional chronology in favour of a more playful form, mixing landmark designs, production drawings and previously unseen works alongside a guiding narrative produced in close collaboration with Igarashi himself.

The publication has been conceived not only to act as a monograph, but as a guide to designers of all disciplines, offering detailed insight into Igarashi’s visionary design process. Readers will be able to pore over unused designs, pen and pencil mark-up boards and the detailed drawings that reveal the process and underpinnings of Igarashi’s aesthetic.

"With his hand-drawn 3D letterforms, Takenobu Igarashi developed dimensional type long before the arrival of computers."
—Adrian Shaughnessy, co-founder Unit Editions 

About Takenobu Igarashi 

Born in 1944 in Japan, Takenobu Igarashi graduated from Tama Art University in 1968 and began his career as a graphic designer. His work captured the attention of global clients and designers and in the 1980s he collaborated with Massimo Vignelli and Alan Fletcher. Later in his career, he found deep engagement with Japanese crafts, and – coinciding with a period living in Los Angeles – produced sculpture and artworks for public spaces based on letterforms. His works are in the permanent collections of over thirty museums, including The Museum of Modern Art, New York. He died in 2025.  

Specifications 

Pages: 384
Format: Hardback
Size: 250 x 200 mm
Publication date: 2020-09-24
ISBN: 9780500023068

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