Japanese Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Koichi Sato

さとう こういち

Sato Koichi

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1944-08-09 （Takasaki, Gunma, Japan）
Died
2016-05-24 age 71
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
Graphic designer, Art educator
Active Years
1969-2015
Affiliations
Shiseido, Tama Art University

Education

Gunma Prefectural Takasaki High School
Country: Japan
Tokyo University of the Arts
Crafts Department / Visual Design
Year of Graduation: 1969
Country: Japan
Graduated from Crafts Department, Visual Design major

Awards

Mainichi Advertising Design Award (Special Selection)
1970
Organization: Mainichi Ad Design Award
Result: 受賞
Tokyo ADC Grand Prize
1985
Organization: Tokyo ADC (Art Directors Club)
Result: 受賞
MoMA Poster Competition, 1st place
1988
Organization: Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
Result: 1席
Mainichi Design Award
1991
Organization: Mainichi Newspapers
Result: 受賞
Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists (Fine Arts)
1997
Category: 美術
Organization: Agency for Cultural Affairs
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

KOICHI SATO

1990 Monograph / Works Collection

A collection showcasing Koichi Sato's works, including pieces produced domestically and abroad.

graphic designvisual expression

Koichi Sato (Graphic Design in the World #13)

1994 Monograph

A monograph in the Ginza Graphic Gallery series presenting Sato's work.

typographyposter design

KOICHI SATO (Chinese edition)

1997 Monograph (Chinese edition)

Chinese edition of a collection of Sato's works published in China.

international introductiongraphic design

Sato Koichi — The Design World of a New Generation Graphic Artist

1999 Monograph (China)

Publication from Hubei introducing Sato's design world.

postervisual language

SEVEN (co-authored)

1985 Co-authored collection

A co-authored collection related to graphic works.

collaborative workcontemporary graphics

YES EYE SEE 1982-83

2011 Essay & Works Collection

A booklet collecting essays and illustrations written in 1982-83.

essaysillustrations

A Book Left for Students

2017 Memoir-like collection

A booklet published for the Takasaki City Museum project compiling notes and drafts addressed to students.

educationmemoir

Bibliography

  • KOICHI SATO (Rokuyosha, 1990)
  • Koichi Sato (Graphic Design in the World #13) (GGG, 1994)
  • KOICHI SATO (China Youth Publishing, 1997)
  • Sato Koichi (Hubei Art Publishing, 1999)
  • SEVEN (Graphic-sha, 1985)
  • YES EYE SEE 1982-83 (DNP Cultural Promotion Foundation, 2011)
  • A Book Left for Students (Takasaki City Museum, 2017)

Adaptations

  • Exhibition: Koichi Sato Exhibition (Tama Art University Museum, 2014)
  • Exhibition: Graphic Designer Koichi Sato Exhibition (Takasaki City Museum, 2017)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
minimalist expressionvisual exploration with humoruse of collage-like techniques
Recurring Motifs
eyes/gazenature and hand-drawn elementstypographic exploration

Health

  • pneumonia
    2016
    Died of pneumonia in 2016 (aged 71)

Legacy

A widely recognized figure in Japanese graphic design. As an educator he mentored many students; his work has been exhibited and collected domestically and internationally.

Museums

  • Tama Art University Museum Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan
  • Takasaki City Museum of Art Takasaki, Gunma, Japan

Archives

  • Collections at Tama Art University Library

Trivia

  • His younger brother is Yoshiaki Sato, a scholar of American literature.
  • In his first year at Shiseido (1970) he received a special selection in the Mainichi Advertising Design Award.
  • He won first place in a MoMA poster competition.