Itō, Kenji

Born in Tokyo in 1915, Itō Kenji studied at the Tokyo College of Industrial Arts, present-day Chiba University. After graduating in 1935, he immediately went freelance and started a long and prolific career.

He has worked in various mediums, including posters, packaging, window displays, neon signs, and over a thousand book covers.

His redesign of the Canon logo in 1953, which is still in use today, and a series of posters and packaging for the same company brought him widespread recognition.

After a successful series of posters for Canon cameras, he went on to become art director for Sankyo's monthly pharmaceutical magazine Stethoscope in 1952, designing covers for 560 issues. In 1959, he designed the first cover for Kobunsha's Kappa novels and continued the series over the next forty years.

Itō Kenji designed window displays for Mitsukoshi and Wako, high-profile department stores located in central Tokyo. His creative involvement in the trend-setting Ginza shopping area also extended to creating neon signs. His work for Matsushita Electric Industrial and NEC earned him the Mainichi Industrial Design Award in 1955 and 1965, respectively, making Itō the go-to designer for gas-filled electric signage at a time when neon lights still were a novelty.

Ginza Graphic Gallery, which presented a retrospective exhibition of his work in 2000, quotes Itō reflecting on his work: "My work lasts long. My Canon logo, made almost 50 years ago, is still being used. I've been getting orders from Kappa-novels for 40 years. And for Stethoscope, which is the subject of this exhibition, it has been almost half a century. To be able to work for the same client every month for 50 years is a designer's dream". Itō expresses his delight that the exhibition was well received by professionals and laymen alike, and adds: "I am still working on Stethoscope, and it looks as though I will continue as long as my health permits."

Itō Kenji passed away in 2001 at the age of 86.