Masahiro Aoyagi is the rockstar of art direction at TOPPAN INC., who’s been headlining calendars for 18 years. Aoyagi doesn’t stop at calendars; he’s the mastermind behind killer designs for publications, greeting cards, and exhibition visuals. His arsenal includes a deep understanding of illustration, photography, and every printing technique under the sun. When needing to kick his ideas up a notch, he tunes into the raw energy of Nine Inch Nails channeled into visual design, taking fuzzy ideas and cranking them up to deliver chart-topping visuals that hit all the right notes.
Introduction by Yu Adachi, Art Director, Corporate Communication Dept., artience Co., Ltd
Mr. Aoyagi has been involved in the art direction of our calendars for 18 years since 2007, and he has been well-received by our customers. We have also hired him as an art director for various publications, greeting cards, and exhibition visuals. He not only has a deep knowledge of different kinds of art, such as illustration and photography, but also of printing techniques and materials, such as plate making, ink, and paper. He comes up with many ideas when choosing motifs, and he produces calendars with different tastes each year, which customers have received well. He understands our intentions, which tend to be vague, and reflects them in the production concretely to ensure smooth progress.
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