The Power of Personal Connection in Design

Traditional Japanese aesthetics informs Toyotsugu Itoh‘s creative approach to design. He uses traditional and modern techniques to create elegant and captivating works. For example, he often uses calligraphy brushwork in his compositions, adding texture and depth to his pieces while also allowing him to express himself creatively. By combining these two approaches, Itoh was able to craft these beautiful entries for our Poster 2024 Awards competition.

Celebrating the Beauty of Home: Toyotsugu Itoh’s Mount Tado Poster

When looking for inspiration, it can often be found in our own backyards. Toyotsugu Itoh captured the beauty of his hometown mountain, “Mount Tado” (above, left), with his poster. His design highlights the scale of the mountains and their historical significance while reminding us that our environment and spaces have extraordinary potential waiting to be discovered through thoughtful concepts.

Toyotsugu’s work is not only visually striking but is also imbued with meaning. His hometown mountain spans an area that houses a sacred shrine at its base; inspired by this site, he set out to capture it through design. He explains that the idea behind his design “is to portray the beauty of nature from an artistic perspective, while at the same time paying homage to the spiritual power of Mount Tado by incorporating three characters depicting ‘Tado’ into its surface.” That is why he chose a traditional style of calligraphy for this project: it allowed him to express both the natural beauty of the mountain as well as its spiritual significance within history. His use of this particular style emphasizes this duality even further. 

The Mount Tado poster demonstrates how our environment contains extraordinary potential just waiting to be discovered through thoughtful expression. Toyotsugu’s design celebrates both home and design simultaneously by highlighting its majestic scale while honoring its historical relevance within Japan’s culture and spiritualism. By inspiring others with his work on a familiar subject matter, Itoh reminds us that we should always recognize beauty right in front of us!

It can be easy to overlook the beauty of our everyday surroundings. Still, with a closer look, we often find immense amounts of inspiration right in front of us, just like designer Toyotsugu did when creating his poster for Mount Tado!

Toyotsugu Itoh’s “To You” Poster Series

As creatives, we are constantly challenged to create impactful designs that resonate with our audience. That’s why we should note Toyotsugu’s exhibition, whose theme “To You” (above, right) reminds us of the importance of personal connection in our work.’

His 30 years of design experience are on display, showcasing the power of communication design to reach the hearts and minds of people. The poster series features four posters, each with one of the Japanese letters “A,” “NA,” “TA,” and “E” in the sunset sky. “ANATAE” means “To You”, which serves as a reminder that our designs must connect with individuals on a personal level.

It’s inspiring to see the positive response Toyotsugu received from his exhibition, reminding us of the impact we can have when we focus on creating meaningful connections through our work. Let’s take inspiration from his message and strive to create designs that genuinely connect with the people we are communicating with.

To enter your work into our Poster 2024 competition, click here.