Takenobu Igarashi: A to Z

Takenobu Igarashi is a master-mentor who taught me the ABCs of form (and life)
John Maeda

In the mid-1970s, designer Takenobu 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, refined long before the introduction of computers into the design industry.

A to Z offers an exhaustive guide to Igarashi's experiments with typography, featuring not only his celebrated print and physical works—many photographed specially for this publication—but also a first look, using never-before-seen archival work, at the plans, drawings and production drafts behind his iconic works. 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 a long-overdue overview of one of the most revered but least celebrated graphic designers of the 20th century.