Kazune Watanabe
PM001700
Mr. Kazune Watanabe is the esteemed founder and art director of There There Ltd. After graduating from the prestigious Kuwasawa Design School in 2005, he gained invaluable experience working at KUDO Tsuyokatsu Design Laboratory and Soup Design Ltd. (now known as BOOTLEG Ltd.). In April 2018, Mr. Watanabe embarked on an independent venture, founding "There There" which was later incorporated in March 2022.
Throughout his career, Mr. Watanabe has demonstrated exceptional talent and versatility in various design genres, concentrating primarily on books, magazines, and posters. His dedication to the craft has earned him numerous accolades and industry recognition. Among his many awards are the JAGDA 2021 Selected, ADC 2020-2021 Selected, TDC 2022 Selected, JAGDA 2022 Selected, Applied Typography 32 Jury Award, iF DESIGN AWARD Winner in 2022, D&AD Awards Shortlisted in 2022, German Design Award 2023 Gold, and the Creative Communication Award 2022 Best of Best. Mr. Watanabe's accomplishments speak to his extraordinary skill, creativity, and passion for design.
Studio
There There Ltd.
2-36-9, Minami-Ogikubo Suginami-ku, Tokyo, 167-0052
http://therethere.tokyo/
Portfolio
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Kuwasawa Design School 2021 Guidebook
2021 version of School guide for Kuwasawa Design School, the first design school in Japan.
Today, individual lifestyles and values are changing, and conventional concepts are changing rapidly.
In this context, what should design do for the future? We approached this project with this in mind.
From the cover of each booklet to the bag in which it is packaged, everything is covered with aluminum.
We sought to eliminate as much of the human element as possible, and to achieve a factory default beauty.
We tried not to add too many elements, so that a new individuality could be seen in them.
We aimed for an appearance that gives a sense of "the future" to students who are now facing design, allowing them to think about the future. -
Kuwasawa Design School 2022 Guidebook
2022 version of School guide for Kuwasawa Design School.
In recent years, online communication is increasing, and the line between reality and virtual is becoming more and more blurry.
in such this situation, we pursued the possibility of design by expressing what was recognized as digital with analog (paper and print). We hope that it will encourage future students to take an interest in design.
https://youtu.be/W2Fpvjcqm_o -
Kuwasawa Design School 2023 Guidebook
2023 version of School guide for Kuwasawa Design School.
The concept was to appeal to the reader's physical senses and make it enjoyable while including virtual features.
The animation is worked by the reader's hand as it comes out, and this element is also embedded into the magazine as well.
The paper used for the magazine was chosen to be thinner than usual, so that the grid, which is the concept behind the design of the main text, would be easier to see.
Every volume has a simple look so that the content can be recognized at a glance.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd5iFS9Blys/ -
sequence
MITSUI FUDOSAN’s new brand, lifestyle hotel “sequence”
It open at Shibuya, Kyoto gojo, and Suidobashi in 2020.
We are in charge of VI design such as brand logo, sign, amenity, and website.
As a hotel where people can enjoy “heartfelt connections” with people and town, the logo was designed to look like mingling, interact, and connect with each other.
Pictograms are made up of a series of symbols. The key colors are orange and navy.
The main visual consists of simple looping videos for each access.
Website is designed so that you can browse by scrolling as few layers as possible.
https://www.sequencehotels.com/ -
The Waseda International House of Literature (The Haruki Murakami Library)
In October 2021, the Waseda International House of Literature (The Haruki Murakami Library) opened, showcasing the work of renowned Japanese author Haruki Murakami. We oversaw art direction and design, focusing on bookshelf visuals, a special website, and exhibitions. The grand staircase bookshelf features a signature and a doll representing Murakami's parallel worlds, blending reality and unreality. The special site depicts this bookshelf and doll graphically, with people reading books and moving freely, mirroring the atmosphere of the actual International Literature Reading Room.
Visit the site: https://www.waseda.jp/inst/wihl-annex/ -
TRANSIT Magazine
TRANSIT is a travel culture magazine sold throughout Japan.
The design was renewed from issue 52. We took charge of art direction and design.
We drew a number of standard grids and designed the margins, text, based on them.
We mixed the best of TRANSIT's past with the new trends and assembled them in our own interpretation.
https://www.transit.ne.jp/ -
"What are you looking at from inside the photograph" by Osamu Matsuo
A collection of photo essays by photographer Osamu Matsuo.
Osamu Matsuo's thoughts on photography are translated into three languages, Japanese, English, and Chinese.
The text layout is varied in format, using both horizontal and vertical orientations to add a three dimensional feel.
The contents are expressed in an analog, not digital, style. -
"KINOSAKI YUNOMATOPE" by tupera tupera
A publishing label from Kinosaki Onsen, "Books and Onsen".
Each issues are only available in Kinosaki, northern Hyogo Prefecture.
Issue No.4 is a picture book, work by tupera tupera.
The image of walking down a charming hot spring resort town in geta (Japanese clogs) with a clanking sound.
Open the cover to reveal a bellows-style construction of a cutout picture scroll.
The design is not only in pursuit of realistic clogs, but also in line with the world view of tupera tupera.
https://books-onsen.com/
