KOKUYO Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Osaka City; President and CEO: Hidekuni Kuroda) goes live with a new special website communicating its role as Official Supporter of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 on Tuesday 12 March, 500 days before the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 opening ceremony. The website will feature a message entitled OPENING A NEW PAGE FOR TOKYO, which aligns with the KOKUYO corporate ideal to always support people who produce new change, as well as an exclusive video.
Since the founding of KOKUYO, the company has continued to support the growth of individuals and businesses by providing products and services to enrich the intellectual pursuits of people who work and learn. In August 2018, KOKUYO signed an agreement to join the Tokyo 2020 Sponsorship Program as an Official Supporter in the “Office Furniture and Stationery” category as part of its wider commitment to supporting changes in society and work styles coming about through the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.
Since the founding of KOKUYO, the company has continued to support the growth of individuals and businesses by providing products and services to enrich the intellectual pursuits of people who work and learn. In August 2018, KOKUYO signed an agreement to join the Tokyo 2020 Sponsorship Program as an Official Supporter in the “Office Furniture and Stationery” category as part of its wider commitment to supporting changes in society and work styles coming about through the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.
KOKUYO will continue to support the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 with all its might.
The Olympic and Paralympic Games will bring surprise and change to the world.
They will open a new page,
a door of opportunity,
giving us the confidence to succeed in any circumstance.
KOKUYO always supports people who produce new change,
with the tools to unleash the creativity,
and will support the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 with all its might.
We also look to beyond 2020.
We will continue to turn new pages in the future.
The message “OPENING A NEW PAGE FOR TOKYO” is the inspiration behind a storyline that begins with a collection of notebooks from the much-loved and best-selling Campus range.
The notebooks open up in turn to reveal a series of simple line drawings depicting the various playing fields, arenas and pitches featured in the Tokyo 2020 Games complete with stick figures engaged in sporting pursuits. Each new page that opens shows a different sporting venue, eventually revealing all of the sports represented at the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.
KOKUYO is dedicated to nurturing innovation and creativity. Often this begins from the simplest thing?a notebook to jot down ideas. We are proud to be part of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, which represents a huge leap forward for innovation and another exciting chapter in the history of this great metropolis.
Art directors
Taku Sasaki and Aki Kanei
KOKUYO Creative Center
<About the art directors Taku Sasaki and Aki Kanei>
The art directors for the video, Taku Sasaki and Aki Kanei, joined KOKUYO in 2008 at the product design team (Sasaki) and graphic design team (Kanei) respectively. They have previously worked together on art direction for the ofon range of office furniture and the KOKUYO DESIGN AWARD 2016 as well as inner branding and design. In 2014 they won a special in-house award at the KOKUYO DESIGN AWARD for Hello Chair, a novel chair design that can be used to convey short messages in a particular space. More recently they have provided art direction for Think of Things (KOKUYO direct store brand) as well as design direction for a number of KOKUYO-branded products. Sasaki and Kanei have earned countless plaudits from industry for their work at KOKUYO.
○Taku Sasaki
Born 1985 in Tokyo. Joined KOKUYO after graduating from the Product Design Course at Tama Art University in 2008. Moved from product design into a variety of creative areas ranging from designing furniture for offices and public facilities to product design, product branding, and award-oriented art direction. Has also worked on design and direction of KOKUYO branded products for the Think of Things chain, using the in-store concept of “transcending the boundaries between work and life” as the basis for a new design approach that cuts across the traditional KOKUYO product lines of furniture and stationery. Awards and commendations include the 2005 KOKUYO DESIGN AWARD (Merit Award), the 2014 KOKUYO DESIGN AWARD (Special In-House Award), the Good Design Award, and the Universal Design Award in Germany.
○Aki Kanei
Born 1983 in Tokyo. Joined KOKUYO in 2008 after completing a Masters in Design at Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School of Fine Arts. Has worked on a range of projects at KOKUYO including art direction for the Futuristic Post Office in the Japanese Industrial Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo, as well as concepts and design execution for signage and inner branding at KOKUYO offices and facilities in Japan and around the world. Awards and commendations include the 2014 KOKUYO DESIGN AWARD (Special In-House Award), the Japan Graphic Designers Association Inc. (JAGDA) New Designer Award 2018, and the 2018 Tokyo Art Directors Club (ADC) Prize in recognition of outstanding art direction on Think of Things. Has extensive interests in graphic design and general creativity both within and outside KOKUYO.
