Book Description

Street graphics have become the visual language of cities. Signs and symbols instruct and inform us, images portray our concerns and aspirations. Culturally specific, they are also increasingly universal, always creative and always fun.

Tokyo's vibrant street graphics combine ancient tradition, 20th-century mass production and a 21st-century urban vision that is uniquely Japanese. Asian street style meets Western consumerism in a colourful clash of imagery that renders the familiar strange and the strange bizarre. Cartoon characters can signify the police or pornography. Fashion statements are derived from diverse sources - ancient Egypt or even a hospital operating theatre. Slot machines vend erotica; pets and cops are robots; tempting dishes of sushi turn out to be inedible plastic models. Ridley Scott's futuristic film Blade Runner was inspired by Tokyo's neon nightscape, where a fashionable department store doubles as a giant digital TV screen, featuring life-size dinosaurs in Godzilla's hometown.

All over the world the street has become a public art gallery of visual icons, each city with permanent collections and temporary exhibits. Tokyo's vibrant street graphics combine ancient traditions, 20th-century mass production and a 21st-century urban vision that is uniquely Japanese. Asian street style meets Western consumerism in a colourful clash of imagery, cartoon characters advertise the police or sexual services, slot machines sell erotica, pets and cops are robots and tower blocks double as giant digital TV screens. Barry Dawson's photographic vision of Tokyo forms a creative reference for students and practitioners of design and an offbeat pictorial guide for visitors.

About Author

Barry Dawson's photographic vision of Tokyo forms a creative reference for students and designers, as well as an imaginative, offbeat pictorial guide for visitors and armchair travelers.

Book Dimension:

length: (cm)23 　　　 　　　　　 　　　　 　 width:(cm)22