Katsumi Asaba

Born in 1940, Katsumi Asaba is a renowned, multi-award winning Japanese designer and a master calligrapher based in Tokyo.

After graduating from Kuwasawa Design School and working for Light Publicity Inc., he founded Katsumi Asaba Design Studio in 1975. Since then he has taken an active role at the forefront of Japanese design industry. Many of his creations as an art director have made a lasting mark in the history of Japanese advertising design. Representative works include landmark ads for Seibu department store, Suntory, and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, and Logo design for HOMME PLISSÉ ISSEY MIYAKE. He has received numerous awards including the Japan Advertising Artists Club Special Prize, Tokyo Type Directors Club Award, Yusaku Kamekura Award, Japan Academy Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction, Medal with Purple Ribbon, Tokyo Art Directors Club Grand Prix for “Asaba’s Diary” and the space design for the exhibition "Traces of the Prayer” held in 2008 at 21_21 Design Sight, and Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette in 2013. 

He is chairman of the Tokyo Type Directors Club, committee member of the Tokyo Art Directors Club and JAGDA (Japan Graphic Designers Association), Japan representative in the Alliance Graphique Internationale, 10th successive director of Kuwasawa Design School, and visiting professor at Tokyo Zokei University and Kyoto Seika University. Asaba has a particular interest in the rich cultural heritage of writing in Asia and in exploring the relationships between written and visual expression. 

He also holds the title of sixth degree master in table tennis (Japan Table Tennis Association).