Calendars, more than anything, herald the start of a new year. Many people kick off a new year by decorating their room with a new calendar. Changing the calendar gives one a true sense of a change of year, a time for making plans and laying out one’s dreams for the year ahead. Birthdays, vacation plans, romantic dates, business trips, meetings, concerts, exhibitions, sporting events, weddings, work schedules, appointments – they all have their place on a calendar. A calendar is the focal point around which people engage with their community, their society, and even the entire world. Sadly, though, a calendar has a finite life. When a new year arrives, the calendar for the old year becomes obsolete and gets tossed aside. No matter how well or how much it has served its purpose during the old year, it’s fated to oblivion. Few, if anyone, keep an old calendar around once its mission has been completed. And perhaps that’s why, in the realm of graphic design, calendars have always played a subordinate role. Only rarely have they been a focus of attention or bathed in the spotlight.
To remedy this state of affairs, we invited Takahisa Kamijyo, who has an abundant track record in calendar design, to present a selection of his calendar creations from the past two decades. We hope visitors will come away with a renewed awareness of the fun, beauty and appeal of calendars.