The Japan Graphic Designers Association Inc. (JAGDA), established in 1978, today has some 2,800 members and is Japan’s largest design group. JAGDA performs a variety of activities aiming to enhance the environment for communication through design. These include organization of exhibitions and seminars and the publication of works such as Graphic Design in Japan, its yearbook showcasing the works of its members, and VISUAL DESIGN, a design textbook.

Every year, from among the works selected for inclusion in Graphic Design in Japan, JAGDA presents the “JAGDA New Designer Awards” to designers under the age of 39 whose works are deemed particularly fresh and high in quality. To date the awards have been bestowed on 89 designers now active at the very forefront of their profession, including such luminaries as Kaoru Kasai and Makoto Saito (winners of the very 1st awards), Kenya Hara, Takuya Onuki, Taku Satoh, Yoshie Watanabe, Kazufumi Nagai, Kashiwa Sato, Kazunari Hattori, Manabu Mizuno, Chie Morimoto, Atsuki Kikuchi and Rikako Nagashima. As a result, today the JAGDA New Designer Awards garner much attention among those in both the design and advertising fields.

In 2011, after a rigorous judging process evaluating 210 qualified entrants, the 30th JAGDA New Designer Awards were given to Tatsuki Ikezawa, Yusuke Ono and Ren Takaya. This exhibition will introduce their winning works as well as recent works, primarily posters and small graphics.