Graphic designer

Kenya Hara (b.1958) is a president of the Nippon Design Center Inc., and professor at Musashino Art University.

His highly-influential exhibition “RE-DESIGN: Daily Products of the 21st Century” toured worldwide, and he has built a reputation for producing exhibitions and educational programs that bring focus to new values by embracing keywords, such as “HAPTIC,” “SENSEWARE,” and “Ex-formation.” Much of his work, including the programs for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Nagano Winter Olympic Games and promotion of Expo 2005, is deeply rooted in Japanese culture. In 2002, Hara became MUJI’s art director. His wide-ranging work is noted for its attention to transparency, and includes visual identity for Matsuya Ginza, Mori Building, Tsutaya Shoten, GINZA SIX, MIKIMOTO, and YAMATO TRANSPORT. He also focuses on inspiring global interest in Japan, and served as Chief Creative Director of the Japan House project for Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In July 2019, he launched the HIGH RESOLUTION TOUR website as a new approach to tourism, exploring specific locations in Japan from an individual perspective.

Many of Hara’s books have been published in English, including Designing Design (Lars Müller Publishers, 2007), White (Lars Müller Publishers, 2009), Designing Japan (Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture, 2018), and 100 Whites (Lars Müller Publishers, 2019).