Nihon University
Design Department
Professor Noriyuki Kasai
Q. What kind of classes do you teach?
I teach general graphic design classes.
1First-year students learn basic design, drawing, and color composition.2First-year students study typography and editorial design.3First-year students will be working on visual communication planning and branding in general graphic design.4First-year students are guided in their graduation projects through seminars.
Q. The moment when the font's sensitivity was turned on
After I started working, I became a designer and still haven't done anything.MacThis was when fonts were just starting to appear, so there weren't that many fonts available.
When I was given a phototypesetting sample book at work, I realized for the first time that designers have to deal with so many characters.ONIt has become like this.
Q. What is your favorite Morisawa font and why?
Recently, I often use the Shuei typeface series.Shuei No. 3I guess so. The hiragana characters seem to dance, and it's difficult to use when typeset horizontally, or to put it another way, it's a difficult typeface to handle. Lately, I've felt like I'm testing myself to see how beautifully I can typeset it. I like it because it creates a rhythmic atmosphere and gives off a sense of human warmth.
European scriptThe shape of the character "ha" is very beautiful and I love its beauty. I often use it when I want to create a Japanese atmosphere in certain places, such as on art museum posters.
ShingoThe large font size makes it easy to use for promotional designs and catchy slogans. It is highly readable and stable, so I often use it when using Gothic fonts.
Q. What do you think of the students at this school?
I feel like there are a lot of students who are very naive, or rather, who have passionate feelings inside them but hide them. I think it is our job as teachers to support them in how they can overcome this. Once they break out of their shell, they try all sorts of things. I get the impression that they are like "eggs" that haven't yet become "chicks."
Q. The moment the switch turns "OFF"
I am in the most OFF mode when I am looking at pictures or moving my body.
I've always loved drawing, so I aimed to go to art school, and looking at pure fine art, not design, helps me relax. I also simply like to exercise, like going to the gym. I haven't been able to swim much recently, though (laughs).
I also like martial arts. People may find this surprising, but I did judo in high school and aikido in college.
Q: What would you like to challenge yourself with in the future? What are you interested in?
In terms of design, I would like to study calligraphy and calligraphy.
One of the reasons is that I wanted to understand typefaces,7About 20 years ago, there was an exhibition called the Belgian Letter Arts Exhibition at Bank Art in Yokohama, with Katsumi Asaba and calligrapher Minako Mito as judges. I submitted a typeface I had created to the exhibition, and it was selected and exhibited.
There were exhibits by various Japanese calligraphers, including Professor Asaba, as well as various Japanese designers who also practice calligraphy. When I saw the works, I felt that they were very free. I had thought that calligraphy and calligraphy were something more formal, but I realized that you don't have to be bound by them.
This is one of the challenges I would like to take on in the future.
