Meet A Japanese Package Designer - A Good One

Not every piece of Japanese packaging is weird or strange. Despite often seeing such normal products as snack food wrapped in a flexible plastic pack featuring a cartoonish drawing of one wrestler jamming a foot into the crotch of another wrestlers (click HERE, if you want to see that), Japan does produce some more than fine, high-quality package designs.

And… one of the best of them all is Kato Yoshio (surname first). That's him smiling in the photo above this past October in Paris, France, holding his Honorary Pentaward for his lifetime achievement of truly great packaging design. Despite the fun factor of the chips bag, I am pretty sure Kato has too much class to create something like that. That's why he gets awards. 

Working at Suntory Business Expert Ltd. in Japan, Kato is the creative director and senior specialist of the beverage maker's department of design, where he has been working as a designer for more than 30 years.

Graduating from Nagoya City High School Industrial Arts (for design) in 1972, and then from Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts and Music (majoring in design) in 1979, Kato says he works with a deep awareness of the balance between artistic creativity at the service of marketing, and creativity as a personal expression.

He is credited with the creation of outstanding packaging designs, which have become icons in Japan and throughout Asia, for such brands as Dakara, Iyemon, Boss, Natchan and more.

Kato is also vice-president of the JPDA (Japan Packaging Design Association) and a member of several important societies of designers.

For a glimpse at some of Kato's packaging creations, check out the YOUTUBE video below. 

Cheers
Andrew Joseph