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e:
Like any comparable design firm anywhere in
the world, Hideki Nakajima’s office in Tokyo
has Macintosh computers. Nakajima himself,
however, does not use these machines. He
comments, “I cannot use a Macintosh, but
there is no problem because the staff can.
Just as the invention of the electric guitar and
synthesizer gave birth to rock-n-roll and techno
music and the invention of the projector gave
birth to film, new technology bears new means
of expression. I’m trying to seek out the pos-
sibilities of new technology.” This seemingly
contradictory stance, which lauds technology
as a catalyst and yet shies away from its use,
stands at the center of Nakajima’s approach to
the process of graphic design.
Nakajima is no Luddite. On the contrary, his
work is highly engaged with the way informa-
tion is processed visually. Rather than imped-
ing creativity, Nakajima feels that technology is
a direct result of creativity. He notes, “I think
the final state of the development of technol-
ogy is the human being. For example, robots
are improved to become more and more like
a human being. Digital processes are inferior
to analog. They only enhance design; they can-
not replace it. Creativity starts with the human
mind and hand.”
In his piece “re-cycling,” which consists of 40
pieces created for the Japanese design maga-
zine IDEA in 2002, Nakajima reconstructed all
of his work from the past into refigured designs.
Although he calls his work “meaningless,” the
complex conceptual framework for this series
does suggest that the reconfiguration and re-
presentation of these highly abstracted images
are as useful a process as their initial creation.
The reproduction of images by hand, through
photographic or other processes, also influ-
ences Nakajima’s images. He views computer-
aided design as simply another way of treating
an image, not more or less significant than
other types of technological forms of reproduc-
tion. Each kind of reproductive process inserts
its own meaning into the image, whether it is
in a darkroom or at a copy machine. In fact, it
is the fallibility of other technologies (particular-
ly photography) that fascinates Nakajima, and
he relishes accidents of color and light that can
appear when using these methods.
ACKNOWLEDGE THE VALUE OF THE ANALOG PROCESS
445
HIDEKI NAKAJIMA
328
HIDEKI
3
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365 HABITS OF SUCCESSFUL GRAPHIC DESIGNERS
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“re-cycling,” designed by Hideki Nakajima
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TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN
447
As part of a larger project for the small com-
munity of Morecambe, Why Not created a 300-
yard (274 m) sidewalk out of type, steel, and
stone. “A Flock of Words,” as the path project
is called, was a collaborative project between
Why Not Associates, artist Gordon Young, and
sculptor Russell Coleman.
“One of the reasons why this project was pos-
sible is technology,” explains Andy Altmann of
Why Not Associates. “I can give a disk to a
steel manufacturer, and he can use that disk
to cut out all the words using a laser. Also, a
quarry can take the same file and sand-blast
granite for us. You’d never be able to do this
by hand—it would have taken forever, chiseling
out all the lettering. Technology is working in
strange ways, in antiquated areas. For exam-
ple, stone masonry is making a comeback, and
I find that quite fascinating. It is like learning to
print all over again. Stone has a permanence
about it that is interesting. To be able to walk
over it and past it and around it—it is more
interesting than a book.”
The pathway, which is over 8.25 feet (2.5 m)
wide and just over 350 yards (320 m) long,
serves as a connection between the railway
station and the seashore.
USE COMPUTERS TO COMMUNICATE WITH
STONE MASONS
WHY NOT
ASSOCIATES
329
A Flock of Words, designed by Why Not Associates
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