Narita Inspected

About this book

Narita Inspected the seal of approval slapped on scanned luggage at Tokyos Narita airport places an x-ray focus on the capitals graphic design community. Besides showcasing a comprehensive selection of amazing young hopefuls their sometimes schizophrenic work samples are supplemented and contrasted with those extremes of Japanese society the locals tend to take for granted. As most of the contributors work from their economical claustrophobic homes often between bed television and Playstation glimpses of everyday madness and product overkill sneak into the designs which gain a generous touch of personality from these idiosyncratic living situations. Clean purist traditionalism clashes with playful trashy pictograms unveiling a remarkably rich spectrum of vector and internet graphics collages games and cartoons. Compiled by Lopetz (Bro Destruct Electronic Plastic) an avid lover of Japanese culture and computer games Narita Inspected reflects the entire exotic variety of the scenes genius in comprehensive work samples self-portraits interviews biographies pictures of work environments and everyday visual culture. With a variety of paper types special packaging and 5-6 colour print throughout this rich multi-faceted aesthetic texture is reflected in the books physical appearance and manages to successfully convey the decisive difference to traditional European design.