Kenji Ekuan

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Kenji Ekuan
榮久庵 憲司
Born(1929-09-11)September 11, 1929
Industrial designer
Websitewww.gk-design.co.jp

Kenji Ekuan (榮久庵 憲司, Ekuan Kenji, September 11, 1929 – February 8, 2015) was a Japanese industrial designer, best known for creating the design of the Kikkoman soy sauce bottle.

Biography

Born in Tokyo on September 11, 1929, Ekuan spent his youth in

Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music (present-day Tokyo University of the Arts). In 1957, he founded GK Industrial Design Laboratory (ＧＫインダストリアルデザイン研究所).[1] "GK" stood for "Group of Koike", as Koike was the name of an associate professor at the university.[4]

In 1970, he became president of the Japan Industrial Designers' Association and five years later he was elected as president of the

International Council of Societies of Industrial Design.[5]

During his lifetime he served as chair of the Japan Institute of Design,

Art Center College of Design.[3]

Ekuan died in the hospital in Tokyo on February 8, 2015, at the age of 85.[1]

Selected works

Products that Ekuan oversaw the design of included the following.

  • Kikkoman soy sauce bottle
    Kikkoman soy sauce bottle
  • Yamaha VMAX
    Yamaha VMAX

Railway vehicles

  • Narita Express 253 series
    Narita Express 253 series
  • E3 Series Shinkansen
    E3 Series Shinkansen
  • Narita Express E259 series
    Narita Express E259 series
  • E233 series
    E233 series


Logos

  • Tokyo Metropolitan Government logo
    Tokyo Metropolitan Government logo
  • Ministop store logo
    Ministop store logo
  • Japan Racing Association logo
    Japan Racing Association logo

He also served as co-general producer for the World Design Exposition 1989 held in Nagoya.[10]

Honors and awards

Published books

  • Kenji Ekuan (1 March 1998). The Aesthetics of the Japanese Lunchbox. Diane Publishing Company.
    ISBN 978-0-7567-7620-6
    .

References

  1. ^ a b c 栄久庵憲司氏が死去 工業デザインの草分け [Pioneering industrial designer Kenji Ekuan dies]. Nikkei Shimbun (in Japanese). Japan: Nikkei. 2015-02-09. Retrieved 2015-02-10.
  2. ^ "From Soy Sauce To Bullet Trains: Famed Japanese Designer Dies At 85". NPR. 2015-02-10. Retrieved 2015-02-09.
  3. ^ a b "Design World Mourns the Loss of Kenji Ekuan". Industrial Designers Society of America. Retrieved 2015-02-11.
  4. ^ "History". Outline. GK Design Group. Archived from the original on 2015-02-18. Retrieved 2015-02-10.
  5. ^ a b "Japanese designer of soy sauce bottle, Kenji Ekuan, dies aged 85". The Straits Times. 2015-02-10. Retrieved 2015-02-11.
  6. ^ a b c d e "The Works of GK Design Group". GK Design Group Inc. Archived from the original on 2015-02-17. Retrieved 2015-02-10.
  7. ^ "栄久庵憲司さん死去 山手線や中央線、「こまち」などの車両デザインに関わる" [Kenji Ekuan, involved in the design of Yamanote Line and Chuo Line vehicles, dies]. Traffic News (in Japanese). 2015-02-09. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  8. ^ 工業デザインの第一人者 栄久庵憲司さん死去 [First industrial designer Kenji Ekuan dies]. NHK News Web (in Japanese). Japan: NHK. 2015-02-09. Archived from the original on 2015-02-10. Retrieved 2015-02-10.
  9. ^ "Industrieel designer Kenji Ekuan overleden". The Art Server (in Dutch). 2015-02-09. Archived from the original on 2016-11-21. Retrieved 2015-02-17.
  10. ^ a b c "Japanese designer behind iconic soy sauce bottle dies at 85". ABS-CBN Corporation. 2015-02-09. Retrieved 2015-02-11.
  11. ^ Angus Montgomery (2015-02-10). "Kenji Ekuan, designer of bullet trains and soy sauce bottle, dies aged 85". Design Week. Retrieved 2015-02-11.
  12. ^ "2003 Lucky Strike Designer Award - Kenji ekuan". Raymond Loewy Foundation. Retrieved 2015-02-11.
  13. ^ "Kenji Ekuan - Chairman, GK Design Group". Hong Kong Design Centre. Archived from the original on 2015-02-11. Retrieved 2015-02-11.
  14. Japan Times
    . 2015-02-09. Retrieved 2015-02-11.

External links

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