An artistic tribute to 60 years of Onitsuka Tiger
For the Japanese, turning 60 is an honour: it completes the 60-year ‘cycle of life.’ It is this magnificent milestone that inspired Japanese sports brand Onitsuka Tiger to create a spectacular, inspirational magazine aimed at Japan lovers and ‘sports-fashion’ enthusiasts worldwide. In commision by Zoo Magazine, Smel provided the art direction and design for the anniversary magazine and a limited edition numbered gift set.
Mix of traditional and unconventional
Made of Japan Magazine is 256 pages presenting the brands’ original sports heritage, its vision and evolution, and its influence as a style icon amongst fashion leaders, artists, athletes and sports fans in Japan, the US and Europe. In the design, we opted for a combination of Japanese / English texts and an unconventional layout, which gives the magazine an eccentric appearance. Inspired by Japanese gift wrapping and the bento box, we have designed a white cardboard gift set consisting of 3 boxes in a sleeve. The gift set is finished with traditional Japanese patterns in UV lacquer and the lasered Onitusuka Tiger logo.
Collector’s item
Made of Japan is destined to become a collector's item. Made of Japan features more than 30 iconic personalities, including Chiharu Shiota, Naomi Yotsumoto, Yusuke Iseya, Makoto azuma, Hirofumi Kurino, and former star athletes Dave Cowens and Lasse Virén. The magazine has a clean, special look and feel; the use of different types of paper printed in full color and gold ink, underlines its intriguing content. The limited-edition numbered gift set includes the magazine, a pair of shoes, and a T-shirt from the 60th-anniversary collection.
Client
AsicsMulholland B.V.
Website
www.onitsukatiger.com/jpCollaborations
Sandor LubbeJosé Klap
Yoske Nishiumi
Satoshi Yamaguchi
Crafting Onitsuka Tiger’s 60-Year legacy of design and urban style
Onitsuka Tiger is a sports lifestyle brand mixing the fine arts and traditions of the East with the seductive urban design styles of the West. Smel was asked by Zoo Magazine to design an exclusive Onitsuka Tiger brand booklet which shares 60 years of special devotion: the love affair with designing stylish Japanese sports shoes and apparel ― a commitment to traditions and quality in every product detail.
Unique, playful and artistic
While designing the Made of Japan 60th-anniversary magazine, Smel was asked to come up with a concept for an exclusive Onitsuka Tiger brand booklet. We used the typographic style and unconventional layout from the Made of Japan magazine to have a similar premium look and feel. The 24 pages of the booklet are filled with iconic images from the first OK basketball shoes to the 2009 anniversary Zodiac campaign. For the cover, we used greyboard with a copper foil embossed quote from founder Kihachiro Onitsuka.
Crafted from the best materials
The Onitsuka Tiger brand booklet is printed in full color on premium paper, the grey board cover has a copper foil embossed quote and the corporate logo. The endpapers are printed with traditional Japanese prints, the last endpaper is folded and holds a DVD with Onitsuka Tiger film material.
Client
AsicsWebsite
www.onitsukatiger.com/jpCollaborations
Sandor LubbeJosé Klap
