Kazumasa Nagai, Designer of Sapporo Olympics Symbol, Dies at 96

Tokyo, March 2 (Jiji Press)–Kazumasa Nagai, the Japanese graphic designer best known for creating the symbol for the 1972 Sapporo Winter Olympics, died of acute respiratory failure on Feb. 23. He was 96. Nagai was born in the western Japan city of Osaka in 1929. After dropping out of Tokyo University of the Arts, he joined textile maker Daiwabo Co., where he worked in graphic design. He later helped establish Nippon Design Center Inc., a company dedicated to advancing Japanese advertising design, and created many logos for companies and organizations, including Japan Agricultural Cooperatives and Asahi Breweries Ltd. Distinguished by its blend of abstraction and concrete forms, as well as its vibrant use of colors, Nagai’s work earned international recognition. He served as president of what was then the Japan Graphic Designers Association and chairman of the Japan Design Committee. He was also head of the screening committee for the emblem of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, the original design for which was withdrawn in 2015 following plagiarism allegations. Nagai received the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 1989 and the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette in 1999, both prestigious national honors in Japan. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]