Among the design elements of typography is “typographic composition”: composition that includes the space in which lettering is arranged and configured on a page. “Typographic Composition” is also the title chosen by Yoshihisa Shirai, who remains active primarily in book design and editorial design, for his exhibition. The exhibition will be out of the ordinary: in addition to showing many of Shirai’s book designs of great beauty, the cor
e of the works on display will consist of two-page spreads featuring black lettering.
  Yoshihisa Shirai is widely known for his art direction work for the universally acclaimed design magazine “IDEA,” published by Seibundo Shinkosha. For 10 years from 2005, he was in charge of the design of this magazine that covers a remarkably broad spectrum of topics and subjects. Its bimonthly publication schedule notwithstanding, each issue of the magazine is worked up into a superlative work of art, so that taken together they create an extremely attractive collection.
  Besides “IDEA,” Shirai has also been involved in the design of a plethora of books. Before commencing a book design, Shirai reads up and becomes thoroughly familiar with the subject or person being featured in the book, and only then does he proceed to painstakingly devise its typography, page by page. The diverse texts formed by his hand reverberate like voices from between the book’s covers, at times breezily, at others sternly, and yet others stylishly. Any encounter with his alluring typography provides an unforgettable reading experience.
  This exhibition, in addition to displaying a large number of Shirai’s actual works, will also introduce materials that he has used as reference materials in the course of creating typography. Besides providing insight into just how much research he puts into each book he designs, the exhibition will surely also offer the visitor an opportunity to relish typographic composition not at a superficial level but in all its profundity, incorporating borrowed or referenced knowledge and designs of the past and forms that have become modified and passed down.