Biography
Chiharu Tanaka was born and raised in Tottori, Japan. She completed her Bachelor's degree in Textile Design at the Tama Art University, Tokyo and worked at the design company, Lesmaines, after graduating. She has subsequently received her MFA in Graphic Design from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco in 2009. Her design practice is shaped by her experiences in different cultures, in textile design, advertising and graphic design, as well as typeface design, which was the core element of her master thesis. Her experience living in the midst of two different cultures has heightened her interest in finding balance between Eastern and Western design. She is especially passionate about creating functional and innovative typefaces.

Description:
[COVER] Silver Foil Stamping on Linen Bookcloth, [DUST JACKET] Laser Vellum Paper, [INTERIOR] Digital / Inkjet printing on Finch Paper

Communication objective:
"MONYO+MOJI" is my MFA thesis project, which involved designing new decorative typefaces that fused Japanese ornamentation with the Roman alphabet. My process involved researching Eastern and Western design principles, aesthetics and traditions and exploring the various ways that these two realms could interact and balance with each other. The “MONYO+MOJI” book showcases the rich variety of Japanese ornamentation and patterns with a new approach to design. It includes new decorative lettering influenced by Japanese pattern design, and discusses of how traditional ornamentation has developed into a fundamental part of modern Japanese aesthetics. A set of accompanying posters feature, HaruNami, the OpenType family I created for the project.

Tools used:
I designed my MFA thesis project, MONYO+MOJI, using Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop and Acrobat. InDesign was the primary tool for designing and producing my final thesis book. Illustrator and Photoshop were used for creating all the visual content for the book, as well as collateral materials in the form of cards and posters.