Tetsuya Chihara, the Aesthetic of Words

Tetsuya Chihara is an iconic figure in Japanese design. However, his style is poles apart from the minimalism often associated with the big names in this discipline in his country.

He drew inspiration from the everyday objects he likes to have close to him in the Tokyo office for his company Lemon Life Inc. His multicoloured treasures, gathered during his walks around the Japanese capital, testify to a flamboyant personality.

Successfully integrating text with images

Born in Kyoto in 1975, Tetsuya Chihara has a gift for drawing. He started out working for an advertising agency and in a design agency, not really knowing which domain to turn his attention to definitively. He gradually realised that culture suited him and went on to become an artistic director and designer when he launched Lemon Life Inc. in 2011. His talents stood out in the world of advertising, and in a variety of formats. He expresses himself just as well on album covers as he does in store design for brands like Adidas Originals. Various large companies call upon his services, from H&M to Nissin Cup Noodles and Onitsuka Tiger.

This individual who forged his reputation on successfully integrating text with his images, which led to him advising young designers to ‘become writers’, now wishes to explore other horizons, including cinema, as Lemon Life Inc. announced the production of a film in 2022.

More information on Tetsuya Chihara’s work can be found on his Instagram account and on Lemon Life Inc’s official website.