The 6th International Competition "NAGOYA DESIGN DO! 2008" A judge for the first & final screening

Koji Mizutani Japan Art director

Born in 1951 in Nagoya, Japan. Member of the N.Y. ADC (New York Art Directors Club), the JAGDA (Japan Graphic Designers Association Inc.) and the TDC (Tokyo Type Directors Club). He joined the Nippon Design Center Inc. in 1977 and then established his own design office, Mizutani Studio, in 1983. Starting with the Tokyo ADC award in 1980, he has won a variety of awards including the JAGDA Newcomer’s Award, the Gold Medal at the N.Y. ADC International Exhibition, the Gold Medal at the International Poster Biennale in Warsaw, and the Bronze Medal at the International Biennale of Graphic Design in Bruno. He was also an Award Winner at the Colorado International Invitational Poster Exhibition. He started MERRY PROJECT, a communication-art project under the theme of “Smile is a universal language.” MERRY EXPO was held at the Expo Plaza during EXPO 2005 in Aichi, Japan. The photographed smiles of more than 20,000 people from 23 countries throughout the world can be viewed on the website. In 2006, his activities were recognized with a variety of awards, including the 14th Kuwasawa Award’s “The Kuwasawa Design of the Year”, the 50th Good Design Award of JIDPO, the Eco Communication Award, the 1st Eco-Art Grand Prix of “Eco Japan Cup” in 2006, and the 1st Kids Design Award of Kids Design Association in 2007. MERRY PROJECT website http://www.merryproject.com/ Mizutani Studio http://www.mizutanistudio.com/