To celebrate the opening of Pictograms: Iconic Japanese Designs, join us for a behind-the-scenes look at this groundbreaking exhibition on the art of visual communication. In a lively design dialogue, exhibition curator Daigo Daikoku, CEO and Art Director of Nippon Design Center (NDC) USA, will be joined by Julia Huang, founder and CEO of Intertrend Communications and chair of the Arts and Cultural Committee for the Long Beach 2028 Olympic Games, for a conversation about the creative process, cultural roots, and global reach of pictogram design.
The pictogram story begins at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games, where designers at the Nippon Design Center faced a unique challenge: how to guide visitors from around the world during the first Olympics ever held in Asia. Their solution was a set of refined symbols that established a universal visual language that still guides global wayfinding today, and inspired the wide-ranging exhibition now on view.
For this talk, art director Daikoku will introduce NDC, the Olympic legacy of pictograms, and his own illustrious career in design. Particular projects featured in the exhibition, including the recent “Experience Japan Pictograms” initiative re-imagining pictograms for today’s global travelers, will also be unpacked to show how Daikoku and his team create these visual tools to help Japanese institutions, small towns, businesses, and government entities communicate information visually while representing cultural customs and traditions. Together, Daikoku and Huang will also explore design’s role in cultural storytelling and global communication—from the symbols that guide us through airports and stadiums to the visual challenges and opportunities ahead as Los Angeles steps onto the world’s stage.
With the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics having just reached an exciting conclusion, the FIFA World Cup 2026 arriving in Los Angeles this summer, and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics on the horizon, there has never been a better time to discover the past, present, and future of this groundbreaking graphic form from one of its most notable creative luminaries.
Perfect for design enthusiasts, art lovers, and Olympic fans alike, this evening is the ideal way to explore the iconic people and ideas behind the exhibition and spark your curiosity for whenever you plan your visit.
Event Venue
JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles, 6801 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028, United States
