Toy Tokyo
by Manami Okazaki
What’s it —— Toy Tokyo is a love letter to lo-fi ‘toy’ cameras, such as the Holga, Zero pinholes and Diana. The author talked to various camera creators to give a deeper depth of field on the subject. The book also contains interviews with devoted photographers who work and play with these cameras. The photos in the book allow readers to see the world through their eyes and enter their dreamy worlds.
What we did —— It’s the first time we did both illustrations and book design simultaneously. Initially, the hand-drawn illustrations were not intended by the author. Yet, to address the core value of ‘self-expression’ behind these cameras, we proposed doing our own illustrations to echo the sentimental side of the book, as revealed in the interviews. We didn’t want to make the imaged-based book into a catalogue either, since there is much more to it than just the cameras’ technicality. It’s great joy for us to work on this aesthetic feast.
What we did —— It’s the first time we did both illustrations and book design simultaneously. Initially, the hand-drawn illustrations were not intended by the author. Yet, to address the core value of ‘self-expression’ behind these cameras, we proposed doing our own illustrations to echo the sentimental side of the book, as revealed in the interviews. We didn’t want to make the imaged-based book into a catalogue either, since there is much more to it than just the cameras’ technicality. It’s great joy for us to work on this aesthetic feast.
Client
:
Kingyo Publishing
——
Graphic design :
Studio TIO
Kingyo Publishing
——
Graphic design :
Studio TIO
‘[…] it’s refreshing to come across a book that restores a little faith
in old-school photography.’
( Book Review by The Japan Times )
