Graphic Design: Tokyo show brings celebrates 25 years of design brilliance from Why Not Associates

Why Not Associates is one of London’s foremost graphic design studios whose brilliance across branding, print, motion and environmental design has been proved time and time again. Celebrating a quarter of a century since its foundation, a show at the ggg gallery in Tokyo brings together their greatest hits, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in the studio’s many successes, in particular those which push the possibilities of typography in innovative and exciting ways.

The gallery hits the nail on the head when it says the Why Not world is “one that is daring and dynamic and less about achieving pre-planned harmony than turning even accident to advantage,” and as ever the studio is nicely modest about its work, calling the show We Never Had a Plan So Nothing Could Go Wrong.

As previous winners of the Grand Prix from the Tokyo Type Directors’ Club, Japan is an obvious place for such a wide-ranging show but I can’t help feel slightly miffed that we’re not able to enjoy their superb work here in their home city. Hopefully someone will rectify that, but in the meantime there’s a book out to accompany the exhibition which should tide us over.

Why Not Associates – We Never Had a Plan So Nothing Could Go Wrong runs until June 29.