When Toshiyuki Kita graduated from Naniwa College, Osaka, in 1964, he immediately became a furniture designer. After working in Italy for designers Mario Bellini and Silvio Coppola, he quickly built a reputation as one of the "most European" of Japanese designers. This reputation stands today, as he

Bright, Charming, Functional, Pop, Quirky

Slinky, kinky, and plastic. These are the descriptors that Joe Colombo's version of a utopian space-age future calls to mind. In the 1960s, sci-fi fantasies gave rise to molded curves, tubular furniture, and synthetic fabrics. The Italians and Scandinavians were at the forefront of the design revolut

Fantastic, Playful, Pop/surrealism/anti-design, Quirky, Round

"Windows are the great unsung heroes of image communication: They are 3-D billboards bolted to the front of your store." In the early '80s, Simon Doonan changed our concept of "window shopping." Part elaborate artistic creation, part unbridled sales promotion, Doonan's windows heralded a new phase of

Glamour, Ironic, Pop, Quirky, Surreal

He hails from the land of tea and crumpets, but Nigel Coates first found success in a country better known for sushi and sake. But though Japan was the first to embrace his futuristic, semi-permanent "pop" stylings, it wasn't long before his buttoned-down countrymen recognized Coates' avant-garde vis

Eclectic, Fantastic, Pop, Postmodern architecture, Quirky, Round