Tamotsu Yagi was born in Kobe, Japan and worked for a multidisciplinary design firm in Tokyo for eighteen years. In 1984, he moved to California after he was head hunted to become the Art Director for the San Francisco based clothing company Esprit. Yagi was in charge of all aspects of visual presentation and image creation from advertising, packaging and print design to retail and interior design. The creation of the iconic “Esprit graphic look” under Yagi’s direction led the company to win the AIGA design leadership award in 1986. In 1990, Yagi was chosen to be a member of the prestigious AGI (Alliance Graphique International) and was one the youngest inductees in its history. The following year, he established Tamotsu Yagi Design, an independent multidisciplinary studio in San Francisco. A few years later, Yagi was honored by the induction of over one hundred works into the permanent collection of the SFMOMA. Selected works from his permanent collection were featured as the inaugural exhibition of the new addition of the design department at the grand opening of the SFMOMA.

Yagi’s achievents stem from his unique approach to design and his inspirations from nature. His skills, values and cultural sensitivity create the foundation for his acclaimed career. Yagi’s design work is a singular fusion of east and west, an uncommon blend of Japanese sensibilities and California vitality that is both studied and spontaneous. Yagi makes extensive use of visual symbols which have traditionally had a greater importance in the east, and intuitively applies this cultural understanding to create designs that transcend language in their ability to communicate ideas. Through his lens, colors and textures derived from nature are synthesized to create new forms. By his hand, new applications of old techniques create extraordinary objects from ordinary materials.

Tamotsu Yagi Design is currently based in Venice, Los Angeles California and continues to work on a diverse range of creative projects internationally.