Born in Tokyo in 1956, Kazuo Tanaka is the President of GK Design Group, which was founded in 1952 and is the comprehensive freelance design office in Japan. In 1981, Tanaka graduated from the School of Design of the Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts where he majored in industrial design (MA). In 2005, he was appointed to the Director of Sign and Street Furniture for the EXPO Aichi, Japan project. He has been a juror for: the Good Design Award during 2003-2009, the Red Dot Award in 2008, the Braun Prize in 2009, the iF design award China 2009, the 2010 Australian International Design Awards, the Red Dot Design Award : Design Concept 2010. Member of International Advisory Committee of WDC SEOUL 2010. Director of the Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization (JIDPO). Since being elected as a board member of Icsid in 2007, he has been widening his activities internationally.
The foundation of GK Design Group dates back to 1952. Beginning mainly with industrial design, it is currently covering wider professional services ranging from architectural and environmental design, graphic design to interaction design. In addition, the service is distinctive with consistent works from research, development plan to provision of information. Centered by GK Design Group Incorporated, GK Design Group is composed of seven domestic companies and 4 companies abroad, and has been active in every day works with international views.
Since its foundation, the Group has been supported by activities with 3 principal nature. The activities are categorized into "business," "movement," "research," and the 3 in combination have been relating GK widely to society. The "business" is activities to let people benefit with what design benefit, the "movement" is activities to propagate design's social meaning and roles in comprehensible manners and the "research" is activities to prove the universality of design to people. As a creative entity of design, GK Design Group has been making effort, by honing its professional capability through organized creativity, confidence and cooperation among group companies, to materialize the future with design.
