Press Release
Silver A' Design Award in Print and Published Media Design Goes to TMD Journal Magazine by Tomohiro Kaji
Tomohiro Kaji of Tomodachi Ltd recognized for print and published media design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 28, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that TMD Journal Magazine by Tomohiro Kaji of Tomodachi Ltd, designed for Tomodachi Ltd., has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in the Print and Published Media Design category. The result belongs to the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who scored anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
About the Silver A' Design Award
The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.
More About TMD Journal Magazine
TMD Journal examines type design not as visual styling but as a structured system that organizes meaning. In response to the widespread use of digital fonts as surface level assets, the publication repositions typography as a medium for constructing thought and communication. Each chapter presents an original type system through its conceptual premise, structural logic and applied context, showing how typographic decisions translate into form and use. The journal provides a framework for understanding type as an active component in branding and communication.
About Tomohiro Kaji
Tomohiro Kaji is a former creative director for UNIQLO Co., Ltd. He graduated from Academy of Art University, San Francisco and joined UNIQLO Co., Ltd. in 2008 as the first graphic designer in its communications field. He’s built and managed an in-house creative team contributing global branding projects including HEATTECH and Ultra Light Down product branding, product marketing and digital integraded campaigns. He founded TOMODACHI Ltd. (https://tomodachiltd.com) in 2019, an independent creative agency to create art + strategy for branding, and became its representative director.
About Tomodachi Ltd
Art+Strategic creative agency from Kamakura, Japan.
Award Record
This recognition makes Tomohiro Kaji of Tomodachi Ltd a winner of 5 A' Design Awards. The awards were granted between the 2023 - 2024 and the 2025 - 2026 editions of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Print and Published Media Design Award
The A' Print Design Award is an international design competition recognizing good printed and published media by leading designers and brands worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to print designers, published media designers, graphic designers and typography experts from all countries. Typical entries include brochures, posters, magazines, catalogs, flyers and business cards. The awarded print designs are published at https://desingers.org/design-category/print
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://desingers.org/182054
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/182054
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!182054
- Laureate Profile: https://desingers.org/d/349316
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://tomodachiltd.com/
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- TMD Journal Magazine
- Function
- Magazine
- Category
- Print and Published Media Design
- Discipline
- Communication Design
- Industry
- Branding & Advertising and Entertainment
- Colors
- Tomato, White, Coral, Light Salmon and Gainsboro
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Tomodachi Ltd.
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Tomohiro Kaji
- Country
- Japan
- Brand
- Tomodachi Ltd
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #182054
Credits
- Team
- Tomohiro Kaji, Ivan Persoglia
- Image Credits
- Images: Tomodachi Ltd
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- TMD Journal positions typefaces as systems that organise meaning rather than visual styles. Each typeface is examined through its conceptual premise, structural logic and applied context within a unified publication. By combining original type development with editorial analysis, the journal establishes a framework where typography is not presented as form, but understood as a system that shapes communication, identity and interpretation.
- Inspiration
- In the digital era, typefaces are increasingly consumed as visual surfaces detached from the ideas they were originally designed to express. Historically, typography functioned as a medium for structuring thought and communication. This project begins with a question: can type operate again as a system that carries meaning rather than appearance. Drawing from typographic history and calligraphic traditions, TMD Journal reconsiders the role of type as an active structure within communication.
- Research
- Type of Research Practice based research in typographic systems and communication design Objective To examine how typefaces construct meaning and function within branding and editorial contexts Methodology Comparative analysis of historical typography and experimental type development Process and Tools Archival references, typographic specimens and digital type design software Outcome A publication demonstrating how typographic structure influences communication Impact Provides a framework for integrating typography into branding systems
- Challenge
- The primary challenge was translating conceptual typographic research into a coherent editorial system. Typefaces informed by historical structures needed to function within a contemporary format while maintaining clarity and usability. Balancing conceptual depth with readability required continuous iteration. Maintaining consistency across multiple type systems while preserving their individual logic was critical to achieving both coherence and distinction.
- Realization and Technology
- The publication is constructed as a sequence of chapters, each dedicated to a distinct type system. The editorial structure follows a consistent progression from concept to structure to application. This method translates abstract typographic ideas into a readable system, allowing relationships between design decisions and communication outcomes to become visible through use rather than explanation.
- Operation and Interaction
- The journal is read sequentially through chapters, each focusing on a typeface. Readers move from conceptual explanation to structural breakdown and then to application examples. This structure allows readers to actively understand how typographic decisions influence meaning, shifting the experience from passive viewing to analytical reading.
- Project Duration and Location
- The typefaces were developed between March 2023 and September 2025. Editorial research and design were conducted in parallel. The journal was completed and published in November 2025 in Kamakura, Japan.
- Specifications
- 210 × 297 mm (A4) 52 pages
- Keywords
- Typography, Editorial Design, Type Design, Print Publication, Typographic Research, Visual Communication, Branding System, Independent Publishing, Communication Design, Design Systems
