Graphic Journey Blog

Greetings

To all my readers and passers-by, have a very safe time wherever you may be.

Jenny Frean: A kaleidoscope of colour

This is Jenny Frean RDI, the award-winning British textile designer.
I had the great pleasure of recording an interview with her last month about her life and work. It's a delightful story.

Here is a tiny sampling of her work.

To hear the interview click HERE.

THANK YOU

To all who have dropped by over the past twelve months. May your year ahead be happy and healthy.

Thank you.

Georgina von Etzdorf: A kaleidoscope of colour

I make no bones about this post: it’s a plug for my dear friend Georgina von Etzdorf. She is a wonderful textile designer – her use of silk jacquard, velvet and chiffon with vibrant swirls, diamonds and stars, plus splashes of emotional intensity, singles her out as special. She works the fabric into scarves, ties, gloves, dressing gowns, blouses, waistcoats, etc. Over the years, through her company GvE&Co, she has sprinkled her magic on everyone from rock stars to royalty, all falling in love with her creations. She has a natural intuition when it comes to colour combinations and employs them where others would fear to tread, with her stunning results attracting followers from around the world. In 1997 she was made an RSA Royal Designer for Industry.

The Malaga retreat

The combination of an economic downturn and misfortune forced GvE&Co to temporarily close. In recent years, Georgina has spent a lot of time at her farmhouse high in the hills above Malaga, Spain, reassessing her life and work. Inspired by the landscape and changing seasons, she has been consumed by painting. Out of this extended sojourn have come many new ideas.

Work jacket with a twist

In 2013, Georgia collaborated with fashion designer Margaret Howell to create a shirt. It was an interesting proposition to harness the relative calm of Howell and the exuberance of von Etzdorf. The result was not a shirt but an almost wartime, utilitarian, genderless, hardwearing work jacket (above) with subtle flashes of colour in the edge piping. Margaret Howell recalls:

“When Georgina came through the door of our studio clutching a packet of West Country biscuits and an old pyjama jacket, her face beaming, brimming with enthusiasm, I realised little had changed since I first met her at her degree show in 1977. I was impressed then by her colours and painterly approach.”

In 2017, von Etzdorf reconnected with her old creative partner Jonathan Docherty to re-energise GvE&Co with a new range of textile designs, which were applied to a limited range of exquisite products – from cushions and rugs to pillows and robes. And if you want to understand the sensual delights of wearing the most perfect silk, you can’t beat this review from GvE&Co fan Coco Campbell...

Coco, experiencing the silkiest of silky moments, twice over.

“My dressing gown is, without doubt, the singular most glorious piece of clothing I own. As well as floating around in it at any given opportunity at home, I also wear it out – leather belted as a dress. Any excuse to have that silk against my skin and to show off the stunning print and impossibly beautiful colours. I have never felt sexier than when wearing it. I have never had more flattering comments than when wearing it. It’s like discovering a delicious secret that makes me gasp and gives me nothing but joy.”

Cotton velvet cushions and woven wool rugs

What makes GvE&Co’s products so special is the stunning printing techniques, developed through continual experimentation over many years and always used on the most beautiful fabrics. Her new range is now available to see and purchase from the new GvE&Co website at the foot of this post.

Limited edition 'Poppy' giclee print -1977/1981

Here’s Georgina in a recent interview with Annabel Ross, broadcaster and creator of the blog ‘Messages from the Wild’ HERE.

And if you enjoyed that one, here’s a far longer recording made for my RDInsight series when I visited Georgina in Spain a few years ago. It’s a jolly good story about success and failure with a lot of laughs along the way, as there is always a sense of fun leaching below the surface with Georgina. To hear the interview, click HERE.

And for more information about GvE&Co here is the new website: click HERE.

David Gentleman: My Town

David Gentleman RDI. Photo by © Antonio Olmos

David Gentleman has long been a hero of mine ever since the nursery slopes of my design career. His all-round ability as illustrator, designer, engraver and writer is breathtaking. For me on discovering his work back in the 1960s, he appeared a rather aloof character being distanced from hubbub and hype of design associations like the Chartered Society of designers or D&AD. He seemed to hover above those competitive worlds.  But I noted that he had the letters RDI after his name, I had no idea what that was.

Little did I know that many years later I would finally meet David on the occasion of my becoming an RDI (Royal Designer for Industry). Since that time I have had the pleasure of knowing him, written about and recorded an interview with him (Link below). My early imaginings of his aloofness were completely unfounded. If anything he has that English shyness and modestly that resists the notion of being praised, in a wold of hubris it is a rarity these days. But for me, his work speaks loud and proud, he doesn't need to say a thing.

The jacket and binding case (below).

Last week saw the publication of his new book My Town: An Artists Life in London. It features the everyday goings-on in a town he has lived in and loved all his life. Captured with his beautiful black ink pen line overlayed with the most watery of watercolour it captures the seven decades of his 90 years on this planet. His 90th birthday coincided with the publication of the book. It's a delight.

Hear my interview with David Gentleman RDI HERE

Season's Greetings!

A Chinese cracker: The Farewell

It amazes me at just how often trailers can put you off a film. I caught one for the 'The Farewell' last week at my local, and in those three minutes of a smorgasbord of scenes it alluded to a cute, sentimental, feelgood, saccharine looking tale. So, I avoided it.

But I went after all last night and it turned out to be a beautifully crafted, funny, tender and thought-provoking story, written and directed by Lulu Wang, and is an autobiographical tale about her grandmother.

It centres on Billi, excellently played by Awkwafina, a first-generation Chinese immigrant having moved from China to New York as a six-year-old with her parents, leaving behind her much loved grandmother Nai Nai (Zhao Shuzhen).

Now in her mid-twenties Billi is a feisty, opinionated, free-spirited American, far removed from the Chinese culture of her parents. All three have embraced American citizenship with few Chinese friends. But Billi maintains close links with her grandmother Nai Nai via regular phone calls to China during which Nai Nai fields endless directives, " - are you wearing a hat, eating properly, wrapped up warm, is there a special person in your life?" These calls are a way for Billi to hold on to those special memories shared at her grandmothers as a six-year before being whisked away by her parents to the US to find work.

This is how we are introduced to the two main characters, with Billi striding through the frenetic streets of New York chatting on her mobile, while in Changchun, China Nai Nai sits with her mobile in a hospital waiting area, something that she doesn't let on to Billi. But we see that she has undergone tests for something sinister.

Later Billi walks into a silent atmosphere of her parents flat and finds her dad sitting motionless with his head facing the wall. She demands to know what is going on, thinking it must be divorce on the cards. Her emotional father tells Billi that his aunt has phoned to inform him that Nai Nai has cancer with 6 months to live. But the diagnosis has been kept from Nai Nai, common practice in China not to reveal this sort of information to an elderly parent.

Meanwhile, in Changcurn, the wider family members have concocted a fake wedding to get the whole family together to see Nai Nai before she dies. She is oblivious to the subdiffusion, believing she is fine health. And so as the matriarch of the family, Nia Nai takes on the responsibility of negotiating and organising the marriage party, just the way she wants it in true Chinese fashion.

Billi's parents have agreed to fly to Changcurn to take part in the fake marriage event and attempts to dissuade Billi from going, for fear that she will spill the beans to Nai Nai about her condition. But they fail in their attempt and there is no stopping her.

From then on the action transfers to the sprawling mass of Changcurn, with its endless concrete shoddily built highrise dwellings. Lulu Wang uses the camera to make non-verbal criticisms about the country of her distant childhood where there were once trees, gardens and fields, now long swept away by so-called progress and an ever-expanding population.

We are thrown into Chinese family life with the endless round of gargantuan eating, with all the women sharing the task of preparing food in the ingrained collective fashion, while the men drink beer and smoke. Nia Nai is at the centre of things fussing over Billi, forcing her to eat more and take exercise, something she does herself every day. The family chat, laugh and argue but all the time suppressing their truce sadness for being there. The finale is the most vulgar wedding party, with karaoke, emotional speeches, dancing, party games and morose drunkenness. and another of Lulu Wang non-verbal comments. throughout the party we see a small obese boy wandering around the party glued to his mobile, completely disengaged from those around him.

And all the time Billi has the bursting urge to tell Nia Nia the truth. She takes the microphone and instead makes an emotional statement of love for her grandmother. The next day Nia Nia is rushed to hospital. Everyone attends and she shrugs it off as a slight cold.

Eventually it is time for Billi and her parents to return to the US and there is a touching scene where Nia Nia wishes them a safe journey and Billi silently holds on to her, head buried in her shoulder, The family drives away and Billi watches Nia Nia standing upright and proud in the road, as she fades away in the rear window. We momentarily see Nia Nia bowing her head in a very controlled display of emotion. Lulu Wang manages to avoid the film falling into sentimentality.

But there is a delightful twist in the tail, that I won't spoil for you. Go and see it yourself, and whatever you do, don't watch the crappy trailer.

 

Drink me: Perception and reality

Have you noticed how the alternative world of food packaging? By alternative, I mean all the new-fangled drinks now available to replace cow’s milk.

The 1950s when all school children had their daily bottle of milk.

When I was a child in the 1950s, milk was an everyday occurrence at all schools. Each day, we sat at our desks, making as much noise as possible, sucking on the paper straws to hoover up the dregs at the bottom of the bottle. We would then fashion the foil tops into flying saucers, zinging them around the classroom. Many years later, when Margaret Thatcher became Education Secretary in the Heath government, she stopped free school milk, prompting the classroom taunt “Thatcher, Thatcher, the milk snatcher”. Two decades later, she regretted her decision. Too late, Margaret.

Back in the 1950s, no one seemed to have ‘intolerances’ – or at least no one mentioned it. At the age of seven became a vegetarian after struggling with the whole concept of eating animals, and most of what I was forced to put in my mouth later went down the loo in secret. 

But here we are in 2019 when everyone seems to have allergies or sensitivities or to be seeking alternatives for health reasons. And that brings me to the many non-dairy replacements for traditional milk. We have almond, coconut, soy, rice, oat, hemp, cashew, hazelnut, macadamia and quinoa, and the list seems to lengthen every time I visit the supermarket. 

The trailblazers Innocent in their grass-covered van.

In 1999, that quirky little setup called Innocent appeared with their “nothing added, just fruit” concept. They buzzed around London in a grass-covered van, promoting their fruit smoothies. The graphics and packaging had a DIY feel, and the product copy was friendly, funny and, above all, witty. The product took off, the company grew, and everyone loved it. Innocent, in turn, interacted with their fans and had AGMs like a happy family fun day. Then they sold part of the company to Coca-Cola – not a producer of healthy products and implicated in increased obesity and tooth decay. Eventually, Innocent became 90% owned by Coca-Cola, and no doubt, the three founders are sitting pretty. Lucky them. Coca-Cola has expanded the Innocent range and produced bigger bottles. The one-time cute little company is now a cog in a big conglomerate machine.

Innocent's an expanded range, bigger bottles, more profits and more plastic.

Innocent had well and truly established a new way of marketing products to an increasingly health-conscious public, but on a more in-depth investigation, the perception and the reality were often at odds. Magazines started to point out that Innocent-tagged ‘healthy’ products were not so healthy, giving the example of their 250 ml bottle of pomegranate, blueberry and acai smoothie with a sugar content equivalent of three and a half glazed doughnuts (171 kcal and 34.3 g of sugar).

In 2007, Innocent was found guilty of making false health statements and for misrepresenting their carbon footprint claims, so not so innocent after all.

Over the past decade, all sorts of smoothies have crowded onto the supermarket shelves, trying to out-Innocent Innocent. Now we have the ever-increasing phenomenon of dairy-free alternatives. What interests me is their presentation through the graphics and copy.

When these products started to appear nationally, the front-runner was Alpro – they were everywhere. The packaging was and still is horrible, but I continued to buy the product. They are always on all the shelves but now having to rub shoulders with an expanding market of newbies. Take a look.

Oatly is everywhere.

I have tried many of the new arrivals and settled on the Oatly oat milk, the 'Barista'version because it froths up so well for my coffee. The consciously naive style of the design, with its foundation-course-style linocuts, hand lettering and wittily written copy seems to hit a more emotive note for its audience and was created by the brand, design and marketing consultancy Big Fish.

And their ads make for an amusing read.

Looking at the packaging, I imagined some little startup working out of an old farm building somewhere in deepest Dorset. Not a bit of it: Oatly is, in fact, older than Innocent and founded in Sweden, and supply their products to 20 countries throughout Europe and Asia. So clearly not the little operation I had imagined, or rather what the packaging had primed me for. But on the environmental front, they are keen to enable a potential 80 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions by convincing all the coffee shops to use Oatly Barista in place of cow's milk. We'll see.

Moo Dairy's attempt to make their packaging look friendly.

Arla's attempt at blending into the health arena.

The whole of Rude Heath's range is utterly banal. 

Another newcomer, the Good Hemp company is a little closer to my original imagined vision of messing around in barns and farm kitchens to produce a product. And it turns out to be true (well, so their web site says). Farmers Henry and Glyn experimented with various concoctions, from their hemp seed harvest making oils and salad dressings. They then hit on the idea of creating hemp seed milk. Oddly, when introduced last October, their packaging looked like this:

It was very dull and predictable. But hay presto earlier this year they switched to this.

All hand-lettered and looking like the work of Marion Deuchars? 

Big Fish has given Good Hemp the Oatly's treatment. Once again, it has the DIY style with friendly, conversational copy and an emphasis on saving the planet. Their website packed with facts about the founders’ passion and desire to be good citizens. No doubt if they are as successful as Innocent, the big corporate sharks will sniff them out and make them an offer they can't refuse.

Sproud is another Swedish company and has given its product a more modernist feel. It's none dairy, non-gluten and none soy. Made from the pea, is non-GMO and doesn't contain cholesterol or allergens, and low in sugar and fat.
 

A non-emotional, pharmaceutical design approach to a health product. 

It seems these days anything with 'Wellbeing' attached to foods or drinks there has to be an 'Our story' dimension. Remember Deliciously Ella? Well, an almost identical backstory is attached to the Good Mylk Co. It was created by Brooke Rewa while battling food-related health issues. She started concocting juices and almond milk in her kitchen. By drinking her creation, she healed herself as so started 'sharing' it at farmers markets where it received instant success. Her product is now available in the chicest LA coffee shops. 

For those wanting to do away with cooking altogether, Huel is the one for you.

It is a high-protein, plant-based liquid meal, again packaged with a minimalist clinical feel, and designed for those obsessive gym dwellers without a millimetre of fat on their tight, tanned bodies.

 

With all this heightened activity on the 'health' drinks front the old frontrunner, Alpro has just changed its packaging too, as they put it "... a more contemporary look and logo, Alpro’s redesigned product range boast hand-crafted illustrations and front-of-pack nutrition labelling for the first time". But they have still managed to make the packs incredibly dull and no doubt designed by committee with very little evidence of hand-craftedness.

At every turn in the supermarket, there is yet another new product transmitting, 'I am healthy, buy me'.

There was a time in the 80s and 90s when British packaging was surprising and meticulously crafted with design consultancies like Lewis Moberly leading the pack (no pun intended). But all the excess and care of that period has long gone, and these days you have to look carefully before you you can spot anything of real merit. 

I first recall being attracted to Dove Farm when spotting this delightful logo.

 

But the Dove Farm Organics range is undoubtedly one of them. They've been around for a while and yet another company with a 'story'. Founders Clare and Michael Marriage sowed their first seeds in 1977 with the simple idea of making excellent quality flour from their grains. There is no faux naivety about the design of the packaging for their products; it is individual, calm, confident, considered well crafted and charming. 

 

This Dove Farm's flour range puts me in mind of two mid-20th-century greats, David Gentleman and his classic BBC & Broadcast stamps of 1972, and the work of American designer/illustrator Arnold Varga.

 

 

David Gentleman's 1972 BBC & Broadcast stamps for Royal Mail. 

 

London based Studio H designed the range. I think they are the most innovative packaging design consultancy working in the UK at the moment. They have a distinctive fresh style and seem to have attached clients that don't want their customers treated like numb skulls. The Living Food Kitchen is another of Studio H's clients. It has created this elegant solution for these health drinks along with their work for Pure Swiss yoghurt. 

 

The Living Food Kitchen another perfectly balanced range designed by Studio H.

 

Studio H's design for Pure Swiss hits just the right note of minimalism with charm.

 

Meanwhile, the rest of the market is a sea of mediocrity with badly plagiarised styles from the likes of Big Fish and Studio H. 

 

Above Sainbury's unsuccessful attempt at apeing the Dove Farm's style

Even the giant Kellogs are attempting to soften their image with a bit of hand lettering. 

 

And the old stalwart Quaker has joined the shelves with a health-conscious makeover.

 

Next time you are wandering around the supermarket try to seek out the truth of all this marketing aimed at you.

Japan jottings: A designer's paradise

I first visited Japan three years ago. I was entranced by everything about it. For a designer, it is an inspiration. So, when the opportunity arose again, there was only one answer: when can we go?

The delightful ANA flight attendants

I'm very lucky that I have a Japanese daughter-in-law, Chieko – my own guide and demystifier of all things Japanese. From the moment we boarded the ANA flight to Tokyo at Heathrow, Japan started. Welcoming us aboard the aircraft, the immaculately turned-out air hostesses, with hair tied back into tight buns, gentle smiles and hands clasped in front of them, bowed and say “Konnichiwa”. As if by magic, you are 40,000 feet up in the air, heading east, leaving the brashness of London behind and speeding towards the land of the rising sun.

I am breaking down my jottings under simple headings.

The people
Their beauty, politeness, grace and consideration for others are striking. They don't raise their voices; if they have a cold, they wear a mask; and at stations, passengers queue on marked platform lines, not the free-for-all that we have in the UK. Tipping in Japan is considered demeaning, so that's a little issue you don't have to fret over. In Japanese stores, you receive the best service I have ever experienced. You're not hounded, but the staff are there when you need them, always with utter politeness. Plus you never enter a house without first removing your shoes. In the UK and most other countries, no one seems to care about what is being brought into the house on their shoes, and people are happy to let their toddlers crawl around on their hands and knees. This devotion to cleanliness starts at school where pupils sweep and clean their classrooms at the end of the day. Try that in the UK and there would be instant litigation. So, very quickly, you are totting up the brownie points when comparing Japan with life in the UK.

The navy blue office outfit worn by thousands of women everyday.

What is also striking is that there is a strict dress code for corporate office workers: dark-coloured suits, always with a tie for the men. Women wear neat black close-fitting jackets and skirts, along with crisp white blouses and low-heeled black shoes.

 Japanese employees wear their uniforms with great pride.

And from railway workers to refuge collectors, there are specific uniforms – always worn with pride and neatly turned out. Many of the utility, delivery and food outlets favour American-style workwear brandishing patched logos. And the police look like US cops.

And it all starts at school with 'Ginza' school uniforms based on early naval and military dress.

Meanwhile, the schoolgirls wear tartan kilts, white button-down Oxford cotton shirts, knee-length socks and penny loafers. Others wear the more-traditional sailor-style tops. They can be seen everywhere chatting, laughing and stopping at the many colourful street market ice cream or sweet stalls.

Food & drink
This is one of the most important things in Japanese life: everyone takes it very seriously.

Food, conversation and togetherness are an essential part of Japanese life.

And in Hirokazu Kore-eda delightful film Our Little Sister food was a central theme.

The preparation and presentation are art forms in their own right. The table quickly fills with small bowls of various foods, a great deal of which is fish based and raw or marinated. And depending on the kind of establishment, you could be sitting on cushions on the floor or at an equally low table with a cut-out well below to put your legs. Now, I have to come clean here: I have been a vegetarian since the age of seven, and that includes most fish, so all that beautifully prepared and presented food was completely wasted on me. On both visits, I struggled, and unless you are a Buddhist monk, you won't find much vegetarian food around. Beer is the norm to accompany food, followed by sake. The Japanese office workers tend to endure long days and after work, they populate the many bars and restaurants to unwind, drinking and eating till late, often falling asleep on the metro home.

Architecture
What is immediately striking is the sheer density of the buildings in the city, spilling out into the endless suburbs. The land is very expensive; consequently, the living space is far less than we have in the UK. Apparently, the life of a building in Japan is around 20 to 30 years. Historic temples are the exception, but everything else is up for grabs on the planning front, and it all looks rather uncontrolled and chaotic.

If you can't build horizontally then go vertical. In Japan anything seems possible, even on a stamp size plot like this one in Tokyo, designed by Tsutomu Matsuno and Kumi Aizawa. 

Many clean lined, modernist pieces of architecture use cast concrete as the material of choice, as in this shop in Kyoto. But they often echo the traditional elements of older buildings, as the one below.

Above: one of the tea rooms at the  Daisen-In Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto. Timeless beauty and simplicity. 

A typical new build, and rather bland looking house in Kyoto.

Many international architects have cut their teeth on initially designing buildings for Japan because there is less hassle in getting innovative concepts through planning, with many modernist examples dotted all over Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto, the three cities I visited while there. Once you travel into the suburbs, the roads become extremely narrow, with houses and flats rubbing shoulders amidst a tangle of overhead cables and train crossings. And there seem to be Coca-Cola vending machines on every street corner. You look around and you've been metamorphosed into a Studio Ghibli animated film as laughing school kids with backpacks and cyclists holding umbrellas pass by.

A typical suburban street in Osaka

Traditional Japanese architecture has always been a key inspiration for many of the most renowned international architects, both past and present. And when you visit the many temples and tea houses, you are struck by their utter simplicity: exquisitely crafted with a timeless look and feel, they are a wonder of construction and perfection.

Kengo Kuma's design for the Nezu Museum in Tokyo

The Japanese have also had their brutalist architectural moments, as here with this sinister looking building in Kyoto. Cast concrete is still the favoured material for many Japanese architects.

Key Japanese architects include the great Tadao Ando and Kengo Kuma. Kuma designed the Nezu Museum in Tokyo, and is a beautiful example of honouring the Japanese tradition in a contemporary manner.

Windows in traditional Japanese buildings are all about the view, as here at Daisen-In Zen Buddhist temple in Murasakino ,Kyoto.

Gardens
Most people have seen the great gardens of Kyoto. Monty Don had a wonderful BBC series recently. But in reality, they are breathtaking: exquisite examples of painstaking planning, work and constant maintenance to create perfection that looks totally natural.

Azaleas in bloom lead the way to the gardens at Nezu Museum in Kyoto.

Above just a tiny sampling of the Imperial Palace gardens in Kyoto.

My grandaughter Yoko at the Imperial Palace.

The placing of everything in a Japanese garden is about the balance of the elements in order to create a mini landscape of contemplation. What is a delight is how the heritage of classic Japanese garden design continues in every little scrap of land in a domestic setting.

No matter how small, Japanese gardens adhere to tradition.

Even shops.

My daughter in laws parent's garden in Osaka.

It is frowned upon if you don't maintain your garden within the accepted rules. And the Japanese are an obedient race and really do adhere to the rules. But there is no doubt that they love their gardens, and the cherry blossom season and the golden hues of the fall are national outings for thousands of Japanese people.

Fashion
This is a very interesting mix of things. On the one level, traditional clothes are still very evident, especially with women. But the influence of the Americans following their occupation from 1945 until 1952 was significant. Baseball, basketball and golf all became adopted by the Japanese, and all the classic workwear described earlier is a staple for factory and utility staff. Everyday wear for men is clearly derived from the Ivy League and American sportswear look, which continues to this day. But the wearing of kimonos is still an everyday sight.

Along with modern jazz, young Japanese men in the 1960s fell in love with the American style known as 'Ivy League'.

 The style in Japan continues to this day with a companies like Beams (the above jacket available at £158), Muji and Uniqlo still following the  America look.

What a great look on this older guy.

Me on a train observing a group of traditionally dressed Japanese women.

Some garages are too small to house the small cars.

Cars/transport
I'm no petrolhead, but I have always had an interest in cars. As living space is, by necessity, very small, so too are the cars. I was amazed by the number of small Japanese cars that I'd never seen in the West – some were very cute-looking, while some of the larger vehicles were unbelievably ugly.

Japanese cars can be extremely ugly...

... and some incredibly cute.

And the trucks are pretty special.

And outside of Holland, I have never seen so many bicycles. Disconcertingly, they are allowed to cycle on the pavement, so it's a little hazardous for pedestrians.

Bikes are everywhere, including on the pavement.

The transport system is fast, super clean, air-conditioned and very punctual.

Top: Railway cleaners bow to customers after finishing their task, and below station staff thank their passengers for using the service. Can you imagine that happening on London Underground? 

And in addition to their famous high-speed bullet trains, they have the monorail system whizzing around the place. And where else in the world would the railroad staff bow to you when you leave the station? In Japan they do, and it is a delight.

Television
From what very little I watched, the TV seemed pretty dire, with many garish game shows with the screen filled up with multi-coloured Japanese typography. The news is delivered by the usual male/female duo but without the phoney banter, and it tends to be rather formal. But I didn't watch enough to determine if there were any more-esoteric stations.

Graphics
This is where the Japanese score high. Airport and railway signage is minimal and beautifully clear.

Above: examples of air and platform signage, rail maps and street totems

And they have always been masters of the pictogram. Wherever possible, they slip in charmingly witty logos, which they have a particular passion for.

This is the logo for a major courier company. The Japanese have a liking for cute animals and these types of logos are everywhere.

Beautiful tradition repeat pattern designs are used on containers.

These little hanging sheets are called a Noren. They can be seen outside shops, restaurants and houses. I loved them so much, that on my last trip to Japan, I hand one made for my home.

It says 'Come in'.

A very nice minimal poster on a bus shelter.

Even the graffiti is minimal and orderly, in the trendy Daikanyama area, with this space Invader tiled addition. 

Print production is particularly good, and paper is something that they have special expertise in. And if you are looking for books on graphic design, then there is no better place than Tsutaya bookstore in Daikanyama in Tokyo – it is the most wonderful store, stocked with everything under the sun.

Below is a beautiful giveaway leaflet that I picked up in the Tokyo Midtown shopping mall. i

A beautifully understated piece of graphics promoting a range of craft based designers, showing their work at Tokyo Midtown.  

A photograph from a series called 'Artisans' by Takuo Itayama, who had a show on in Tokyo.

This exquisite hand carved and painted traditional mask demonstrates the innate skill of Japanese craftspeople.

Music
In the UK, most coffee shops and restaurants insist on pumping out head-thumping rock or rap, making it impossible to have a civilised conversation without shouting. In similar outlets in Japan, it's a diet of calm, laid-back modern jazz – it's everywhere. Since the mid-1950s, the Japanese have had a love affair with modern jazz, and it is the perfect backdrop.

J-Pop group Tokyo Girls' Style.

On the pop front, there is J-pop, consisting of groups of very young Barbie-like girls dancing and singing hyper-cute songs in pink outfits against multi-colour fantasy sets. There are also metal and rap groups, if that takes your fancy, along with the usual music acts from the West. And there are many top-notch classical musicians and film composers like the great Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Safety
They say that Japan's only crime problem is too many police and not enough criminals.

They have these little shop like police stations dotted around the city, with a gallery of wanted photos and missing people.

What a luxury. Despite a 127 million population, the crime rate is very low, and there is a collective awareness of people’s safety. In bars, coffee shops and restaurants, baskets are provided to place your bags in so that they don't make contact with the dirty floor. The basket is placed at the side of the table. In the UK, this act would trigger a ready-made takeaway for thieves. Not in Japan. People leave their iPhones and laptops on the table when going to the loo. If a bag or wallet is lost in the street, it is highly likely that it will be handed into the local police station. As I write this, there have been four fatal stabbings in London – a form of attack that has escalated, with over 100 cases since January. The number of recorded crimes in Japan continues to decrease to a level unseen in the post-war period. That isn't to say there isn’t a darker side to Japan – there is – but according to Japanese government statistics, the arrest and conviction rate is extremely high. Japan is clearly a male-dominated society, and even though there is supposed to be increasing equality, women still earn salaries 27% below their male counterparts. And there is a lot of sexual abuse perpetrated on women, especially on crowded trains, so much so that there are now female-only carriages. So not all is wine and roses. But there is no doubt that Japan is one of the safest countries to visit, so they must be doing something right.

The future
What strikes you about Japan is, well, it's so Japanese. They have the ability to absorb things from other cultures without being overwhelmed and continue to maintain their unique character and culture. I can recall as a teenager that the view of the Japanese was that they were a nation of plagiarists. Not so. The Japanese have an uncanny ability to spot a product with flaws and improve it. Motorcycles are a classic example. During the ’40s and ’50s, Britain was a world leader in the manufacture of motorcycles. In the 1960s, the Japanese looked at our bikes and thought: a kick-start, that's crazy! They added a key turning system to solve that little issue. The idea was poo-pooed by the British – a big mistake. Very quickly, a range of motorcycles emanated from Japan, well made, reliable and cheaper, so our motorcycle industry was decimated. The Japanese went on to replicate this in improvements to cameras, electronics, trains and cars and have exceeded in innovation in all those areas and many new ones. But there is one area that may have a profound effect on the future of Japanese culture. It is an ageing population, and the birth rate has dramatically dropped. This means that there will be issues in many employment areas in the near future. Currently, only 1.99% of the population are foreigners. It will be necessary to attract far more from outside to settle in Japan. This will undoubtedly bring customs and cultures that could disrupt Japan's unique order of things. And much of what I have described in this post that makes Japan so unique and delightful could fade. I sincerely hope not.

We finally speed off back to Tokyo airport on the immaculately clean, air conditioned and punctual monorail. 

The phrase ' You could eat off the floor' comes to mind.

And finally, not to end on a bum note...
If you have never had the TOTO loo experience, you are in for a treat.

An array of possibilities for your visit to the smallest room.

Japanese loo seats are heated, and when you have finished your business, there are a series of sprays to clean your bottom, followed by a warm air dryer. It is absolute bliss, and with a book to read, you could camp out all day away from the heat and bustle.

And then suddenly, I'm back it London, in the mist of rush hour on a hot, overcrowded tube. The magic is over - until the next time, Sayōnara.