Shunji Yamanaka | Shunji Yamanaka
Born in 1957. After graduating from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Tokyo, he worked as a car designer at Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. From 1991 to 1994, he served as an associate professor at the University of Tokyo. In 1994, he founded Leading Edge Design. Yamanaka is a product designer known for designing a wide range of products, including wristwatches, furniture, and railway vehicles. He has also collaborated with scientists to create advanced prototypes such as humanoid robots and 3D-printed prosthetic legs for athletes. Also, he is famous for designing the common user interface for IC card ticket gates, used nationwide in Japan. He became a professor at Keio University in 2008 and at the University of Tokyo in 2013. In 2023, he was awarded the title of the University Professor at the University of Tokyo. He has received numerous awards, including inclusion in the permanent collection of the New York MoMA, the Good Design Award Gold Prize, the Mainichi Design Award, and the Best of Bast of Red Dot Design Award, A’Design Platinum Awards and many others.