“Nippower” (the most beautiful flag becomes the symbol of technology of the 70’s)

 

According to Daniele Cima, the most stylish and original flag is the Japanese one. Its severity, graphic cleanliness and simplicity, combined with the evocative power of the circle and with the force of the colours, make it a sublime pioneering interpretatio of van der Rohe’s concept of “Less is more”. It can be identified as a true immortal icon of design. By superimposing its pared-down design over the graphics of technical instruction manuals for Japanese products and blowing up both elements, Daniele Cima has created images that are a kind of “manifesto” of Japanese technology of the seventies, an age when Japan was at the forefront of trade in many areas, particularly electronics. This singular combination generates industrial-chic images, the emblems of a techno- culture that, seen through today’s eyes, surprises us with its ability to be both backdated and contemporary at the same time. “Nippower”, suspended between past and present, achieves a new “retro-modern” style that winks to the future.