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The bright green cover of “Shukyu Magazine 1” features a grid of four images. The “Roots Issue” includes a football, a portrait of a person in a suit, a person in a tracksuit, and an aerial view of a stadium.

An innovative approach to football mag design for Japanese publication Shukyu

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Date
29 October 2015

With beautiful full bleed images, a bold design approach and some almost Kandinsky-like illustrated elements, football magazine Shukyu takes a refreshing approach to creating a mag about the beautiful game. Sent into us by editor Kohei Ito, the only snag is that it’s all in Japanese. But the imagery more than speaks for itself, taking centre stage against a pitch green and white colour palette. Art directed by So Hashizume and overseen by editor-in-chief Takashi Ogami, this is the mag’s launch issue. Focusing on the roots of the game, there are some lovely features on the origins of the ball itself, including a photo essay on “the birth of football.”

An open book shows a spread of illustrations and a photograph. The left page features grey abstract shapes on a green and pink background with the Japanese text “いたい!”. The right page is bright blue and contains an x-ray of a foot alongside similar grey shapes.
Above

Shukyu Issue 1

An open book displays a collage of vintage Japanese football magazine covers. The right page features a black header that reads “The Origin of Japanese Football Journal” and “Photography by Gottinghamham”.
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Shukyu Issue 1

An open book featuring a minimalist illustration across two pages. A green page shows a line drawing of a figure with the number “10”, while the opposite white page contains a spotted circular shape and Japanese text that reads “しゅーと!”.
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Shukyu Issue 1

An open book shows a photograph of a person wearing an Adidas football shirt and shorts, looking upwards with a joyful expression. A large analogue clock hangs on the wall behind them. The opposite page features the title “Siegerflieger” and the credit “by Juergen Teller”.
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Shukyu Issue 1

An open book shows two photographs side by side on a white spread. The left image shows a child with their hands on their cheeks in a shocked expression, while the right image shows a group of people gathered around a table. The word “Siegerflieger” is printed at the bottom of both pages.
Above

Shukyu Issue 1

An open magazine spread features a collage of abstract shapes, textures and scribbled lines. The left page reads “CEPHALOPODS by The Simple Society” above a line drawing of a face.
Above

Shukyu Issue 1

An open book shows a double-page spread featuring a crowd of people in hoodies and jackets. White text on the left page reads “The Birth of Football” and “Photography by Keijiro Kai”.
Above

Shukyu Issue 1

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About the Author

Emily Gosling

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Emily joined It’s Nice That as Online Editor in the summer of 2014 after four years at Design Week. She is particularly interested in graphic design, branding and music. After working It's Nice That as both Online Editor and Deputy Editor, Emily left the company in 2016.

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