Selected Works
“(Fujita) distinguished himself by having a rigorous design objective. It was a kind of synthesis of Bauhaus principles and Japanese sensibility.”
— Milton Glaser
S. Neil Fujita, "What we obtain too cheaply we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be trange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly , 1952, gouache on paperboard, sheet: 21 1/8 x 18 in. (53.8 x 45.8 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Container Corporation of America, 1984.124.96
Container Corporation of America
Gold prize, New York Art Directors Club, 1953.
SContainer Corporation of America’s “Great Ideas of Western Man” advertising campaign was Herbert Beyer’s unique invention which took place from 1950 to 1975. This series of campaign paired prominent modern artists and designers, using quotes from philosophers, scientists, and politicians—this was a groundbreaking ad campaign, championing art and design beyond commercial communication. Fujita worked on this campaign in 1952, awarded gold medal from the New York Art Directors Club for excellence in typography, composition and aesthetic..
Sentinel
Volume I, number 1 of the Heart Mountain Sentinel, October 24, 1942. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Incarceration of Japanese Americans crushed many lives and dreams. Despite the disheartening condition, Japanese Americans in the camp thrived, building community in each camps. They established newspapers, markets, schools, and even police and fire departments. “Sentinel” was among those social activities in Heart Mountain Relocation Center. Fujita took the job as an art director for it, applying his drawing to newspaper as well.
Jazz album covers (Columbia Records)
Leading the art department of Columbia Records
With Fujita, Golden and Columbia hoped to keep pace with the pioneering graphic designs and illustrations being created by Reid Miles—a fellow Chouinard graduate—at Blue Note Records. Building on the work of Columbia‘s former art director, Alex Steinweiss, Fujita was challenged to transform album artwork; to replace the crude, workman-like illustrations announcing only the name of the artist and perhaps selected song titles with complementary and original works of arts that would better suit the modernist sounds Columbia was showcasing at the time.
Book covers, (title) logs
Trail blazing in graphic design
In the 1960s, Fujita would continue to push the envelope of design in the production of book jackets, from the funereal blood-drop cover to Truman Capote‘s In Cold Blood in 1966—to the perpetually-replicated and referenced type-face and hand-clutching-a-crucifix image for Mario Puzo‘s The Godfather in 1969, which was used again for the film franchise of the same name.
When Emmett Till Died
1955
Alongside the design works, S. Neil Fujita didn't lose passion for painting and drawing. 'When Emmett Till Died' was done in 1955, inspired by the actual event occured same year. Fujita was a compassionate man, never forgetting his lost fellow men in the frontline, people who are experiencing the oppression, fighting to overcome the prejudice.