“stereo-tennis”

Graphic designer

The color wizard behind 80s kawaii revival.

In her design career, “stereo-tennis” has become known for her wide genre coverage of graphics and artworks for DVDs and CDs, boldly using colorful visual techniques that were once popular in the 1980s. According to her, “Vibrant colors and an almost ugly kind of straightforward design typified the attractive power of the 80s. Since our present period is filled with subtler, more sophisticated designs, this type of spirited visual appears very new.” She also says, “There are rules for kawaii. For example, certain colors, like pink, yellow, and purple have to be combined and used in a particular order. If some colors are missing, it will never be kawaii. I have to use my intuition in determining good color coordination.” For stereo-tennis, kawaii means “a genre that cannot be expressed through words like cute, sweet, or pretty. The moment I see it, I should feel instantly invigorated and respond like… ‘Oh, that’s so kawaii.’ It should touch my heart. It doesn’t come from logic.”