Biography
Kouzou Sakai is an award-winning, Japan-based Illustrator who began in academia, graduating in Animal Science and Biotechnology before entering the illustration industry. His affinity for nature is unquestionable in his portrayal of people, plants and animals in a wide variety of fantastical environments. He creates everything from mysterious, surreal worlds to clear and conceptual information graphics for his clients. Kouzou uses thoughtful colour palettes combined with beautiful textures to create serene and conceptual atmospheric illustrations that have made him a popular choice for editorial features, scientific journals, advertising campaigns, magazines, and publishing alike.
Kouzou is represented worldwide by Folio illustration agency.
To discuss commissions or image licensing, please contact Folio.
Folio Illustration
www.folioart.co.uk
info@folioart.co.uk
+44 (0)20 7242 9562
Kouzou Sakaiは、日本を拠点とする受賞歴のあるイラストレーターです。イラストレーション業界に入る以前は、大学で動物科学とバイオテクノロジーを専攻し、学位を取得しました。多様な幻想的な環境の中で描かれる人物、植物、動物からは、彼の自然への深い親和性がはっきりと見て取れます。彼は、神秘的でシュールな世界から、明快でコンセプチュアルな情報グラフィックにいたるまで、クライアントの要望に応じたあらゆる作品を手がけています。熟考された配色と美しい質感を組み合わせ、静謐でコンセプチュアルな雰囲気を持つイラストを生み出すその作風は、特集記事、科学雑誌、広告キャンペーン、出版物など、幅広い分野で高い評価を得ています。
Selected clients
Amazon, Apple, BBC, Carrefour, Coca-Cola, Condé Nast, Forbes, McDonald’s, Monocle, Nature, New York Times, Wired and more.
Awards
3×3 Professional Show No.23 / Merit / USA / 2026
3×3 Professional Show No.22 / Merit / USA / 2025
American Illustration 44 / Chosen Winner / USA / 2025
3×3 Professional Show No.18 / Merit / USA / 2021
World Illustration Awards / Longlist / UK / 2020
3×3 Professional Show No.17 / Merit / USA / 2020
World Illustration Awards / Highly Commended / UK / 2019
3×3 Professional Show No.15 / Merit / USA / 2018
Work experience
｢Nestgov/FCW｣ Magazine / Government Media Executive Group LLC. / USA / 2023-2026
｢Forbes JAPAN｣ Business magazine / ATOMIXMEDIA Inc. / Japan / 2017-2026
｢Saga magazine｣ Lifestyle magazine / Saga Publishing Limited / UK / 2026
｢Beyond the Firewall｣ Report / ISTARI / UK / 2026
｢Genentech｣ Science media / Genentech inc. / USA / 2021-2026
｢SIMONS FOUNDATION｣ Science media / Simons Foundation / USA / 2025-2026
｢WINTER 2026 The Cardinal｣ School magazine / The Catholic University of America / USA / 2026
｢The New York Times｣ News media / The New York Times Company / USA / 2021-2025
｢nature｣ Science magazine / Nature Publishing Group / UK / 2017-2025
｢The Texas Scientist｣ Science magazine / The University of Texas at Austin / US / 2025
｢PRINCETON ENGINEERING｣ Science media / The Trustees of Princeton University / US / 2025
｢RESEARCH｣ Science magazine / Thomas Jefferson University / US / 2025
｢Radio Times｣ Magazine / Immediate Media Co. / UK / 2017-2025
｢5280｣ Magazine / 5280 Publishing, Inc. / USA / 2021-2025
｢Decanter｣ Magazine / Future plc / UK / 2025
｢E+T Magazine｣ Magazine / The Institution of Engineering and Technology / UK / 2025
｢POPEYE Web｣ Web contents / Magazine house, ltd. / Japan / 2024-2025
｢Quanta Magazine｣ Science media / Simons Foundation / USA / 2022-2025
｢HuffPost｣ News media / BuzzFeed, Inc / USA / 2024
｢Monocle｣ Culture magazine / Monocle / UK / 2016-2024
｢Runner’s World｣ Sports magazine / Rodale, Inc. / USA / 2008-2024
｢The Review｣ Financial magazine / CISI / UK / 2024
｢Aiglon magazine 22｣ School magazine / Aiglon College / CH / 2024
｢POPEYE｣ Magazine / Magazine house, ltd. / Japan / 2024
｢THE SCIENCE OF BIRDSONG｣ Annual alumni magazine / The Jackson School of Geosciences / USA / 2024
｢THE TRANSMITTER｣ Science media / Simons Foundation / USA / 2024
｢Mortlach Whisky｣ Package / Diageo plc / UK / 2023
｢Ascend｣ Web contents / Harvard Business Publishing / USA / 2023
｢The Report on Cyber Resilience｣ Report / ISTARI / UK / 2023
｢Cell Reports Methods｣ Science magazine / Cell Press / USA / 2023
｢Haymarket｣ Web contents / Haymarket Media Group / UK / 2023
｢ByFaith｣ Quarterly magazine / METALEAP CREATIVE / USA / 2022
｢Resources｣ Magazine / Resources for the Future / USA / 2022
｢Consumer Reports｣ Web contents / Consumer Reports, Inc. / USA / 2021-2022
｢The Journal of MR PORTER｣ Web contents / MR PORTER / UK / 2018-2022
｢MODUS｣ Web contents / RICS.org. / UK / 2021
｢Computing｣ Magazine / Incisive Media / UK / 2021
｢Fast Company｣ Magazine / Fast Company, Inc. / USA / 2021
｢BBC Sky at Night｣ Magazine / Immediate Media Company Ltd. / UK / 2021
｢Esquire UK｣ Magazine / Hearst UK / UK / 2021
｢UCSF Magazine｣ Science media / University of California San Francisco / UK / 2021
｢Usbek & Rica｣ Culture magazine / Usbek & Rica / France / 2017-2021
｢The ENTREPRENEURS 3｣ Business magazine / Monocle / UK / 2020
｢SYSTRA｣ Magazine / Usbek & Rica / France / 2020
｢Fraud Magazine｣ Magazine / ACFE, Inc. / USA / 2020
｢American Way｣ Magazine / Ink / USA / 2020
｢SilverKris Magazine｣ Magazine / Ink / Singapore / 2019-2020
｢WIRED JAPAN｣ News media / Condé Nast Publications / Japan / 2019
｢JWT Intelligence｣ Web contents / J. Walter Thompson Company / USA / 2019
｢LIVE｣ Magazine / Novartis / Switzerland / 2019
｢The Lancet HIV｣ Magazine / Elsevier Inc. / UK / 2019
｢Medium｣ Web contents / A Medium Corp. / USA / 2018 – 2019
｢America｣ Magazine / LES EDITIONS AMERICA / France / 2019
｢The Monocle Travel Guide Series｣ Book / Monocle / UK / 2018 – 2019
｢The Lancet Infectious Diseases｣ Medical journal / Elsevier Inc. / UK / 2018
｢STEP JOURNAL｣ Magazine / STEP / UK / 2018
｢ProSale｣ Magazine / Hanley Wood Media, Inc. / USA / 2018
｢Monocle The Summer Weekly : issue 2｣ Newspaper / Monocle / UK / 2017-2018
｢International Thyroid Awareness Week｣ Campaign / Merck / Germany / 2018
｢The Design Economy 2018｣ Report / Design Council / UK / 2018
｢MAYDAY｣ Magazine / Trouble co. / Denmark / 2018
｢BBC FOCUS｣ Magazine / Immediate Media Company / UK / 2018
｢The Forecast｣ Magazine / Monocle / UK / 2017-2018
｢Monocle The Winter Weekly : issue 1-4｣ Newspaper / Monocle / UK / 2017
｢Project｣ Magazine / APM / UK / 2017
｢ADWEEK｣ Magazine / ADWEEK / USA / 2017
｢Inside Intercom｣ Web contents / Intercom / USA / 2017
｢Children of the Salt Road / Kindle in Motion｣ Book / Amazon.com, Inc. / USA / 2017
｢British Airways High Life｣ Magazine / British Airways / UK /2017
｢SPECTRUM｣ Science media / SIMONS FOUNDATION / USA / 2017
｢PURSUIT｣ Magazine / De Beers Group Of Companies / USA / 2017
｢YAUATCHA LIFE｣ Annual culture magazine / Hakkasan Group / USA / 2017
｢FOLI｣ Packaging / Doyle Collection / UK / 2017
｢A Plus｣ Business magazine / CPA / Hong Kong / 2015-2017
｢CNN.com｣ News media / Cable News Network / USA / 2016
｢glass｣ Innovation magazine / J. Walter Thompson Company / USA / 2016
｢CIMA FM｣ Financial magazine / CIMA / UK / 2016
｢The Guardian｣ Animation / Guardian Media Group / UK / 2016
｢J-novel｣ Novel magazine / Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha / Japan / 2014-2016
｢NEW HORIZON｣ English textbook of junior high school / TOKYO SHOSEKI / Japan / 2016
｢The Timeless Shape of Happiness｣ Advertising / Coca-Cola x McDonald’s / 22 countries in Asia, Middle East, Africa / 2015
｢The New Republic magazine｣ Culture magazine / The New Republic / USA / 2015
｢Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage｣ Novel book / Harvill Secker / UK /2014
｢Moon Festival｣ Advertising / McDonald’s / USA / 2010-2013
｢Échale una mano al Medio Ambiente｣ Shopping bag / Carrefour / Spain / 2011
｢WIRED MAGAZINE｣ Culture magazine / Condé Nast Publications / USA / 2009
｢Microsoft.com｣ Web contents / Microsoft / USA / 2005
｢Honda Web｣ Web contents / Honda Motor / Japan / 2003-2007
etc…
Copyright
All images on this site are protected under the copyright laws. The copyright remains the exclusive property of Kouzou Sakai or a commissioning agency or company. The images may not be downloaded for manipulation, generative AI or storage, the images may not be reproduced in any form or used in any way whatsoever without written permission from Kouzou Sakai or the commissioning agency or company, any violation in any way would be an infringement of copyright laws and lead to prosecution. Comping is usage, please ask first.