Kenji Ito studied at the Tokyo High School of Technical Arts (now Chiba University School of Technology). He is considered one of the masters of post-war design. According to the Ginza Graphic Gallery, which presented a retrospective exhibition of his work in 2000, ‘Itoh is a marathon performer in the design world.’ Over 48 years (1953–2000) he designed 560 covers for Stethoscope, Sankyo’s monthly medical journal: a unique achievement. He created posters and also the Canon logo (1953), the Kappa novels, packaging for Nescafé coffee and window displays for the Wako department store (1956–82).