- Trained in painting at the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles, CA
- After graduating, he worked for the Philadelphia ad agency N. W. Ayer & Son, the first ad agency in America, established in 1869
- During his time at N. W. Ayer & Son, he developed his modernist style, which has been described as: "a kind of synthesis of Bauhaus principles and Japanese sensibility".
- In 1954, Columbia records recruited Fujita to the in-house design team that they were assembling to sustain the label's graphic legacy created by Alex Steinweiss
- At Columbia, he moved away from Steinweiss's illustrative style and created more modern designs, featuring photography and the work of Abstract Impressionists. He felt the rhythm and energy of progressive jazz would be best complemented by the stylized abstractions of modern painting.
- With this approach, he created some of the most striking album covers of the mid-20th century.
- In 1960, Fujita left Columbia to start his own design firm.
- Fujita collaborated with the public relations firm Ruder & Finn in 1963 to create a design division called Ruder, Finn & Fujita, which later became Fujita Design.
- Many of Fujita's clients were publishers and Fujita designed the covers for several notable books
- Fujita is also responsible for the NBC's Today Show logo, which has been in use for over 30 years.
Sources
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/books-obituaries/8093733/Neil-Fujita.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/arts/design/27fujita.html
http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/waxing-chromatic-an-interview-with-s-neil-fujita
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