By the time I moved to Tokyo, I brought everything tradition had taught me.

Three years after co-founding the Nippon Design Centre, Tanaka opened his own design studio, Ikko Tanaka Design Studio, in Tokyo. He took on more high-profile or corporate projects, such as designing poster for the exhibition for the 10th World Graphic Design Conference in Tokyo.

Under Kamekura’s direction, he helped design symbols and signage for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics (Saiki). In 1975, Tanaka took on the role of creative director for the Seibu Group, a large holding company most famous for owning Seibu Railways and Prince Hotels.

He became known for his style of blending traditional Japanese style with modernist principles, through visual motifs of “Japanese landscapes, the Noh theatre, masks and calligraphy with Western styles of typography" (Irenebrination). Later, he would take on work for famous fashion designers such as Hanae Mori, Salvatore Ferragamo, and Issey Miyake, who would later feature Tanaka’s design work in his collections (ADC).