ABOUT
Coco Masuda is an artist, illustrator, graphic designer, calligrapher, linguist, and business consultant who divides time between NYC and Copake, New York.
Please follow me on Instagram. @cocomasudastudio
Originally from Tokyo, Japan, I was sent to study in the U.S. when I was 19. Yes, sent! by my entrepreneur father against my wish to continue to study in Japan. But in hindsight, it was good for me. I graduated from Parsons School of Design and made the city my home. I tried to live in Boston because of my first husband's wish but it didn't last long and I returned to NYC. I had second homes in Woodstock, NY, and on the Big Island in Hawaii, and I often go back to Tokyo, but my heart belonged to New York City for four decades. But the pandemic came, and I craved the country! So, I bought a small house in the country of Copake, NY, and now I divide my time between Copake and NYC.
With motherhood (the best time of my life!) and other family circumstances, I had few detours in my creative career in the last ten years. I became a founder and managing director of CoCollaborations, LLC, but I continue to create in my studio in Copake whenever I can.
Selected Accomplishments:
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My illustration, "Equal Rights for Women," was featured in "Resist!" a newspaper distributed during The Women's March 2016.
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In March 2015, the International Labor Organization (a part of the United Nations) decided to use the illustration in my poster, which was initially done for United Nations' "The Women's Conference in Beijing" for International Women's Day. Then ILO commissioned Coco to design a new poster for their Centenary Initiatives.
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In 2014, I was commissioned by Kaoru Kasai, a legendary Japanese creative director, to do a series of portraits for an advertising campaign for the Itochu Corporation of Japan. The campaign won the grand prize for the prestigious Nikkei Advertising award in 2014. I worked on another campaign for them in 2015.
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I created posters for the outreach programs for United States Courts
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I illustrated the poster for the "Women's Conference in Beijing" by United Nations held in 1995. Ten Years later, I also illustrated the poster for the Women's conference in New York City.
Selected Clients:
Plaza, Delta Airlines, Discover, Dow Jones, Essence, Estée Lauder, Guidepost, Heifer International, Itochu Corporation, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, Merck, Marriott, Penguin Group, Perrier, Pfizer, Random House, Saatchi & Saatchi, Seventeen, Simon & Schuster, Sony Music, Starbucks, St. Martin’s Press, Target Corporation, The Harvard Common Press, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, United Airlines, United Nations, United States Courts, Visa, Wine Spectator