All Flesh is Grass

This is one of the most iconic environmental posters by Kazumasa Nagai. It was created for Toshiba Co., Ltd. as part of their “Love Mother Earth” campaign. The top half shows a black silhouette of a stag, which then seamlessly transitions into a leaf. This could show the interdependence between nature, between animal and plant life. The phrase “ALL FLESH IS GRASS” is taken from the Old Testament (Isaiah 40:6), and below that it states “love mother earth,” in Helvetica typography.

This work is important to graphic design history because it marks a turning point in Kazumasa Nagai’s style, moving his abstract, geometric style of his early career to a more emotionally driven approach. It also reflects a larger shift in Japanese design during the 1990s toward environmental awareness and social responsibility. This poster also  shows how commercial design can carry moral and ecological meaning, powerful design doesn’t need to be complex to make people think and feel.