Yong Ho Ji

Yong Ho Ji is a Korean sculptor who uses old, recycled tire scraps as his medium to make amazing sculptures. He chooses animals that are often seen as “monsters,” then obsesses over every detail to try to “restore them to their natural beauty.”

“My concept is mutation—mutants”, he explains. His Chelsea studio is filled with hyenas, horses, felines, and a ram’s head. They’re all built from black tires. The product is from nature,” from the white sap of latex trees. “But here it’s changed. The color is black. The look is scary.”

More about the artist and his work: http://yonghoji.com/

Brand Redesign

Building a brand is fundamental in communicating with the target audience. In school, we worked on several projects that included brand redesign, and I had found that, as for any other project, looking at what's out there, and how big companies handle this issue, is always a good starting point.

Below is a "Before & After" showcase:

Limbo - A disturbing adventure

I am not a “gaming person”, but after watching the trailer, I HAD to own this game.

Winner of more than 90 awards, including GameInformer’s “Best Downloadable”, GameSpot’s “Best Puzzle Game”, Kotaku’s “The Best Indie Game”, GameReactor’s “Digital Game of the Year”, Spike TV’s “Best Independent Game”, X-Play's “Best Downloadable Game” and IGN’s “Best Horror Game” LIMBO is a wonderfully dark experience that will challenge your senses and intellect.

About the game: Uncertain of his sister's fate, a boy enters LIMBO (also known as the Purgatory).

The concept and the design behind Limbo are absolutely brilliant! The visuals are beautiful, and the game sound is also amazing, making the game's dark mood even more creepy. Even though it's a game, the originality and the striking aesthetics can definitely be inspiring.

"Dark and disturbing is something that is a running theme throughout Limbo, it isn't a nice game, it isn't one that will leave a smile on your face but it is engrossing and it will have you suckered in from start to finish". - Gamestyle

Limbo is a disturbing adventure you must experience!

Widex: Packaging that embodies product DNA

Goodmorning Technology developed an exclusive and simple packaging system which contains the latest series of Widex ITE (In The Ear) and BTE (Behind The Ear) hearing aid.

The packaging uses a plastic sleeve around the box to create the illusion of an animated sound wave as you slide it out. The sound wave spells the payoff "High Definition Hearing". Simply brilliant!

Watch the video below so you can see how it works, or go to the company's website to learn more about this product http://www.gmtn.dk/work/widex

The wor(l)d has changed

Stephane Massa-Bidal, also known as "Rétrofuturs",  has created a series of posters based on the modification and modernization of modern quotes and claims. The artist plays on the double meaning of words and evolution over the years and through different historical periods.

More about the artist and his work: http://www.retrofuturs.com/

The Ins and Outs of Applying to Art School

I found this video about “The ins and outs of applying to art school”, and some of the topics are very interesting and useful. One of the topics that caught my attention was “What to say at an interview when applying for an art program”. Showing your portfolio is as important as talking about WHO you are NOW as a young artist, WHAT are you thinking about, WHY did you chose that particular institution to apply to, as well as WHAT are your goals and HOW you can achieve them.

Some of the topics from the video are:

• The differences between studying at a traditional school versus a dedicated art focused college
• What are the standard admission requirements
• Do you need experience when applying to an art school
• What can students do to stand out during the application process - “Be yourself...the school that accepts you is a school that wanted you for WHO YOU ARE”.
• Advice for students that work while earning their degree
• What kind of career opportunities can students expect once graduating?
• What are your options if you go to an art school and find out that is not the right fit for you?
• Can you still be a professional artist if you do not attend an art school?

IRAQ – Dreams will keep us alive

This image is part of a school project as well. The project was to recreate a page magazine, as well as the imagery for it.

The article is about two Iraqi soldiers talking about their dreams and what their plans are when they're going to return home. One of the soldiers mentions that he always dreams about scuba diving, so I wanted to capture that into the image.

Because I wanted to go for a realistic feel and use photography, but I wasn't able to shoot my own pictures of helicopters, soldiers, scuba divers, ocean, and so on, my option was to use stock photography. I created the image in Photoshop using about ten different pictures combined with different effects. The layout for the composition was intended to show the “reality” (the war) at the top, and the “dream” (scuba diving) at the bottom, while the colour giving the feel of a “bad dream” vs “nice dream”.

Behind A Brooding Exterior

Some of my favourite projects during 1^st year in Graphic Design were the editorials. The image above is part of one of them. We had to illustrate an article using Fimo and scratch board. It was my first attempt at using these mediums, and it took me about a week to complete both concepts.

The story behind it:
A minotaur falls in love with the one girl who can see the pain behind his brooding exterior.

Process:

I started by building a minotaur skeleton out of aluminum wires for better structure, and then I covered it with Fimo. Besides Fimo, I used pieces of leather, chains and different metals to add textures and visual interest.

I drew the girl on scratch board and used it for composition, trying to reflect the main character's thoughts. Also, by drawing her on scratch board and not building her from Fimo, the main focus was on the minotaur.

Working with Fimo and scratch board was a fun and rewarding experience. I had found that mixing colours upfront gives you better results than working with only solid colours, and using different tools like a folding bone, an x-acto knife or tweezers are great for adding textures. You can create anything you can think of, and like with anything else, the more you experiment with it, the better you'll get at it!