We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative Jo Jhunghan ("JJ").
Jo Jung-han is an excellent marketer and designer. While currently working as a CMO for a social impact company, he also plans and operates exhibitions and events related to upcycling. He's thinking about how to benefit society through design, and he's doing it. He's a person who treats and studies design as a humanities, not as a process of visualization. In recognition of his achievements, he has won more than 40 domestic and international design/marketing contests.
Jo Jhunghan Designs
We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by Jo Jhunghan.
Jo Jhunghan Design - Island Glass
Designer Interview of Jo Jhunghan:
DI: Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?
JJ : Reading a lot of books since I was young has had a big impact. Not only ordinary literature, but also myths and fantasy novels were frequently read, so I was able to cultivate the power of imagination. I feel like I have become a designer because I have always tried and imagined to find something out of the ordinary.
DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
JJ : Dohwa is an enterprise founded by three designers. We believe that design should serve as a medium for consumers to think about social issues once again, beyond being simply aesthetically beautiful. Starting with Islandglass, the launching item, I will introduce modern reinterpretation of Korean beauty.
DI: What is "design" for you?
JJ : Design is the future. No matter how much technology develops and life changes, I think design is inseparable from the future of mankind.
DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
JJ : I like the work of throwing social messages through design. To do this, I think we should develop a power of free ownership, not dividing the boundaries between the generally spoken design and art.
DI: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
JJ : I like Giorgio Armani's early jacket design. Modern and restrained designs are always fascinating.
DI: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
JJ : I made the first commercial image for the Islandglass Promotion. It was posted through Google, Instagram, and Facebook, etc.
DI: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
JJ : I like transparent or translucent materials. Because I feel something secret and mysterious. Also, because of the material characteristics, it is easy to use the material itself to post messages in the work. Among them, a particular favorite material is a free-lead crystal. The free-lead crystal has a high refractive index and a pale emerald glow, giving it a mysterious feel. My favorite platform is YouTube, a video-based platform. I enjoy watching this video because it contains a wide variety of information and it is mainly about the most powerful information medium. Contrary to my liking for YouTube, my favorite technology is traditional brewing or crafting. A lot of technology is advanced in modern society, but I think there is a unique attraction of old things of the past. Also, they have a lot of influence on modern development.
DI: When do you feel the most creative?
JJ : I think I'm most creative when I'm taking a bath. That's because it's time to relax and focus on myself.
DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
JJ : Focus on overall harmony and balance. I think a design that combines all elements well rather than a design that is good at one part.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
JJ : To be honest with you, I don't have much change in my feelings most of the time. But when I find something new, when I achieve what I aim to do, I feel great joy in design.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
JJ : I often feel a great sense of accomplishment, but at the same time, I think of my efforts and become a complex and subtle mind. I didn't have much change in my usual feelings, but I even shed tears when the island glass was first completed.
DI: What makes a design successful?
JJ : As I said earlier, I think the success or failure of design depends on harmony. When all the elements are harmonized, a good design is completed.
DI: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
JJ : I often emphasize that the success or failure of design depends on harmony. The focus is to evaluate whether all the elements are complementary to each other and harmonize well.
DI: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
JJ : Although most jobs are all, designers also contribute greatly to advertising and selling products. This greatly affects the environment and society. Therefore, I think we should think about how design can adversely affect the environment and society and think about ways to minimize it or have a positive effect on the contrary.
DI: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
JJ : Design is changing and evolving with changes in technology and platforms. Therefore, I think that design will grow and develop together in line with the aspects of technology and platform.
DI: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
JJ : This is the last time that the Daegu Design Week exhibition was held in the South Korean city of Daegu in 2019. I want to participate in the exhibition as soon as I have the opportunity because the exhibition experience is good for me as well as for the company.
DI: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
JJ : My inspiration comes from everywhere in my life. Sometimes I think of inspiration by looking at exhibitions, and sometimes I think of inspiration by reading books. Sometimes I even think about being creative at home by staying alone. Rather than trying to devise ideas through special experiences, I think it is important to have a mindset that is always awake through various experiences.
DI: How would you describe your design style? What made you explore more this style and what are the main characteristics of your style? What's your approach to design?
JJ : I am extremely persistent. Even a really minor error in designing is unacceptable. Since I have been painting with hyperrealism since I was young, I think I have continued to stick to similar work styles even after designing.
DI: Where do you live? Do you feel the cultural heritage of your country affects your designs? What are the pros and cons during designing as a result of living in your country?
JJ : I live in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. Historically, Korea has a long history and its ancient cultural heritage is well preserved. Geographically, it is located between China and Japan, so the design has been greatly influenced by neighboring countries. As a result, design influenced by the unique history and culture of Korea has developed a lot. On the other hand, many designers regard it as outdated and imitate the designs of other countries.
DI: How do you work with companies?
JJ : While each person focuses on their area of responsibility, we share all the work and develop it through meetings. It is still a small company and we live and work together almost day and night.
DI: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
JJ : I don't know how it is abroad, but Korean designers often work from morning to night and don't get paid much. Only by offering reasonable welfare and salary will companies be able to recruit good designers.
DI: Can you talk a little about your design process?
JJ : Next, we examine various reference materials. I don't start working on the computer graphic until this is over. It takes a long time to modify the design, and several sampling procedures are also carried out in consideration of when the design has become a reality, such as printing and imprinting. The final design is completed only after all this process is completed.
DI: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
JJ : Island glass, A wooden chair, Shoes, A pencil sharpener, A fountain pen
DI: Can you describe a day in your life?
JJ : When I get up in the morning, I wash my face simply. After that, I go to the park near my house for about 30 minutes to jog and eat breakfast. From 10 a.m., I go to work, have a simple meeting, and start designing. Then we have lunch and check the performance of the advertisement with the SNS ad image work. It is not fixed on what happens after that, so we have meetings for new designs or meetings with other companies related to our company. Then, we make a checklist of what we have to do after going home. However, I usually work late at night after dinner together without going home. We all drink together late at night and go home together.
DI: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
JJ : Please don't get wet with inertia. I'm still young, but it's a pity that many designers look similar to others as they get more experience. It seems important to find your own style and keep going.
DI: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
JJ : The designer’s biggest advantage is that designer can always do creative and productive work without being soaked in inertia due to repetitive tasks. Conversely, in Korea, the disadvantage is that unless you really like it with a low salary and bad welfare, your body and mind can be difficult.
DI: What is your "golden rule" in design?
JJ : The "golden rule" of design is the deadline. This is a promise that should be kept for granted and is even more important for a company with a set schedule.
DI: What skills are most important for a designer?
JJ : It's a graphic work. Personality and social skills, such as attitudes and values, are of course too important, but I think developing graphics skills is the most basic thing. I don't think there should be any design that can't be implemented as a designer.
DI: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
JJ : Use both paper and computer programs. When I am still in the planning stage, I think about it by writing down ideas on paper, and in the process of implementing graphics, I implement the final design by using Photoshop and Illustrator.
DI: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
JJ : Besides working time, I always worry about design. The design takes a really long time to imagine, so we should always get into the habit of thinking.
DI: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
JJ : It's hard to say exactly because there are so many differences depending on what project it is and what it's under. I have experience working from a week to a year.
DI: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
JJ : People often ask me if I'm nervous about choosing a start-up rather than a job. It is true that I have worries about an unstable future because most of my peers choose a job, not a start-up, but I have no regrets about the path I have chosen.
DI: What was your most important job experience?
JJ : It was the most important experience when island glass was first commercialized. I felt proud in the process of becoming a reality beyond computer graphics. 입력 텍스트 삭제 122 / 5000 소스 TTS 복사하기 필기인식기 번역하기 자동완성 영어열기/닫기 아이콘 I think it is important to try many experiences that do not seem to be related to the designer job. Because designers do things based on creative ideas, always having new and diverse experiences will be a big foundation for their ability.
DI: Who are some of your clients?
JJ : All the people who like alcohol and Korean culture are our clients like HiteJinro.
DI: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
JJ : Like advertising design, I like to send messages to people through design work. Beyond just pretty design, I think design has the power to change people, and I like this point of the design.
DI: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
JJ : Island glass is just a launching item. Starting with IslandGlass, the final goal is to grow Dohwa as the lifestyle brand that represents Korea.
DI: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
JJ : As a team, the growing part is bigger. Although the time to work personally is longer, it was time to share opinions as a team that made great progress in the end.
DI: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
JJ : I set all the schedules and deadlines on the calendar and try to keep them. All schedules are set so that the cell phone alarm is set every set time.
DI: How can people contact you?
JJ : People can contact me through various interview articles, Internet news, YouTube videos, and personal social networking sites.
DI: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
JJ : Not really. I just want people to know that Korean design is also excellent worldwide.