We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative Lara Kim ("LK").
She uses her imagination and creativity to ensure that pure life lives forever with instinctive emotions in her paintings. It inspires the viewers. She has a freedom on focus drawing her creative designs and expressing many thoughts. She pursues an isolated life so that mental activity is not disturbed. She spends the majority of her time in the workplace. She denies rational human existence. She recognizes that rationality is also the result of an instinct to defend herself. She thinks that all the words, actions, emotions, and thoughts of human beings are instincts. She finds human instincts in her own imagination, gives meaning, and expresses them.
Lara Kim Designs
We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by Lara Kim.
Lara Kim Design - Go Together Painting
Designer Interview of Lara Kim:
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?
LK : As a child, I never imagined I would be an artist, but I liked to think creatively a lot and enjoyed drawing them. But I didn't show it to the people around me. Before I decided to become an artist, I had so many mental wanderings. After many years, I began to know myself that I was really talented at making creative art. And I decided to paint until the end of my life and I had the courage to show others.
DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
LK : My studio is in Korea. There is a space for displaying my paintings and a space for drawing. I work alone in my studio.
DI: What is "design" for you?
LK : For me, design is a new connection. It inspires me and makes me alive.
DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
LK : I like to express the emotions and thoughts felt by the dynamics and creative beings that occur in various situations and connections.
DI: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
LK : I like almost all designs. It's hard for me to choose.
DI: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
LK : I haven't designed anything for the company yet. So far, I have created original works for sale.
DI: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
LK : I like to express in acrylic.
DI: When do you feel the most creative?
LK : I explode with creative thoughts when I'm really having fun. At the maximum of the pleasure, I become deeply immersed and the things that wander in my head are clearly connected.
DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
LK : I think it is important to connect and separate from various and new perspectives.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
LK : I feel like I’m alive.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
LK : When I pass the stage of thinking and express it with pictures, I feel that my mind is rather calm. It seems to be a sense of relief that I am drawing a picture. Of course, I worry a lot when expressing or changing detailed parts and sometimes I suffer if things don't go the way I thought.
DI: What makes a design successful?
LK : My results were successful when the stage of imagining the design was the most important and the imagination was really good.
DI: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
LK : I think it is important that creative ideas and perspectives.
DI: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
LK : It is a creative inspiration.
DI: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
LK : It is expected that design will be applied to virtual worlds in the future.
DI: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
LK : The final exhibition was held in Incheon, South Korea from Jan 25 to Feb 7, 2021. My artworks will be exhibited at collabohaus dosan in Seoul in April 2022. and at the Louvre in Paris in September 2022.
DI: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
LK : I get the inspiration of design from everything but I'm particularly interested in people. So I look at things that show human nature or relationships and think about them a lot.
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?
LK : My painting is pure, unreasonable and expresses multiple meanings. The dynamic of a young feeling holds energy just before eruption. A black line means a frame and no frame, and both finite and infinite.
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?
LK : I am living in Korea. Although Korean culture influences my art world, it’s not a big impact to me. However, it is a great advantage that freedom of creation and presentation are guaranteed. There is no shortcomings.
DI: How do you work with companies?
LK : I haven't worked with a company so far. I just worked on selling pictures. However, I look forward to working with the company in the future.
DI: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
LK : I think trust between companies and designers is the most important.
DI: Can you talk a little about your design process?
LK : There is a moment in which the things that wander in my head are connected creatively and meaningfully when I sit quietly in my space and enter the stage of immersion and joy before drawing the ideas of the painting.
DI: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
LK : Table and chair, watch, sofa, TV, vacuum cleaner.
DI: Can you describe a day in your life?
LK : I paint in the morning, take a walk in the afternoon, think about the idea of the painting, and do other tasks. In the evening, I paint again or do various activities.
DI: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
LK : I haven't been long since I published a painting to the world. So I have so much to learn as an artist.
DI: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
LK : I'm an artist who has a strong point in being creative. I look forward to my art being used in practical products. However, if I become a professional designer, I have to consider practical purposes. Disadvantages is that it can limit designers, but advantages can benefit many users with their design.
DI: What is your "golden rule" in design?
LK : Creativity.
DI: What skills are most important for a designer?
LK : Take a time to think of ideas every day, and realize them. That is the most important skill.
DI: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
LK : It has various tools for drawing acrylic paintings.
DI: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
LK : Every morning at 7am I go to my studio, draw pictures, think of ideas and go home at 7pm. Stay isolated as much as possible so as not to interfere with mental activity.
DI: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
LK : Each art work has different time to finish. it takes two or three weeks for the short one and months for the long one.
DI: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
LK : I'm asked a lot about how to think of an idea.
DI: What was your most important job experience?
LK : I had so many jobs. Everything I experienced is important because it's had a lot of influence on my painting now.
DI: Who are some of your clients?
LK : They are art collectors.
DI: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
LK : I like to express my ideas with acrylic paint. It has the property of drying quickly, making it advantageous to add ideas that pop into my head.
DI: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
LK : I have the most important plan to keep painting. The next plan is to have an exhibition at the gallery. And if I have a chance, I want to participate in various art fairs.
DI: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
LK : I'm not working as a team, I'm doing the whole process of drawing from the beginning.
DI: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
LK : Now I'm painting a picture of the connection between past and present life and life after death.
DI: How can people contact you?
LK : People usually contact me via e-mail.
DI: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
LK : I expressed that through other questions.