The AOI are pleased to be joined by Member Jiyeun Kang at Seoul Illustration Fair as a representantive this month. Come and meet us at the World Illustration Awards booth where we can answer (in English and Korean) any of your questions about your career in Illustration.

Jiyeun is a freelance Illustrator with a portfolio of powerful characters dressed in suits, textures and dramatic angular lines. She runs us through her Illustration in Publishing and Fashion in the run up to the immense Illustration event in South Korea.

JiYeyun: At the beginning of this year, I pursued two kinds of projects. The first was commissioned from a Korean Children’s Book publication company DaeKyo. This book Illustration project was based on a modern short story in Seoul-1964-Winter by Sung-ok Kim. 

I found the story really touching as it is about a man who has lost his wife. It reminds me of when I was about twenty years old standing in front of Seoul Station, thinking the city around me was grey. I mainly tried to express the moods, atmosphere and feelings in the literature.

And the second for Italian fashion brand a.testoni store launch in Korea. The commissioner wanted to express the brand’s concepts of ‘Luxury’ and ‘Classic’ through the images. However, it was important that the illustration had to not interfere with the products placed in front of the images. I was asked to illustrate the brand’s diverse product lines in an attractive way. And the final but possibly most important was the size. The illustrations were printed on large material wall hangings of 5×5 metres and 5X2 meters decorating the room. 

3/6 Panels

I used more colour in the six panels in the middle of the room, printing onto translucent mesh fabric. The remaining six square panels, simple black line drawings of streets around the store and added accent colours to not distract from the fashion products or my centre display. 

I found this project challenging because the print size was so big, it involved a lot of visualisation to imagine the final hung result. A much different process to the previous book project. The illustrations were also used to produce a short animation in front of the space, and invitation cards and gift scarfs for guests at the show. The whole experience was a good chance to cooperate with other field’s artist.

Event Launch

See more of JiYeun’s work on her Instagram & AOI Portfolio