Yulong Lli
Yulong Lli is a London/Shanghai-based freelance illustrator who studied visual design and illustration at the China Academy of Art. He seeks and explores new ways to tell stories through different colors and creates compositions in illustrations. His style remarks on the fusion of Eastern and Western culture inspired by vintage posters, modernist art, and graphic design.
His work has been recognized by several international awards, including Forbes Under 30, ADC Silver Cube, WIA, SOI, Adobe Top Talent, 3X3 Illustration Annual, Communication Arts Illustration Annual, Hiiibrand, and American Illustration.
He has collaborated with publications such as The New York Times, Vogue, Modern Weekly, Bloomberg Businessweek, T Magazine, Nylon, and Esquire Fine. His commercial clients include Apple, Google, Airbnb, Gucci, Coach, Blancpain, D&G, Van Cleef & Arpels, Harrods, Lululemon, Nike, COSTA, Starbucks, Uniqlo, Columbia University, Incheon Airport, etc.
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Yulong LliCommercial |Lululemon Chinese New YearLululemon commissioned me to create the key visual illustration for the Chinese New Year campaign.I start my design by asking myself if any memorable moment or symbol in my memory can express New Year's wishes. The traditional form of sending a message with something is often more intimate and inclusive, like the Chinese knot. So I provided a creative way that could be extended infinitely through an understanding of traditional 'weaving', where all the elements could be freely combined. View Folio
Yulong LliPATRON CNY packagePatron commissioned me to create a limited illustration package for Year of Oxen in 2020. I’m inspired by the woodblock New Year painting. As door gods, they have different responsibilities. For example, a military god with a hairy oxen’s head, always holding a sword in his hand to avoid illness, and bad things coming from outside, or a gentle civil god with a legendary treasure representing money like RUYI or YUAN BAO, attracting luck and wealth to come in.However, it might be too severe for customers who don’t know our culture perfectly. For this reason, I think it’s better to let them be more friendly with smile face and something easier to recognize, like lanterns, red packets, plum blossom or peach in their hands, representing the function of different door gods, “Fu”(Lucky), “Lu”(Wealthy), “Shou”(Longevous ), “Xi”(happiness ).
Considering this picture will be used in Spring, I add some patterns of flowers, agaves, and bees in the corner as decorations to convey a vibrant and hopeful year is upcoming. View Folio
Yulong LliSummer in the NorthThe main visual illustration I created for UNIQLO's "Summer in the North" is now available in the main shops.Since I grew up in the northwest, I had memories and familiar flavors in my mind when I drew this theme, such as "watermelon plucked from the water," "skewering at a beer stall at night," "apricot skin water to relieve the heat," and so on. "Of course, with economic development and the flattening of information, many popular ways of escaping the heat have made the gap between the stereotypical North and South lifestyles smaller and smaller.
Northern folk crafts such as peasant painting, patchwork, lotus bags, noodle figures, and the patterns of Majiayao pottery have given me a lot of creative inspiration. This information is dispersed into the stylistic approach and details of the images. I want to use this visual language to respond to the exploration of the heritage and innovation of local culture and to leave some traces for the audience who understand and tolerate different voices to continue. View Folio
Yulong LliMassimo Dutti valentines dayI did a set of illustrations for Massimo Dutti on the Chinese Valentine's Day campaign. I was inspired by Joan Miro, the most famous Spanish artist, and beautiful ready-to-wear clothes and decorations from MD, telling our familiar traditional Chinese fairytale in an abstract and expressionistic way.View Folio
Yulong LliHarrods valentines dayHarrods commissioned me to create a series of illustrations interpreting the meaning of magic love in the 520 festival, a holiday created by the harmonics of a particular date pronounced as "I love you." View Folio
Yulong LliECCO CNYECCO commissioned me with this AD work to promote new shoes for the Dragon New Year. They wanted me to tell an exciting and engaging story incorporating traditional Chinese culture while highlighting the shoes' design inspired by dragon scales.I think memories of Chinese New Year are covered with a warm yellow color filter. So, in this creation, I chose the warm colors of yellow and red as the primary colors. At the same time, based on the traditional Chinese dragon, I incorporated more vivid lines so that the dragon is no longer a distant totem of the Chinese Zodiac but a symbol we can imagine and even get close to.
When the dragon soars above the city, overlooking the lights of the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Dragon will be a great success. View Folio
Yulong LliAPPLE Chinese New yearApple commissioned me to work with two fantastic artists on the Chinese new year campaign. View Folio
Yulong LliOtterbox Year of DragonI received a commission from Otter Box to create a limited edition phone case to celebrate the arrival of the Dragon New Year. The collection has already hit Apple Stores in regions worldwide that will be celebrating the Spring Festival. View Folio
Yulong LliAPPLE Chinese New yearApple commissioned me to work with two fantastic artists on the Chinese new year campaign. View Folio
Yulong LliThe WHOOI created the illustration for the LG Group's THE WHOO Dragon Gift Box, inspired by the traditional Chinese textile patterns and the red lacquer box.In conceptualizing the image, I left out the head and tail of the dragon, leaving a section of the body coiled around it to reflect my understanding of oriental aesthetics. The Chinese poet and calligrapher Zhao Deixin described the symbolic expression of "not seeing the head and tail of the dragon" as a poetic mood in his "Record of Art".
Although I have never been a big fan of Chinese painting until now, the influence of studying it since I was a child helps me to explain this quest, as the combination of reality and white space tends to have more room for imagination, just like the dragon in the Year of the Dragon, which carries a lot of beauty and wishes. View Folio
Yulong LliMemories of BreakfastEditorial illustration for Harper's BAZAAR magazine. View Folio
Yulong LliB&B italia iconB&B italia commissioned me to create some stickers for the upcoming event celebrating their Le bambole collection’s 50th anniversary. So I selected some classic Italian elements and symbols from brand stories behind this collection to inspire my artwork. View Folio
Yulong LliIllustration for SPLC Birthday CelebrationI received a commission from Southern Poverty Law Center to create illustrations for holiday cards to be sent to patrons. View Folio
Yulong LliDessert Drink Menu IllustrationU479 Art Space sponsored my solo exhibition and I created illustration menu for the limited exhibition themed desserts and drinks they launched, including Cocktails, Coffee, Montblanc cake and Sponge cake. View Folio
Yulong LliPersonal work|Love is EverythingA cover story campaign by The New York Times titled Love City captured different lovers in the streets, sharing their love stories through scenes. This inspired me to create an illustration of various couples embracing, with the shape of a heart at its core. View Folio
Yulong LliLove and Peace Candle EditionA seasonal package cooperation with fragrance brand Uttori featured my personal work Love is Everything. View Folio
Yulong LliAirbnb Cityguide PosterAirbnb global commissioned me to create a series of illustrations for Europe's city guide. They want me to focus on vividly presenting citizens' diversity and daily lives instead of conveying an image full of stereotypical landmarks. Meanwhile, It also needs to fit the core values of the brand.I try to create a combination of street views as an outsider. Because I never went to those cities before, most of the citizens I painted are based on my sketches on Shanghai's streets and internet research. Globalization makes our lifestyles more similar, so this topic might be more realistic if I describe what happens around me, like coffee chat, biking, or just walking.
View Folio
Yulong LliAirbnb Cityguide PosterAirbnb global commissioned me to create a series of illustrations for Europe's city guide. They want me to focus on vividly presenting citizens' diversity and daily lives instead of conveying an image full of stereotypical landmarks. Meanwhile, It also needs to fit the core values of the brand.I try to create a combination of street views as an outsider. Because I never went to those cities before, most of the citizens I painted are based on my sketches on Shanghai's streets and internet research. Globalization makes our lifestyles more similar, so this topic might be more realistic if I describe what happens around me, like coffee chat, biking, or just walking. View Folio
Yulong LliUnlimited Intimacy In this series, I magnify the theme of personal connection. While each character still shares the common visual motif of heart-shaped spaces formed around the neck, I employ multiple specific narratives to examine the boundaries of intimacy.This exploration extends beyond human relationships. It touches on the complex bond between humans and nature, animals, and the environment, as well as more abstract connections with ideas like the future. These themes have been explored in various works of art, such as W. Somerset Maugham's novel The Painted Veil, the film HER about humans falling in love with artificial intelligence, and Zheng Bo’s short film, which delves into the emotional relationships between humans and nature that challenge ethical boundaries. View Folio