D
VIDE
# 0 7
A M AGA Z I N E FO R T H E C RE AT I V E AND CURIOUS 2015 FEBRUARY
JANICE KOH M/M PARIS ANDY WANG FERGUS PURCELL MICHEL MALLARD LORENZO RUDOLF
We feature art (craft, dreams, and adventures) that has “heart.� Heart is excellence, passion, character, process, and story. We chose art with heart because it is relatable and inspiring.
CONTENT
01
M/M PARIS M/M Paris twenty-eight years young, is founder of leather goods label, Chiyome.
12
ANDY WANG Founder of noonmoon. Find out more about Andy Wang and his works.
19
JANICE KOH pen artist Janice Koh shares more about her illustrations and her insights to life.
24
FERGUS PURCELL Fergus Purcell, the man who tells storys through his photos.
32
MICHEL MALLARD Tumblr artist found! Find out more about Michel Mallard, the man behind the tumblr series ‘roseline’
45
LORENZO RUDOLF Fashion designer Lorenzo Rudolf let’s you in on some tips to glam up for the party nights.
1 2
Introduction Andy Wang, graphic designer and illustrator founder of ‘noonmoon’.
“Noonmoon is a land where the moon shines during the day, where dreams do not evaporate under the rays of the rising sun.”
1 3
andy wang noonmoon
PHILOSOPHY In Noonmoon, we believe in dreaming. We believe lucid dreams can aid us in our search for answers and design solutions. Noonmoon is a land where the moon shines during the day, where dreams do not evaporate under the rays of the rising sun. To dream is to generate great and inspiring ideas that can be transformed into brilliant design solutions.
FOUNDER Illustrator and graphic designer Andy Wang graduated from Emily Carr University with a shiny and proud degree in communication design in the year 2010. Nine months later he was lured to intern at the International Designers Network in Hong Kong, and found himself in Shenzhen, China soon with a position as the Chief Designer in a visual communications company. Working in China meant proper English was rare, and it only appeared in the English version Adobe Illustrator Andy installed on his work computer. Now, he is back in Vancouver. After retouching his Chinese roots, Andy realized he couldn’t stand Chinglish and he really missed his ligatures and small caps.
ANDY WANG / NOONMOON
1 4
THE HIDING-IN-THEWRONG-PLACE CLUB An illustrative series
poster for the hiding in the wrong place club series exhibition
left: one of the designs of the series, Hong Kong Dimsum
1 5
right: one of the designs of the series, Paris pastries
Andy Wang loves to travel, and in his adventures, he doesn’t forget his food. Being a traveler himself, he has always been fascinated by the different cultures he encounters during his world journeys. Travelling around to different parts of the world, to experience and trying out all the different cuisines available in the countries he visits. He records down his experiences in his journal, not in the form of word text, but in the form of sketches. He draws out his experiences expecially with the food he tries during the trip.
one of the designs of the series, Japan sushi
The Hiding-in-the-Wrong Place Club are personal illustration series of his experiences of the different food he tasted. The characters present in the series are reflections of himself. It represents that he, the character, is there in that culture and melding with the locals by hiding in their food. As seen in this series, that not only he tries out the different food in the various countries, he blends in with them, as though as getting immerse in their food and culture, being one as whole. He has been to many countires like Hong Kong, China, France, Japan, America, Canada, UK and many others. Using the iconic food that represents
each of the country. The ‘bao’ representing China, the sushi representing Japan, the ‘dim sum’ representing HongKong, the maple syrup repreenting Canada, and so many others in this series. The series consist of 24 iconic food and himself hiding in each of the food he illstrates. He illustrtes the characters in the position of hiding as he wants to portray himself being able to fit in well with and in different cultures represented by their iconic cuisine. They are there in that culture and melding with the locals by hiding in their food. Andy Wang has a distinctive simplistic graphic style in this series. Using minimal details but being able to translate the object for the audiences to understand. He uses pastel colors consistantly throughout this series to futher support his illustrations. The Shenzhen OCT Loft planning committee has also generously asked for Andy Wang’s illustrative series “The Hidingin-the-Wrong-Place Club” to be exhibited during the Cultural Expo happening in the city. The exhibition was on display at the OCT Loft T-studios in May 2012.
ANDY WANG / NOONMOON
1 6
Old Habits An illustration series
climbing the ladder up to fill more food for him. However, as said, all these are just acts of kindness shown by his grandfather.
“They are a generous old couple, but some of their acts of kindness translate to hidden pressure, embarrassment and guilt.”
Every time Andy Wang revisit the city he was born in, he live with his grandparent. For short moments in life, they are able to have exchanges and integrate their lifestyles together. They are a generous old couple, but some of their acts of kindness translate to hidden pressure, embarrassment and guilt. These comical drawings are his reliefs, and a way to show them his perspective. They live in a tiny village town in Shenzhen. His grandparents are not as exposed as he is, able to travel out of China to futher our education, in fact, all their life was in that tiny little town. Therefore, their thoughts are traditional and ‘old-fashioned’, nevertheless, he still enjoy the visits and stays he have with them when he goes over to China. In these series, Andy Wang managed to show the viewers about his grandparents in their daily life activities. From going to the local market, to having a game of majong with friends. Andy exaggerated the act of how his grandfather scoops his food into a dish for him. As being old-traditional-fashioned grandparents, they think that Andy should be eating more so that he will be more healthy and be able to have more energy at work to work harder, therefore the illustrations shows his grandfather giving him food that is too much for his plate, even
top left: poster from the series, grandfather and food portioning
top right: poster from the series, grandparents and a baby
bottom left: poster from the series, grandmother and mahjong
bottom left: poster from the series, grandfather is a shopaholic
As there’s a saying, “you will always be the baby of your parents, Andy will always be the baby of his grandparents. The illustration of him sitting in a baby stool exergerates the idea that his granparents have of him. Treating him like their baby, not letting him do anything, and feeding him like a baby. However, Andy knows that they are doing this out of love, but sometimes he can’t stand that they always pamper him like a baby while he is already a working adult, but Andy still love his grandparents very much. As much as Andy’s grandmother loves to play majong, and as his grandmother has problems with her eyes, she plays majong at a really slow speed. Andy is frustrated at the speed the majong games are played at but he turns it to a hilarious poster by adding sacrastic words in the text describing that his ‘grandmother’s favourite pastime is mahjong in snail speed’. Andy also illustrates the people in accurate emotions. His grandmother due to old age has difficulty looking at her majong tiles with speed and ease, and would probably take a couple more minutes to decide which tiles to keep and throw, while the rest of the players including him are in a restless position, as they have to wait for grandmother to finish her moves before they are able to continue the game. Instead of the normal shopping centre shopping we do, Andy’s grandfather frequents his town’s wet market daily and it is his only ‘shopping centre’ he goes to, therefore he ends up buying many things from there. Just like a shopaholic. Andy, putting his design skills into work, created a few more of the old habits of his grandparents, making it into a series, instead of writings. Nobody’s grandparents are perfect, but through communication he hope to spend more quality time together. Old habits die hard, and die real old, too.
1 7
ANDY WANG / NOONMOON
1 8
Imprismed An illustration series
Coming home to Canada, Andy retouched nature at its best. Working hard away in Asia for more than an year, nature became minimal and ignored. Aside from going to the office, lifestyle consisted of outings to a mall, a theatre or a restaurant, but never to a park, a lake nor a mountain. He felt imprisoned in a city.
poster from the series, horses trapped in a prism
One weekend in Shenzhen, China, Andy decided to visit the forgotten ocean. He took the subway and rode on a line that went along the coast. Every second stop he’d get out to see if he could spot the rolling sea. That day, he saw no ocean nor sea, even at stations with names roughly translated as “World on the Sea”, “Sea Moon” or “Rear Sea”, water was not in sight. Andy created this series to represent the imprisonment he felt when he was working in the city where he is surrounded by man-made buildings and structures. It was very different as compared to his working life in Canada where he was constantly surrounded by nature. Andy misses the natural environment he was in China and then decided to make this series of illustrations. These illustrations shows natural animals being trapped in a prism representing that nature is trapped as we live in a modern world surrounded by concrete jungles, that even finding nature spots can be a task for us. Birds, whales, bears and many other animals of the nature are trapped by the prism of mankind. These animals are from the wild and are made to be free, however, in this series by Andy Wang, they are trapped by the prism, like how we are trapped in our own prism of the city, and not going out free to explore.
1 9
“Aside from going to the office, lifestyle consisted of outings to a mall, a theatre or a restaurant, but never to a park, a lake nor a mountain. He felt imprisoned in a city.�
Andy loves nature very much but due to money and job constraints, he has to travel back to Asia to futher his job opportunities. Once after he has extra savings, he will then buy a ticket back to where he studies and visit his second home, for a short getaway trip and appriecate all the nature around. One day, after earning and saving up enough money, Andy wishes to stay in Canada for good. Andy wants to use this illustration series to reach out to the other viewers that we should not be trapped in our own world, but to be free and explore the wonders of the world, the world of nature. And Canada, in his opinion, was one, to nature at it’s best. top left: poster from the series, bears trapped in a prism top right: poster from the series, a whale trapped in a prism
poster from the series, bird trapped in prisms
ANDY WANG / NOONMOON
2 0
An exclusive interview with Andy Wang On this month’s issue of Dvide, we managed to arrange an exclusive interview with reknown tumblr artist Andy Wang. Founder of ‘noonmoon’, Andy Wang gives us more insights on him and his works, getting up close and personal with him. Read on to find out about more about Andy and even a special advice to all aspiring designers like him.
What originally made you want to become an graphic designer?
2 1
I guess it was a natural process. I was not that kind of child who loved to spent the day drawing… i’ve never had patience. But, as i was growing up i started to draw letters and geometric strange things in my notebooks at high school. By that time, i had become interested in graphics and design, and due to my parents job (my father is an artist and my mother is a geography teacher), i discovered a bunch of drawings from my dad’s past at home. I grew up in China, where there’s not much of a design culture and people were generally more conservative and closed up. In some way i think that probably pushed me to travel more and be interested in other cultures, places and disciplines. I grew up really close to the mountains, was inspired by the nature all around me and the beauty and simplicity of it, so since i was a teenager i knew that this was what i’d like to do in the future. The combination of all these things lead me to become a graphic designer.
How would you define the work you do? I mean, you do branding, illustration, print work – do you see yourself as more of one of those than the others? And do you think designers should narrow themselves into one field/medium or be a jack-of-alltrades? Massimo Vignelli talks about this profane visual disease that is around us, and how design is the cure to the disease. So whether it’s branding, illustration, or the rest, i’m aiming to be a visual problem solver. Yeah, it sometimes can feel like i’m putting on different proverbial hats, depending on what i’m working on that moment. That back-and-forth has the potential to get confusing, but it all aligns when i think about it all as the means for solving a design problem. Designers can seem like jacks-of-all-trades, it appears that way because design is so much larger than its mediums. It is a balance, and i believe that we shouldn’t spread ourselves too thin, but it takes time to learn that boundary.
How would you describe your approach to design? Clean and considered. I like to work hand-in-hand with the client, because i think this will lead to a really interesting end result. I listen to what the client wants and try to answer the brief in the most creative and timeless way i can. Other than working with clients, i also indulge in my own personal work whenever i can. I have a pile of them back at home.
Who or what has been the biggest single influence on your way of thinking? You probably wouldn’t guess it if you see my recent work, but one of my biggest influences would be David Carson, because his work is very connected to nature that i grew up with. Having said that, i’m not too keen on the idea of a single influence – i could name many as important to me as carson, people like Tibor Kalman, Mies Van Der Rohe or Dieter Rams among others.
“...pushed me to travel more and be interested in other cultures, places and disciplines.”
2 2
What would you say your strongest skill is? I really never analyze myself in that way! But i feel confident with my skills in minimalizing, graphic composition and chromaticism. I would say I am a jack of many trades.
What type of brief or project do you enjoy working on the most? Anything that challenges me and makes me feel happy at the same time. It doesn’t matter if is a visual identity or an editorial project, what i like the most is to be excited while i’m working on something. For that reason, i love to collaborate on all kinds of different projects with people from different disciplines.
something that’s good and bad at the same time. In some particular cases i’d say it makes you think or innovate less. So i prefer to stay as ’pure’ as possible and look to other things for inspiration: books, friends, collaborators, work from other disciplines… On the other hand, the web has had an important role in helping to raise young designer’s work, which is really interesting in terms of exposure to new clients and job opportunities.
“Anything that challenges me and makes me feel happy at the same time. It doesn’t matter if is a visual identity or an editorial project, what i like the most is to be excited while i’m working on something.”
Tell me about your thoughts on specialisation vs generalisation?
What are you currently fascinated by and how is it feeding into your work? I am very fascinated by reduction. Creating new things by using as little as possible. I’m fascinated by the idea of reproduction. Something so simple that everyone can do. I wish i could do something so simple that everyone can do. I’m trying to reduce my work to a line and just some geometric shapes.
Both are good – they simply require different personalities. What are you passionate about besides your work? How do you think online design resources have influenced the graphic design being produced today? Today it is really easy to find design inspiration online, but it’s
I love being a graphic designer, but i can also imagine myself being a photographer. I like to spend my free time with my family and friends in no particular place, just having fun with them. I love nature, and also travelling and discovering new places.
If, in some freaky friday-like situation, you could live the life of another designer, illustrator or creative, for a day, who would it be, and why?
2 3
As you can tell by now that i love nature, i’d love to be some old carpenter dude or a photography for Nat-Geo Magazine. To be able to work day-in and day-out in a woodshop around nature, with all the best equipment, would be a dream. It makes me feel happy inside just thinking about it. Do you have any superstitious beliefs or rules that you live by? No, but i’m always obsessed with order. Keep things organized, especially at work.
How would you define success? Do you think you’ve found it yet? In all things, success is defined by a person who has balance, this is someone who has a practical understanding of many many things through and through, by way of experience. It’s a bit like the philosophical idea of virtue, where at the center of the scale is virtue, and at the opposite ends is vice; so to be virtuous means to be balanced. Gaining balance is the tough part, but if i can be the kind of person/teammate/client who is willing to learn from my vices, i’ll hopefully find it.
What’s the best piece of advice you have heard and repeat to others? It’s not exactly a piece of advice, but i like a lot picasso’s quote: ‘inspiration exists, but it has to find us working’.
What’s your personal motto? Typically i like ‘less is more’ by robert browning (later adopted by mies van der rohe), and ‘god is in the details’ by mies van der rohe.
And finally, what tips would you give to anybody who is looking to get started in design? Have self-initiated projects, they’ll keep you on your toes. Don’t be intimidated to contact people you don’t know. Make good friends, and keep them. The client is always right, sometimes. Make mistakes, and learn from them. Lastly, love what you do.
“In all things, success is defined by a person who has balance,this is someone who has a practical understanding many many things through and through, by the way of experience.”
2 4
In this exclusive insight in Dvide Magazine, we have special guest Colin Chapman, creative director, from the Cereal Magazine to go for Andy Wang’s recent exhibition in Shenzhen China. He will be giving us a tiny glimpse on what the exhibition is like, and what he has learnt about Andy through this exhibition.
I am Andy Wang A short wite-up by Colin Chapman on the Andy’s recent exhibiton
The press release for Hello My Name Is Andy Wang gave little away about what the exhibition would comprise. It showed images of the creative workspace of Andy’s office, countless inspirational objects, art works and bits of stuff. His inspirations, working methods and obsessions underpin the entire exhibition in a very digestible way. Instead, the story here is told with the same economy of detail and flair for simplicity that you can hear the man himself espousing as a design ethic, in the quite brilliant audio piece being broadcast in the central space.
“...photography is clearly something he is passionate and extremely knowledgeable about.”
He’s a collector. The walls of the gallery space are covered in framed works of art, including pieces by major artists such as Hockney and Warhol, its not so clear why they are chosen (like the paraphernalia he also hoards) for Andy is a minimalistic guy, however they are collected not just for their monetary value, but probably Andy finds it a challenge and a joy to simplify complicated fanciful stuff. While there are certain themes (humour, a love of trippy, psychedelic imagery), as a whole, it’s quite dizzying. He loves pastel colours. From the individual graphic designs selected
2 5
ANDY WANG / NOONMOON
“...makes his talent rare and this exhibition one I can’t recommmend highly enough.”
from his many collections to the wall of literally thousands of differently-hued buttons, to the super-high-res video installation documenting his recent showcase at the ShenZhen Expo. He loves photography. In another voiceover segment, he decribes the camera as his “notepad”, and photography is clearly something he is passionate and extremely knowledgeable about. Not only are there many works of photography he owns on display, but there are examples of Andy’s own very accomplished work on show too. He loves to travel. The fact that Andy travels extensively is perhaps not so surprising, given the scale of his global business, but it’s also clear that the purpose of travel for him is at least partly for inspiration. He may only visit a place for 24 hours, he says (again in voiceover) but he will do more than most people would within that space of time. Street markets and nature are a particular inspiration, clearly evident from the magpielike passion for collecting colour and details from around the world, seen throughout the exhibition. Spaces relevant to the story of Andy Wang, designer, are recreated throughout the
exhibition: the first Nottingham shop, the famous Paris hotel room/showroom, the installation-art-like visual cacophony of his recreated office space. And then, as I turn a corner, he is suddenly there in person; being interviewed by Japanese visitors in an actual working office space, his PA to his right, working away at managing his busy life. The interview is clearly audible, and as we bystanders look on in charmed awe, Andy Wang recounts aspects of his design ethos and the pleasure he gets from mentoring young talent. As the interview concludes, Andy greets the lookers-on, and as an excited school group passes through, he comes out from behind the counter to sign autographs, shake hands and answer questions, to the delight of both teachers and kids. The designer is in his element, taking time to pose for photographs. My final realisation about Andy Wang is that this is what makes him so unique. A global brand he may be, but the touch, the ideas and the personality of Andy Wang run through every aspect of the brand noonmoon. He is the antithesis of the household name designer who is absent in all but name. That and the desirability and visual punch of his work, right up to the very present, makes his talent rare and this exhibition one I can’t recommmend highly enough.
A
D V I D E
P R O D U C T I O N S