MA Communication Design Illustration Graduate Portfolio
HELLO! Who are we and what do we do? The MA Communication Design: Illustration course encourages the exploration and understanding of the methods and processes at work in contemporary visual communication. It aims to further develop the students personal practice and approach to the making of images. The course also provides a focus on individual research and inquiry and helps you to understand the significance of the wider cultural role of the visual designer and illustrator. In addition, it will introduce disciplinary and interdisciplinary models of thinking that will underpin your own focused study.
Muqing Li
She Met Mr.Lonely @mochi_mochi_94 The inspiration of this project was based on Muqing Li’s own experiences as well as other people‘s experiences and the understanding about loneliness to solitude. She depicts loneliness as a Mr. Lonely who takes a lonely girl on a wonderful trip from negative loneliness to encountering beautiful solitude. In this story, Mr. Lonely is a kind and positive existence in the life of the lonely person and encourages them overcome bad feelings of loneliness. He also represents one kind of psychological state of people who want to get rid of a negative feeling of loneliness. With her story Muqing Li wants to tell people how to grow up and how to be ambitious during the process of negative loneliness of life.
Theresa Grossalber Hidden In Plain Sight
@th.gro theresagrossalber.com Every building has its story to tell, some less pleasant than others. They not only remind us of our history, but in our interaction with them, also show us how we as a society deal with the remains of our past. Through her project Theresa Grossalber wants to interest people in the story of the Flaktowers, which were built during the second world war. Nowadays they stand almost forgotten for what they really represent.
Taeho Son
The Toxic Mirror @shinabroson shinabroson.com ‘The Toxic Mirror’ represents a young woman’s experience with body image. The idea of this project began when Taeho Son saw a display of mannequins in shop windows. This made him question why all these bodies look so similar, and why only this specific body type is valued. With his project, Taeho Son explores how society makes us see what is considered as ‘ideal’ for a woman’s body and only presents one specific look throughout social media as well as many other industries.
Niu Chen I Failure
@niucantfindaname Society constructed our perspective from its own process, and it continuously influences our view of the world. From the curiosity of how to be yourself in society, Niu explored both sociology and psychology to experience the inseparability of the individual and others by understanding her own expectations. She decided to face her vulnerability through recording her own failure of feeling unable to achieve certain goals. This zine share the experience.
Céleste Rilliet
Visual Sound Characters celeste-illustration.tumblr.com How would sound look like and move if it was a ‘’living being’’? Based on the ASMR concept (Autonomous sensory meridian response), Céleste collected a series of relaxing sounds and strove to represent them visually, through abstract and unique animated characters. More than just an animation, it also is an immersive sensory experience.
Espen Baklid Face Blindness
@espenandpaper espenandpaper.com Two percent of the world’s population can‘t perceive facial features, and many more have lacking abilities of facial recognition. Humans with such lack of abilities frequently experience awkward situations: acquaintances talking to them without them remembering who the person is; picking up the wrong child from daycare; or not even recognise themselves when presented with a photograph where only their face show. Non-facial attributes such as hair, clothing, voice and gait are therefore heavily relied on for recognising people in daily life. The artist have used this very recognition approach to make a series of element-by-element caricature animations of iconic people.
Ching-Wen Wu Still In Love
@chingillustration_83 Ching-Wen Wu‘s animations narrate how romantic poets interpret love at the different stages of a relationship. These are: First love, in love and lost love. The main purpose of her work is to use illustration to create an ambience instead of words. She wants to invite the audience to enjoy this journey of love.
Alice Cleary
The Art Of Cooking @aliceillustrated aliceclearyillustrated.com Alice‘s project is based on cooking as a therapy, and how the methodical task of cooking can be used as a meditation to reduce stress and anxiety. She wanted to create a cookbook that enables the reader to identify an emotion with a series of recipes in order to re-focus their mind by being productive, whilst creating something they can enjoy. Her images are chapter titles broken into different emotions, with a before and after illustration representing, before and after you have used a recipe, from emotional ‘chaos’ to order. She has used pastels to create my illustrations with a calming grey background contrasted by the bright colours of the drawings, reecting food and my chosen emotions.
Chunchen Liu
Journey Of Feelings, Illustration For The Blind @chunchen_liu liuchunchen.wixsite.com/mysite Art can not only be seen by eyes, the images in the brain of blind people are as real and vivid as that in the brain of sighted people, behind the eyes that cannot see is a brain that does see. This project of Chunchen Liu is based on her research about blind people and cognitive psychology. She wants to make a two-way communication between blind people and sighted people. This Illustration is created for blind people with different textures and sounds. It is also a fantastic journey of the senses in our daily life for sighted people. Chunchen Liu wants the sighted audience to close their eyes, and enjoy the journey only by touching and hearing to understand the world of blind people through this journey.
Karoline Marka
Our Harshest Critics @karolinemarka karolinemarka.com Feeling bad about the way we look can influence every aspect of our lives. Karoline’s project specifically addresses the impacts of negative body images. Her series of short animations, designed to be shared on Instagram, deal with specific, individual issues. They reflect the self destructiveness of peoples thoughts when they criticise and judge themselves based on their appearance.
Kun Qian
Memory Of Home @kunqian.art www.kunqian.art Home is a topic that touches the philosophical question of identity, the contemporary political question of border, and the psychological question of belonging. Kun takes a more personal approach to it, flashing back to her memory of home in the 90s of China. In a form of movement and fluidity, she explores the ambiguous and subjective quality of memory as well as the stream of consciousness in visual narrative framework.
Hi Chae Yoon Life With Others
@hilda_yoon My thesis tells a statement of “Don’t judge drag queens by their appearance”. Hi Chae Hoon believes every human has the right to dress, wear, and perform as they want to. She wants everyone to accept and see drag queens just the way they are.
Yueyi Ning
Welcome To The Black Hole @faye.ning behance.net/fayenyynyy2085 The black hole is a mysterious and inaccessible place in the endless universe. Scientists have countless conjectures for it. We are a part of a universe and we can fill up this place with our imagination. But what is inside of a black hole? Yueyi Ning wants to explore it and invite you to come to the unknown space with me.
Mengyuan He Punk News
@lunanana_0109 mengyuan-he.simplesite.com As a member of the young generation, various subcultures run through our lives. One of the most significant subcultures influencing today’s youth is punk. As the seminary of the punk subculture, British historical background has been impacted by punk significantly. Therefore, the lifestyles, the concepts of British youth relate to punk culture. As time goes by, punk has changed a lot. Does contemporary youth understand real punk spirit? Mengyyuan He created a punk fanzine which could reflect young people‘s punk concepts towards their lives today.
Nayong Lim
The Garden Of The Goddess @nayong_sketch Once upon a time, there was a goddess who was weaving her clothes in the darkness. One day the goddess wanted to share her lunch with someone because she felt lonely in her empty house. She created her lovely daughter and son and had a fantastic day with them.
Shu-Chen Chou
The Second World Of London @shuchen_art behance.net/mandychousf9d2 When you walk around in London city do you know that there is a snarl of tunnels underneath your feet? Do you know any story of the underground stations? How about trying to look in a new way? Shuchen Chou‘s project combines the illustration artworks with AR technique to communicate a message and to make the audience engage and rediscover the London tube world.
Hyunjeong Kim
My Own Sweet Time @hyunjeong.uk onlyonejeong.wixsite.com/hyunjeongkim Hyunjeong Kim’s own experience in adolescence of loneliness motivated her to do this project for adolescents who have experienced the same feelings. She believes that if we keep going inward, we can find, understand and heal the feeling of loneliness. Only then are we able to move beyond loneliness and meet sweet solitude.
Simona De Leo Not Alone
@simona_deleo_illustrator www.simonadeleo.com We are not always ready to face an unexpected negative event, such as cancer or depression, and do not always know how to react or what to do. Although we want to help we’re not able to; communication and relationships start to break down, and precious time passes without us realising it. “Not alone” tells a story of a mother and a daughter who learn to communicate again. Fighting her fears, the little daughter finds the courage to express her love and deal with the loss of her mother. This zine shares the experience.
Weiqi Shen
A Transparent Dog Someday every dog owner has to face the fact that their dog will leave them. Weiqi Shen created a story about love, companionship and departure. The stories main intention is to comfort people who have lost their dogs.
Miaoling Wang
In A World Of Their Own @paingirlillustra.jt www.behance.net/540306899a19e Parents usually have the responsibility of helping their children distinguish right from wrong when their children are growing up. However, what if their children have the opportunity to explore something themselves and not only being told what the world should be?
After they shared their expriences with each other,
Julia Buckley Seeing Green @jbuckley2424
Using Edward O. Wilson‘s influential publication‚ Biophilia‘ as a catalyst, Julia Buckley‘s project examines our attitude to the flora that surrounds us. It presents ten illustrated facts about nature that can be applied in the format of a trail for an urban green area, delivered on a smart device. The facts illustrated aim to show species interdependence and incite curiosity about the natural world, thereby encouraging participants to identify with their local green space and value its preservation.
Cui Cui
New Year Paintings @cbaibaibaibai Cui Cui’s series of New Year paintings about Chinese traditional legends are based on the combination of the characteristic of traditional New Year paintings and the lives of modern people. It aims to attract the audience‘s interests in Chinese specific folk culture. The audience can even scan the picture to watch the animation related to this image with the AR technique to explore more about the story behind it.
Yeonny Park
Put Yourself In Her Shoes @yeonny.park www.yeonny.com In the patriarchal society, misogynistic behaviours and words are conducted and spoken subconsciously. Yeonny Park believes that the world would be free from gender discrimination if people understood and empathised with women‘s lives. Her project depicts a reversed, female-centred community. Feel and show your empathy!
Yooree Ko
Welcome To Devil‘s Heaven @yooree_ko yooreeko.tumblr.com For some, hell is an absolute place of despair, but maybe for someone else hell is filled with excitement and pleasure. Yooree Ko has created a world called „Devil‘s Heaven“. This is a place every prospective devil (you?) would like to travel to.
Wenyi Zou
Enneagram Type 2 @awen0610 Many people strive to please others their entire life in hope of respect and love.With her animation Wenyi Zou wants to show the character traits of those so called Enneagram Type 2 people through visual communication, hoping to show how such self-sacrificing ways can be harmful for the person.
Leyan Li Lost Times
@ribcookedwithhoneyfor2hours www.lileyan.me Nowadays the world belongs to the Post-Millennial generation. We rely on social media and the internet to create our world. However, we also have to look back on the progenitor‘s era. As society moves forward, we will never know what is going to happen next, but it‘s important to always remember the past.
Yang Li
The Possibilities Of The Future What will be the relationship between human beings, nature and technology in the future? Will we have a better or worse future? These illustrations created by Yang Li warn people that the future of human beings depends on what humans do next.
Ran He
The End Of Escapism twitter.com/ran_chiiipye People always believe that escapism is negative, and that it is a manifestation of a person‘s timidity, thus negating the happiness and positive influence they gained in escaping. Escape is just like an EXIT connecting different worlds; it is a way to prove the existence and continue to live. However there is no doubt that whether negative or positive, it changes people‘s inner world and expresses people‘s subconscious desire, because of the existence of this exit, people can face reality and continue their lives.
Jing-yu Lan Floating
@lanjingyu.bluewhale.art How does the pollution of the oceans influence the relationships between marine life and human beings? This project describes the journey of a plastic bag through the ocean.
Xuyang Zhai I Am Not Okay An ambitious and caring project where Sherry aims to lift the spirits through illustration. After witnessing the terrifying effects of clinical depression and how often sufferers can see the only way out as suicide, Sherry endeavours to produce uplifting imagery that contains elements that can be used in tattoo art.
Çaglayan Aktug Ugliness In Movies @caglayanaktug caglayanaktug.com Throughout the history, the concept of ugliness has strongly affected the art and culture of humanity. In this project, Caglayan Aktug depicted some characters from a selection of movies about ugliness and created Greeting Cards from them in his own style. These movies included, for example Pink Flamingos, Beetle Juice, Frankenstein, Elephant Man, Teen Wolf. In the creation process he only used digital tools such as tablet and Adobe Photoshop.
Yebin Kim Neat Freak
yebinkim.co.uk Yebin Kim believes that there are many benefits to tidiness. She thinks people feel much better when everything is organised and she wants to share this pleasant feeling with others. ‘Neat freak’ is an interactive animation about organising. The aim of Yebin’s project is to encourage viewers to participate in her work and make them feel satisfied through the interaction.
Yihan Huang Cats
Yihan Huang’s project was inspired by the huge popularity of cats online. The visual narrative tells 5 different stories about the different personalities of cats.
Course Contact p.postle@kingston.ac.uk www.kingston.ac.uk/postgraduate-course/ communication-design-illustration-ma/