part one of two// a short stop-frame animation addressing a manipulated reality…the surreal and the daunting…

part one expresses the playful side of the room, but when he leaves and encounters the infinite staircase, he can’t leave, and thing begin to change…

by dionysus cho and joon yang
(credits say jang…it was an all-nighter…sorry!)

the final project for studio this term was the complete redesign of the island which currently houses Toronto City Center Airport.

i was inspired by the action of a drop of ink in water; a dense drop disperses into feathery wisps of color until it vanishes. Ink Island will explore this as a gradient of activity, from active and social to quiet and meditative.

i decided to do a complete overhaul. the flat would would be excavated from the center out, creating a ridge of land in the shape of C. the center-line would be elevated, creating a distinct active zone on the exterior, and a quiet and darker interior.

the language that is carried out through the island is that of the path. the path is warped by the landscape or by an invisible force to alter the experience, be it to shelter or seat.

three of the main buildings on my island illustrates this idea of the methods of manipulating the path:

+ the ferry terminal is formed by the nudging of the ferry, rippling the path
+ the path between the two beaches forms a knot: a cafe to service both
+ the path is severed to form to disparate structures: the bathhouse/lighthouse

the same manoeuvring is extended to the path system in the interior marshes.

the interior paths are shattered and forms a discordant network: exploration and isolation.

photographs that reflected the composition of the interior.
↓ click on image to advance.

the final piece was the design of the chapel/cemetary: the moonlit chapel.

the concept was to have a building that did not have an apparent path leading to it, nor did it fully appear as a building until you reached the end. this would be done by the use of a light system which ushers guests through the threshold of tress.

the chapel itself is another play with the forms of nature. the rectilinear path forms the shape of the building and frames the view across the watery cemetery, but the water (which enters the space through the sloped stage) informs the rippling interior. this divides the building into 4 parts: the prep rooms, the back corridor, the main atrium, and the hall.

↓ click on image to advance.

the above vignettes illustrate the passage through the building, from the atrium to the hall to the stage: the framed moon and eery cemetery.

this ritualistic procession is designed to accommodate both weddings and funerals, whereby the the ashes of the deceased may be scattered at the edge of the water to be washed away by the rippling lake.

to complete the journey, one follows the path at the northwest corner of the building which peels away, boring through the hill. one is then led through a different path in the trees by the same method of lights by which one came, and the secret journey vanishes behind.

just put together an entry for the Hugo Boss competition for its line of fragrances. the theme is travel, and it was kinda opportunistic i spent most of the summer travelling.
i should tell joon i used him.

a commentary on society as a collective synergy; each member is not merely an individual, but a cumulation of each member. this is accelerated and amplified by the interconnected “hive mind” of cyberspace and technology.

model: andrea “lil’ girl” kim

my final project for TWT was the concept development of a digital radio (DAB) for a company looking to install digital radios in 4000 taxis across hong kong, and giveaway portable players for the masses.

i took the road towards minimalism. updownplusminus defines the only required functions, controlling channel seek and volume, as well as the self-defining icon.

a quick sketch of the mini unit shows desired simplicity: buttons on the back are useable by touch while one views the front.

updownplusminus. simple and memorable.

did up a poster for Sunday TaiPan (ft. Ascot). he’s a television personality here in hong kong, hosting a talk show and entertaining guests with a similar air as letterman. anyways, i call this mister hong kong as it pulls together some of hong kong’s most prominent icons of architecture and transportation.

working as a conceptual designer for TWT, I had the opportunity to provide a design for a booth for the Hong Kong Book Fair! the final realization was worked out by UntitledHK, who turned my drawings and instructions (often WILD AND CRAZY) into something feasible.

i’m not sure exactly, but i’d say about 7 billion people (give or take a few) go through the book fair to snatch some hot deals on books, so it was a chance to design a temporary product that a lot of people would experience.

the overall concept takes advantage of the “site”; 4 booth areas concentrated into one, and, being at the end of the row, provides a great exposure. the client wanted to highlight culture and reading, turning against the proliferation of celebrity “books” and HK idols picture books. the booth needed to stand out in a non-commercial way.

after a many iterations (maybe i’ll post some later), the final concept is based on stacked pleats, reminiscent of the pages of a book. loosely.

the back counter houses several imacs to input a message, which would be displayed on the exterior bubble, and the panel above the computers.

the lighting, built by hand, was a tricky installation that i came up with to show off book covers, having a point of interest on the inside…as well as give off light…and i made it by…

…playing with paper all day…lol.

sketchup provided a quick way to visualize A WHOLE LOAD of these.

on site, after all the sheets were cut…we realized that the suspension bar was too low, and the lights would hang too low. the original design had a HUGE cloud of these covers, but, with some quick readjusting, i came up with a new configuration hugging the suspension bar, putting the final touches to the booth!

even TVB dropped by to check it out!!! though, i was too shy to talk to the reporter lady.

so i got a quick assignment…1hr…to pump out two ideas for a meeting. basically, reinterpret the MTR lines in any way i wanted.

i have to admit this might remind you of my bubbles project from school (do you even know my work?). but what better way to illustrate the interconnectedness of the MTR lines…as bubbles in a cluster! i really just liked that bubble project.
yeah, yeah…i like spongebob…

this one was so clever, but it doesn’t look that crazy. no time to make it nuts. here, i played off each line and their stops and connection points to form a tally-chart-styled colored grid. each color an MTR line; each line represents a stop; and joint ones..well, you guess!

so i was told to think of a few ideas for Lily Chen’s CD, releasing in august for audiophiles everywhere. i don’t listen to chinese music (because i don’t understand it…), but she has a nice voice. anyways…i was given some photos taken by jeffrey chan, and i came up with some concepts (hopefully i’ll scan more). just playing with the flowy fabrics of her dress. i meant for the squarey bands to be more ribbon-like…but for a concept sketch, i’m not dedicating my life to vector masking all that…

the finished CD (done up by daniel chung) is in stores now. no resemblance to my sketches…which is cool; i like the opportunity to be creative freely, product or not!

this concept was developed for a client in china for the development of variably sized pop-up store within their many branches. the idea for the generation of uniformly sized modular components became the obvious choice, allowing for a deployment of “packages” of any combination of units as per the requirements of each space. here, a rounded square frame allows for a multitude of functions, from shelving to vending machines to empty archways (possibility for panoramic or audio advertisement?).

the benefits of this system lies mainly in the possibility of the configuration. properly aligned, these may act to guide a customer through and around the installation, generating a captivating shopping experience (video to be uploaded soon). Moreover, large surface areas (red) on the back of each unit may act as prominent displays for advertisers.

wonder if i’ll see this developed….