The Virtual Magic Shop
The Virtual Magic Shop draws inspiration from the group psychotherapy technique known as 'The Magic Shop,' wherein a shopkeeper (typically the therapist) interacts with customers (patients) who seek to acquire or exchange human characteristics or psychological qualities like Empathy, Ignorance, and Patience. In light of the ongoing challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on people's lifestyles, The Virtual Magic Shop aims to provide a nurturing environment for personal growth within a playful virtual setting. Through this platform, individuals can engage in beneficial transactions to enhance their mental well-being and address the changes brought about by the pandemic. Utilizing 3D space and Augmented Reality, customers can explore the virtual portal and participate in transactions that are visualized as self-care products tailored to their needs. The Packaging Design for the project won first place in HP Indigo's Digital Print Creative Challenge 2020.
Branding / AR / Packaging Design /
Three Dimensional Design
Persona
The first major archetype. “PERSONA” is the set of “masks” each of us wears according to the situation or the people we encounter in our daily lives. It is how we want to represent ourselves to the world and how we want people to see us in a certain way. This poster is an inspiration from the colours of the music video performed by RM with his lyrical intention partially hidden behind the gradient like a set of masks.
LEARNING COMPONENT
Making and reshaping gradients using the Warp tool.
Shadow
"SHADOW" is the second central archetype. This is the part of our unconscious mind composed of our weaknesses, repressed ideas, desires, instincts and shortcomings. This is the darker side of our psyche, representing chaos that forms out of our attempts to adapt to cultural norms and societal expectations. The main focus is given to the chorus, which repeats the artist's deepest intentions repeatedly like a mantra throughout the song. Experiments on typography and 3D collision effect was given more importance in this particular poster.
LEARNING COMPONENT
Introduction to Cinema 4D, textures and using the collision effect.
Ego
The third archetype, “EGO” is the centre of the field of consciousness. This is the psyche where our conscious awareness resides along with our sense of identity and existence.
A variety of brush strokes and colours were tried and tested. In the end, a curated palette was picked out that suited the personality of the artist (J-Hope) best. This also depicts a celebration of the feelings and emotions that we are aware of ourselves. A tricky blend to highlight one’s “Ego” at its very centre.
LEARNING COMPONENT
Incorporating gradients into brush strokes on Illustrator.
Anima Animus
The 4th archetype, “ANIMA ANIMUS”, states that nestled inside each are unconscious qualities of the opposite gender. Anima, the unconscious feminine side of a man, & Animus, the unconscious masculine side of a woman, are built by our experiences. It was tricky to begin this piece as gender is a fluid term. With this in mind, the Liquify tool was used to blend the age-old masculine colour (blue) & feminine colour (pink) to introduce a middle purple colour—a fresh perspective on age-old gender constructs with a play on colour associations.
LEARNING COMPONENT
Introduction to Liquify tool & blending gradients.
Map of the Soul
MAP OF THE SOUL - An almost literal manifestation of a topographic “map” with folds and values. The values depict the release date of the “Map of the Soul” album series - Persona (12.04.19) and 7 (21.02.20).
LEARNING COMPONENT
Creating abstract shadow effects using Photoshop.
Filter
Jimin talks about the concept of using a “FILTER” in everyday life to please the people around him. As a literal filter used on SNS or as a metaphor of people’s perspectives and prejudice, the artist explains how we want to present ourselves in different ways to the world. The initial poster consisted of a white circle with a pastel palette, rather than the black rigid square with dark and bright colours that are used now. This is to emphasize the variety of filters used by people to portray a certain mood in their pictures.
LEARNING COMPONENT
Further study on the Liquify tool and usage of abstract shadows.
Inner Child
This song is inspired by the psychological concept of the child-like sub-personality of our unconscious mind. Taehyung reflects and writes to his past self, imparting hope and patience to his inner child. From the beginning, the visual of darkness hiding away a colourful light source began to form. Without having a final artwork in mind, more experimentation on gradients was done. This depicts the playful gradient hidden behind the dark and dense blob of adulthood and the grey framework of life.
LEARNING COMPONENT
Introduction to crafting 3D-like shapes on Photoshop and warping lines.
Moon
On the 16th track of Map of the Soul:7, Jin personifies himself as the “MOON” and his fans as the earth he orbits. After multiple attempts to play with typography, it was finally decided to omit it and allow the visual elements to speak the name - Moon without mentioning it. Using the blend tool, different moon phases are depicted in a running and chaotic manner. A distorted text layer in the background mentions the word Moon here and there under closer inspection. Initially, the colours of dusk and dawn were used in the visual but later restricted to only an area of the poster.
LEARNING COMPONENT
Introduction to Blend tool on Illustrator and Distorting text on Photoshop using different pattern images.
My Time
“MY TIME” is a song performed by Jungkook, the youngest member of BTS. The lyrics of the song focus on childhood and the time he has lost due to his dedication to his musical career. Along with the sorrow, he talks about hope and finding his own pace and time. Inspired by the lyrics, 3D rings on Illustrator were made to depict “clocks”. Initially planned to be whole rings but later substituted for broken ones to subtly depict the chaos of time. The title of the song is emphasized in Korean. The poster has two versions - Dark and Light.
LEARNING COMPONENT
Introduction to 3D shapes using Illustrator.
