Mona Kim
Encyclopedia
Mona Kim is a Korean-American designer born in South Korea and educated in the United States. Kim is a multidisciplinary design consultant and a visual artist for cultural and commercial projects (Mona Kim Projects).
Kim has directed a number of projects for her clients: environmental design for museum exhibitions; advertising campaigns for fashion and beauty; branded art installations; interactive sensorial spaces; direction and scriptwriting for audio-visual installations; editorial design.
graduate with BFA degree with Honors in Design. She had been selected by IBM
Strategic Design branch during her last year in the university to collaborate with leaders in the design field such as Edward Tufte
and Sam Lucente. In 1990, Kim moved to Italy which had significantly influenced her work and life philosophy to date. In Milan, she had worked with the late Ettore Sottsass
and had been introduced to the instinctual approach to design.
In 1993, Kim moved to New York City where she had begun to expand her work into the fashion & beauty sector, working on advertising campaigns for fashion, beauty, and technology for clients and agencies such as Bloomingdales, Samsung Electronics
, Coty
, Kenneth Cole
, and Arnell Group, as well as working overseas for fashion houses in Italy such as Mandarina Duck
and Trussardi on the collection side.
During this time, Kim also started to design environments and "experiential spaces" for thematic museums and exhibitions. Using her influence from fashion and advertising background, and merging it with an intellectual approach to communicating socio-political information, her award-winning projects are described to be highly impactful, with innovative & seamless synthesis of images, space, and message, that boldly engage the public. She had been involved in international projects which include The European Parliament Visitor Center, The Canadian Museum for Human Rights
, "Voices" Exhibition for Universal Forum of Cultures Barcelona 2004
, Samsung Seocho Brand Showcase, and "Water for Life" Exhibition, one of Expo Zaragoza 2008's main exhibitions with the much acclaimed sculpture of water Splash which she designed with her partners at Program Collective. She has also worked on branded art installations for Uniqlo
and scenography for Premiere Vision.
In addition, she has lectured at international conferences for digital culture and creativity such as Artfutura
and Broadcat. Kim has also been an adjunct faculty and thesis advisor at Parsons Paris School of Art and Design
, adjunct faculty at IDEP, Istituto Europeo di Design
, and guest lecturer at Elisava Masters Program.
Kim has worked internationally in New York, Milan and Barcelona. She is presently based in Paris.
Kim has directed a number of projects for her clients: environmental design for museum exhibitions; advertising campaigns for fashion and beauty; branded art installations; interactive sensorial spaces; direction and scriptwriting for audio-visual installations; editorial design.
Life and career
Kim is a Carnegie Mellon UniversityCarnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
graduate with BFA degree with Honors in Design. She had been selected by IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
Strategic Design branch during her last year in the university to collaborate with leaders in the design field such as Edward Tufte
Edward Tufte
Edward Rolf Tufte is an American statistician and professor emeritus of political science, statistics, and computer science at Yale University. He is noted for his writings on information design and as a pioneer in the field of data visualization....
and Sam Lucente. In 1990, Kim moved to Italy which had significantly influenced her work and life philosophy to date. In Milan, she had worked with the late Ettore Sottsass
Ettore Sottsass
Ettore Sottsass was an Italian architect and designer of the late 20th century. His body of designs included furniture, jewellery, glass, lighting and office machine design.-Early career:...
and had been introduced to the instinctual approach to design.
In 1993, Kim moved to New York City where she had begun to expand her work into the fashion & beauty sector, working on advertising campaigns for fashion, beauty, and technology for clients and agencies such as Bloomingdales, Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics is a South Korean multinational electronics and information technology company headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul...
, Coty
Coty, Inc.
Coty, Inc. is the world's largest fragrance company, founded in 1904. It is also a beauty products manufacturer whose main businesses are fragrances , followed by color cosmetics , toiletries and skin care...
, Kenneth Cole
Kenneth Cole Productions
Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc. is an American fashion house founded in 1982 by Kenneth Cole. He originally named the company Kenneth Cole Incorporated in September 1982 and planned to showcase his new line of shoes during market week at the Hilton New York Hotel...
, and Arnell Group, as well as working overseas for fashion houses in Italy such as Mandarina Duck
Mandarina Duck
Mandarina Duck is an Italian fashion brand, most commonly associated with designer luggage and travel accessories. Its headquarters are in Bologna, Italy, and also has branches in Paris, Barcelona, Düsseldorf, Berlin, Vienna and London also with outlets such as Banbridge Outlet in Northern Ireland...
and Trussardi on the collection side.
During this time, Kim also started to design environments and "experiential spaces" for thematic museums and exhibitions. Using her influence from fashion and advertising background, and merging it with an intellectual approach to communicating socio-political information, her award-winning projects are described to be highly impactful, with innovative & seamless synthesis of images, space, and message, that boldly engage the public. She had been involved in international projects which include The European Parliament Visitor Center, The Canadian Museum for Human Rights
Canadian Museum for Human Rights
The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is a national museum currently under construction in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada at the historic Forks where the Assiniboine and Red Rivers meet...
, "Voices" Exhibition for Universal Forum of Cultures Barcelona 2004
2004 Universal Forum of Cultures
The 2004 Universal Forum of Cultures - was a 141-day international event that took place in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain from May 9 to September 26, 2004.-History:...
, Samsung Seocho Brand Showcase, and "Water for Life" Exhibition, one of Expo Zaragoza 2008's main exhibitions with the much acclaimed sculpture of water Splash which she designed with her partners at Program Collective. She has also worked on branded art installations for Uniqlo
UNIQLO
is a Japanese casual wear designer, manufacturer and retailer.The company was originally a division of Fast Retailing Co., Ltd.. On November 1, 2005, it was restructured as a separate wholly owned subsidiary called Uniqlo Co., Ltd. , which is listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock...
and scenography for Premiere Vision.
In addition, she has lectured at international conferences for digital culture and creativity such as Artfutura
Artfutura
- ArtFutura :ArtFutura is a festival of digital culture and creativity that is celebrated annually in Spain. It came about from a confluence of interests among some of the pioneers of Cyberculture criticism of the 90s, among whom were, Rebecca Allen, William Gibson and Montxo Algora, who presently...
and Broadcat. Kim has also been an adjunct faculty and thesis advisor at Parsons Paris School of Art and Design
Parsons Paris School of Art and Design
Parsons Paris School of Art and Design , known formally as the Association Franco-Américaine de Design and more commonly as École Parsons à Paris, is an arts and design university with campuses in the 11th and 15th arrondissement in Paris, France.Parsons Paris in a non-profit independent...
, adjunct faculty at IDEP, Istituto Europeo di Design
Istituto Europeo di Design
The Istituto Europeo di Design is a design school that attracts students from over 90 different countries to its one and three year/four undergraduate, masters courses and advanced training courses....
, and guest lecturer at Elisava Masters Program.
Kim has worked internationally in New York, Milan and Barcelona. She is presently based in Paris.
Awards
- 2010 Finalist for international art competition “Design As Reform” Vol.2 - Public Installations category, Dubai
- 2007 Shortlisted for the European Parliament Visitor Center competition
- 2006 Project awarded for Samsung Electronics Brand Showcase
- 2006 Jury for D&AD’s Digital Media category
- 2005 D&AD silver nomination, “Voices”
- 2005 Laus Trophy for “Voices” Exhibition
- 2005 Laus Awards Honorable Mention for “Voices” Catalog
- 2005 I.D. Annual Awards, Honorable Mention for “Voices” Exhibition
- 2004 Applied Arts Awards Annual for “Voices” Exhibition
- 2004 Good Design Award, Chicago Athenaeum, for “Voices” Exhibition
- 2005 Honor Awards, Society for Environmental Graphic Design, “Voices”
- 2001 Honor Awards, Society for Environmental Graphic Design, 50 years of TV and more
Press & publications
- Recent publication of water book
- Exhibition Design, Linksbooks
- Souls and Machines, catalog of ArtFutura 2008, ed. Montxo Algora
- I.D., 2008 Sept-Oct
- Domus, 2008 Sept
- Diseno Interior, 2008 August
- Creative Review, 2008 July
- The New York Times, 2008 June 15
- I.D. Annual Design Review, 2005, July/August
- La Vanguardia, 2005, May 15
- The New York Times, 2004 February 13
- El País, 2004 February 21
- Axis, 2003 September
- Diseño Interior, 2003 July
External links
- Mona Kim: Projects Website
- Program Collective