Graphic Designer Rex Koo
Local graphic designer Rex Koo has spent 15 years helping brands and bands up their cool quotient, all while dedicating half of his time to being a legit artist. The illustrator and painter has been featured in nearly 20 group exhibitions, but “Simple People”—his first solo show—makes graphic design itself the art. Koo sits down with Sean Hebert to talk about bridging his day job with his passion.
HK Magazine: Was graphic design always the career you had in mind?
Rex Koo: When I studied graphic design at university, I didn’t think too much about a career. My interest has always been concentrated on pop culture, so after I graduated I went to work for Wing Shya. He’s a photographer now, but before that he had his own design studio and helped Wong Kar-wai with posters, soundtracks, and basically any promotional materials related to the films. During that period, I helped do the design on projects like “In The Mood for Love” and many album covers for local singers.
HK: Since you left Wing Shya, you’ve been a freelancer and have worked with all kinds of brands—from Nike to Hello Kitty. Do any projects stand out?
RK: When I did album covers and sleeves for Eason Chan and Leslie Cheung I enjoyed the work, but after a while I stopped taking those kinds of jobs. One reason is that the music industry is in decline because no one likes to buy CDs, so the studios have limitations on how much they can pay. Most of the projects I feel best about doing now are related to illustrating—like Nike.
HK: Did Nike come to you, or do you pursue brands you like?
RK: They came to me. Some people will set up their own home studio and have a few people who help them, like a company. They will hire account service people to get clients, but I don’t work this way. I am more like an artist—people like my style, so they find me.
HK: Is that uncommon in graphic design?
RK: I think that the way graphic designers get work is changing. I’ve been doing this for 15 years, and when I started working, there were not many freelancers. Now there are a lot. I think it’s a generational change—my generation is still willing to work in a design house or company, because if there is someone we would want to work for or learn from, we do it to get more experience. But now, less people think like that. Many fresh graduates want to work for themselves right after they graduate. The problem is that they have less working experience and no leader to follow. How will they find their path if they don’t have any experience? You have to work to find your own vision.
HK: Why base your first solo art exhibition, “Simple People,” on your graphic design work instead of painting or illustration?
RK: I think that most people still identify me as a graphic designer because I’ve been doing it for so long, but still, I think “Simple People” is quite different from graphic design or illustration or painting or drawing. I thought it would be interesting if I tried drawing by using graphic design. What popped into my mind was that I needed to use a grid, because most branding in editorial jobs or graphic design uses them. But it’s a new idea to use grids to illustrate portraits. The grid, by design, limits your composition. But this is not a bad thing. As a painter or illustrator, freedom is important. By setting a limit on that freedom, it creates a challenge for me to still create interesting things. That’s the essence of “Simple People.”
HK: How did you choose the subjects? In the show I spotted The Simpsons, Superman and Thom Yorke from Radiohead—why them?
RK: I won’t draw things that I don’t like. That’s most important. I also think that all my subjects have very strong characteristics. Like the Simpsons: I don’t have to draw their eyes, their nose or their mouth and people still identify them from their color and shape. It’s like a game for me—I choose only the most important features to illustrate them.