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Before the Midnight Hour A Bútorillusztrációk by Martin Reznik

Before the Midnight Hour A Bútorillusztrációk by Martin Reznik is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2022 Aranydíj A' Design Award in Grafika, illusztráció és vizuális kommunikáció tervezése Competition Category.


AranyGrafika· 2022

Before the Midnight Hour A Bútorillusztrációk

by Martin Reznik

Client: Martin Reznik Illustration

Aranydíj A' Design Award Winner in Grafika Category

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Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #133798

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The Design

About Before the Midnight Hour A Bútorillusztrációk

Fekete-fehér illusztrációk sorozata Marc Krusin megbízásából, és a Knoll és Desalto számára készült legjelentősebb bútorterveit tartalmazza. A képregények és a noir mozi ihlette projekt megtöri a bútorillusztráció konvencióit azáltal, hogy narratívát visz a jelenetekre, eltúlzott perspektívát és hangulatos noir esztétikát. Az emberi jelenlét hiánya és a szétszórt tárgyak rejtélyt és feszültséget adnak a történethez, míg a főszereplő egy meglepő befejezésben derül ki. Az összes képet digitálisan rajzolták meg az Adobe Photoshop alkalmazásban, Wacom Cintiq táblagéppel.

The Recognition

About the Aranydíj A' Design Award

Before the Midnight Hour A Bútorillusztrációk az Aranydíj A' Design Award győztese, mérhetetlenül rangos elismerés az elsőrangú, csodálatos és kiemelkedő dizájnoknak. Az aranygyőztesek rendkívül innovatív, látnoki és káprázatosan csillogó alkotások, amelyek tükrözik tervezőik zsenialitását, bölcsességét és mesterségbeli tudását. Before the Midnight Hour A Bútorillusztrációk-tól azt várják, hogy nagyra dicsért, irányt mutató, monumentális találmány legyen, amely példátlan értéket szolgáltat. Ez az Aranydíj A' Design Award kitüntetést elnyert dizájn látványos, megbecsült projekt, amely nagymértékben szolgálja, és előre viszi a művészet, a tudomány, a dizájn és a technológia határait. Before the Midnight Hour A Bútorillusztrációk intenzív vágyérzetet kelt, szenvedélyt ébreszt, bátorítja a kreativitást, és lenyűgöz bennünket.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties
Series of illustrations commissioned by furniture designer Marc Krusin for the promotional use on his website and across social media channels and featuring his most prominent furniture designs for Knoll and Desalto. The project brakes the conventions of furniture illustration by bringing a narrative to the scenes, use of exaggerated perspective and a film noir aesthetic. The lack of human presence and scattered objects add an element of mystery. The protagonist is revealed in a surprise ending.
Dimensions & Packaging
The illustrations are mainly used in a digital format online, but they were also designed with art print production in mind. Each square illustration is drawn on 500 x 500mm digital canvas.
The images were later combined into a large poster (500 x 700mm) and reproduced as a limited edition screen print.
Tags
illustration, furniture, noir, interior design, comics, digital art, black and white, drawing, architecture, graphic
Production Technology
Each illustration was drawn in pen and ink on paper and once approved by the client it was redrawn digitally. I used Adobe Illustrator to construct the furniture and interiors accurately and then Photoshop to apply textures, light and draw other elements using Wacom Cintiq tablet. The images were rendered using black only to recreate film noir aesthetic.
Design Challenge
The client was against any human figures in the scenes, but I could not help but wonder about the smoker missing from the first image. I felt his appearance was important to the story. His silhouette is revealed in an extended version of the 4th illustration, but only as a scroll option on an Instagram post. The client thought this elegant solution added an element of surprise and closure to the story.
Each image needed different cropping options to accommodate various socials and screen formats.
Research
Since I have never illustrated furniture before I made few initial sketches based on an online research of the industry trends, but these came out quite dull and rigid. I was not happy with them at all. I decided to go a different way and focus on style and narrative instead. From then on the research involved my favourite films and comic books, noir genre in particular. I decided to recreate its moody atmosphere in my series. The style also justifies unconventional framing of the furniture.
Inspiration
Main inspiration for this project were comics and classic French noir cinema. The concept for the first illustration came from a reference photo I received from the client, which was a shot of a chair from behind and at a very low angle. It was very unusual and sparked loads of questions in my head. Being a fan of detective stories I decided to follow this approach in the layout of the image. The first image was crucial in setting the tone for the whole series.
Project Duration
The series was posted on Instagram and LinkedIn starting February 2021 and these posts are still active. The hero banners on client's website run for about 8 months, nearly till the end of 2021.
Operation Flow
The project was initially published on Instagram. The illustrations were posted in regular time intervals. Main interaction with the story comes with the 4th and last illustration, where the viewer is encouraged to reveal the protagonist (the smoker) by using the scroll option on the Instagram post.
The unusual approach to furniture illustration in these series ensures the greater impact on the viewers arousing their curiosity about the products and the brand itself.
Image Credits
All illustrations: Martin Reznik, 2021

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