Before the Midnight Hour Meubelillustraties by Martin Reznik

Before the Midnight Hour Meubelillustraties by Martin Reznik is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2022 A' Design Award in Goud in Grafisch, Illustratie en Visuele Communicatie Ontwerp Competition Category.

GoudGrafisch· 2022

Before the Midnight Hour Meubelillustraties

by Martin Reznik

Client: Martin Reznik Illustration

A' Design Award in Goud Winner in Grafisch Category

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Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #133798

Meer info Visit Site View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Before the Midnight Hour Meubelillustraties

Een serie zwart-witillustraties in opdracht van Marc Krusin en met zijn meest prominente meubelontwerpen voor Knoll en Desalto. Geïnspireerd door strips en noir-cinema, doorbreekt het project de conventies van meubelillustratie door verhalende scènes, overdreven perspectief en een humeurige noir-esthetiek te gebruiken. Het ontbreken van menselijke aanwezigheid en verspreide objecten voegen een element van mysterie en spanning toe aan het verhaal, terwijl de hoofdrolspeler wordt onthuld in een verrassend einde. Alle afbeeldingen zijn digitaal getekend in Adobe Photoshop met behulp van de Wacom Cintiq-tablet.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award in Goud

Before the Midnight Hour Meubelillustraties is winnaar van de A' Design Award in Goud, een immens prestigieuze erkenning die wordt toegekend aan eersteklas, schitterende en uitmuntende ontwerpen. Winnaars in Goud zijn uiterst innovatieve, zeer visionaire en glamoureus verblindende creaties die het genie, de wijsheid en de bekwaamheid van hun ontwerpers weerspiegelen. Before the Midnight Hour Meubelillustraties wordt verwacht een zeer geprezen, trendzettende en monumentale uitvinding te zijn die ongekende waarde levert. Dit ontwerp dat de A' Design Award in Goud heeft gewonnen, is een spectaculair, gerespecteerd project dat enorm baat en de grenzen van kunst, wetenschap, ontwerp en technologie verlegt. Before the Midnight Hour Meubelillustraties wekt intense gevoelens van verlangen, roept passie op, moedigt creativiteit aan en fascineert ons.

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