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Before the Midnight Hour מעבל אילוסטראציעס by Martin Reznik

Before the Midnight Hour מעבל אילוסטראציעס by Martin Reznik is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2022 A' Design Award אין גאָלד in גראַפֿיק, אילוסטראַציע און וויזועלע קאָמוניקאַציע דיזײַן Competition Category.


גאָלדגראַפֿיק· 2022

Before the Midnight Hour מעבל אילוסטראציעס

by Martin Reznik

Client: Martin Reznik Illustration

A' Design Award אין גאָלד Winner in גראַפֿיק Category

Colors

The Design

About Before the Midnight Hour מעבל אילוסטראציעס

א סעריע פון ​​​​שוואַרץ און ווייַס אילוסטראציעס קאַמישאַנד דורך Marc Krusin און מיט זיין מערסט באַוווסט מעבל דיזיינז פֿאַר Knoll און Desalto. ינספּייערד דורך קאַמיקס און נאָיר סינעמאַ, די פּרויעקט ברייקס די קאַנווענשאַנז פון מעבל אילוסטראציע דורך ברענגען דערציילונג צו די סינז, נוצן פון יגזאַדזשערייטיד פּערספּעקטיוו און אַ קאַפּריזיק נאָיר עסטעטיש. דער מאַנגל פון מענטשלעך בייַזייַן און צעוואָרפן אַבדזשעקץ לייגן אַן עלעמענט פון מיסטעריע און שפּאַנונג צו דער געשיכטע, בשעת די פּראָוטאַגאַנאַסט איז אנטפלעקט אין אַ יבערראַשן סאָף. אַלע בילדער זענען געצויגן דידזשאַטאַלי אין אַדאָובי פאָטאָשאָפּ ניצן Wacom Cintiq טאַבלעט.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award אין גאָלד

Before the Midnight Hour מעבל אילוסטראציעס איז אַ געווינער פֿון דעם A' Design Award אין גאָלד, אַן העכסט פּרעסטיזשע אָנערקענונג וואָס ווערט געגעבן צו ערשט-קלאַסיקע, וווּנדערלעכע און אויסגעצייכנטע דיזײַנס. גאָלד-געווינער זענען העכסט אינאָוואַטיווע, פֿאָרויסזעענדיקע און בלענדענדיק פּראַכטפֿולע באַשאַפֿונגען וואָס שפּיגלען אָפּ דאָס גאונות, די חכמה און די בקיאות פֿון זייערע דיזײַנערס. פֿון Before the Midnight Hour מעבל אילוסטראציעס ווערט דערוואַרט אַז עס איז אַ זייער געלויבטע, טרענד-שטעלנדיקע און מאָנומענטאַלע דערפֿינדונג וואָס ברענגט אומגלײַכלעכן ווערט. דער דאָזיקער געווינענדיקער דיזײַן פֿון A' Design Award אין גאָלד איז אַ שפּעקטאַקולערער, רעספּעקטירטער פּראָיעקט וואָס ברענגט גרויסן נוצן און שטופּט פֿאָרויס די גרענעצן פֿון קונסט, וויסנשאַפֿט, דיזײַן און טעכנאָלאָגיע. Before the Midnight Hour מעבל אילוסטראציעס שאַפֿט אינטענסיווע געפֿילן פֿון תּאווה, וועקט לײַדנשאַפֿט, מוטיקט קרעאַטיוויטעט און פֿאַסצינירט אונדז.

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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