HOOOLY DESIGN

More Than Just Design

“For me, a perfect project is one where we designers are involved in the entire process right from the start”, says Fan Cao, co-founder and creative director of HOOOLY DESIGN. According to his understanding, the role of the designer is not only design, but also to participate intensively in the organisation and all further steps of the project. In all of his design projects, Fan Cao aims to maximise the use of visual form language to convey information while exploring visual boundaries. As creative director, he is responsible for the development of the poster series for the Fonta Experimental Typography Show in Shanghai – a project in which HOOOLY DESIGN was intensively involved in the planning, creative direction of photography and production.

HOOOLY DESIGN in an interview with Red Dot

Red Dot: In this poster series, the jury praised the intelligent and at the same time elegant rendering of Chinese characters, pictorial as they already are, with photographic means. How did the idea come about?
HOOOLY DESIGN: As for the text presentation in the Fonta poster, I did not directly choose to express it with the visual elements of calligraphy, but found a way to convey the emotions of the characters more strongly and expressed this through photography. In the photographic works, the brushstrokes of Chinese calligraphy became installations in the form of props. They interact with the theme of characters – just as the Chinese language itself contains qi [vital energy], which forms a vivid resonance and connection with characters and pictures.

The Art of Balance

As co-founder and creative director of HOOOLY DESIGN, Hongrui Shen was responsible for the visual identity of the “Kindness and Sharpness” exhibition featuring the hats of artist Sui Yida. His personal approach to his multiple award-winning creative projects is characterised by first trying to emotionally understand the client’s needs. Shen then sets out to explore the boundaries of visual expression in the project, always looking for ways to combine the functional requirements of the design with creativity, and then implement that in every detail of the project.

Hoooly Design in an interview with Red Dot

What makes a successful design project for you?
For me, a successful project is balancing the commercial needs with the artistic aesthetics of the project, balancing the client's perspective with that of the designer, and finding a central motif.

What is remarkable about this project is the combination of Chinese and Roman characters. How did you approach this theme?
I sought balance, especially with regard to the Chinese characters, by not only considering the formal beauty of each character, but also aiming for the viewers to feel the theme of this exhibition – “Kindness and Sharpness” - when looking at the work itself. In dealing with the Chinese and English descenders, I found a way to emphasise the theme of “sharpness” by exaggerating the descenders while increasing the visual fluidity of the image in the layout.