AN ILLUSTRATOR AND GRAPHIC DESIGNER WHO USES ELEMENTAL GEOMETRIC SHAPES AND BRIGHT COLORS TO SEEK OTHER POSSIBILITIES OF FORM AND EXPLORES THE POTENTIAL OF WORKS NOT CONFINED TO THE TWO-DIMENSIONAL SURFACE

TEXT & IMAGE COURTESY OF PRANG VIPALUK

(For Thai, press here)

WHO

Prang Vipaluk, a freelance illustrator and graphic designer based in Bangkok.

WHAT

An illustrator/graphic designer who particularly likes to arrange different components, both big and small, into a calculated dispersion using elemental geometric shapes to create other possible forms. I like trying on a lot of colors so that my work isn’t limited to merely illustration but expands into the realm of layout design and character data type.

WHEN

My interest in illustration began even before I studied communication design at Chulalongkorn University, but I wasn’t sure if it would be something I could do professionally. So, after graduating, I began working in graphic design, but I never gave up on illustration entirely. Around 2020, I had the leisure to devote to drawing something for a personal project named Virtual Garden. It reawakened in me the possibility that I could genuinely pursue illustration  as a career because I wanted to keep doing this.

WHERE

With paper, a pen, and a computer, I can work pretty much anywhere. I start all my paintings by hand-sketching on paper before completing them in Adobe Illustrator.

If you’re wondering ‘where’ my work is, it’s largely on two-dimensional surfaces. Of course, I want to expand the possibilities for my work beyond two-dimensional surfaces. If given the opportunity, I would love to see my art in novel settings and formats on other media other than paper. I want to see my two-dimensional design come to life in three dimensions and all the possibilities that my work can become.

WHY

I choose to work the way I do because I like both graphic design and illustration. I don’t want to limit myself to just one thing. As a result, my work is like the combination of these two fields.

How would you describe your work?

Graphic illustration with a lot of colors.

What is your inspiration and guiding principle for each creation?

I’ve always been a great observer, and I’m always documenting  things around me. I try to capture unusual-looking objects or unexpected colors mixed together that seem incredibly interesting when I travel to new places. When I look at the photos I took, I always wonder what a certain form might look like if I drew it out or painted it with this particular color. Curiosity and a wandering mind are what motivate me to create.

What project are you most proud of?

It’s quite difficult to say. I’m proud of all the projects I’ve accomplished because it feels like I get to see myself growing alongside the works I’ve created.

But if I had to pick just one, it would be the centralwOrld Blooming Summer 2022—The Blooming House project  that I did with centralwOrld because it was my first large-scale project. It’s also the project where I got to see my design translated into various mediums. It was as if I could see how far illustration can go and what it can be. This project allowed me to work with so many incredible teams and taught me so much.

Which stage of the design process do you like the most?

When I start exploring a brief and have ideas for what I’m going to do, as well as when I get to choose the colors I’m going to use in the piece. But there have been times where I suddenly thought of better ideas afterward. When I try those ideas and they end up working better than the initial one, it’s also a good feeling.

If you could invite a ‘creative’ to coffee, who would you invite and why?

Jean James. I’ve known him and followed his work since I was in college.  A friend of mine showed me some of his works  and said that his characters looked kind of like me. Since then, I’ve been following his work and have never seen him stop developing his artistic creation. He’s always experimenting with something. He’s such an interesting individual.

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