Sophia Ko and Moonyoung Kim

S: From a young age, I enjoyed creating things with my hands or expressing my emotions through drawing. As I grew older, I developed a desire to create on behalf of others, to bring to life what they wanted to express. That’s why I decided to become a designer.

M: I was inspired by the video where designer Patricia Moore disguised as an elderly person for 3 years to design products for seniors. I want to contribute to a world where everyone can live comfortably, believing designers can help solve this.

M & S: Kiss Products is a renowned beauty company celebrated for its diverse and creatively designed range of beauty products, notably artificial nails, eyelashes, and related accessories.

S: I work as a brand package designer in a creative team, collaborating with art directors and production designers to develop and execute brand design strategies for various projects, such as packaging design, POP, marketing campaigns, and product launches.

M: I work as a web designer in a creative team, designing comprehensive visual assets for digital use. Additionally, I actively participate in UI/UX related side projects.

S: I think it’s about creating something meaningful that doesn’t exist before. When designers themselves can produce original content, I think a design that gets empathy is created.

M: For me, Design is reframing problems and visualizing solutions.

S: I prefer straightforward and minimalist design that clearly communicates its purpose. Starting with UI/UX design and developing into design studies has made me think more from the user’s perspective, and that’s why I favor this type of design.

M: It seems that I am drawn to architecture design, which is completely opposite to what I do, probably because I'm designing invisible things. Being able to see such a grand scale in reality is truly appealing, and I feel an overwhelming sense of awe.

S: I think a design that is genuinely loved by many people would be a good design. I believe a good design is one where the intention behind it is understood and appreciated by a wide audience.

M: A good design, regardless of the design field, is one that people can understand without the need for explanation-this is the most significant difference from art.

When I was young and saving money in a piggy bank, I always wanted to quickly fill it up to split open the piggy's belly and get the money. That's why we started the project, to let kids experience the joy of the process of saving money.

The services we use in our daily lives, advertisements we pass by on the streets, and of course, Pinterest

We haven't thought about it, but since we've lived our whole life in Seoul, I think it must have had an influence. If we have the opportunity in the future, we would like to work on a project utilizing Korea's heritage!

For us, this award was our first international design award. This accolade serves as the first stepping stone for us to showcase better designs to the world, and it holds significant meaning.

If you’re a designer, London would probably be a place you’d want to experience or live in at least once. Given that the design award was held in London, a city where you can draw a lot of artistic inspiration, we felt that we absolutely had to participate.

The most crucial page in our design was the main page. We put a lot of thought into it because we wanted to make the garden easily and clearly understandable to children. We designed it by presenting the garden in the form of a 3D map, giving the feeling of being inside a virtual world, making it easy to comprehend.

Receiving this award has allowed us to discover the possibility that our design can have a global impact. It has undoubtedly instilled a great deal of confidence in us for our future design endeavors, and we believe it will lead us to create even better designs.

In the design industry, we still find it fascinating to contemplate color, typography, and layout. It’s our favorite aspect because the combination of these elements can significantly alter the design;s intention and concept, depending on how they are used.

Our ‘Pocket Garden’ service is designed differently from other allowance-giving apps in that it allows children to experience being in a virtual world. This aligns with our service;s intention, which is to effectively tech children about economic concepts.

Over the next 5-10 years, the design industry will further integrate advanced technologies like AI, AR, and VR to enhance user experiences. Sustainable and inclusive design practices will become standard, driven by environmental consciousness and the need for accessibility. Cross-disciplinary collaboration and a focus on ethical design will shape the industry, creating innovative solutions that cater to diverse audiences and societal concerns.

Through research, you must understand current societal issues and trends. It's important to create distinctiveness from competitors through analysis and express it visually while maintaining the unique design concept.

Stay informed about design trends through platforms like Dribbble and Behance, utilize Figma's free courses to enhance proficiency, and focus on honing communication skills to effectively convey and persuade stakeholders about the quality of your designs.

We are a completely transparent person with no secrets haha

S: I was inspired a lot from Jong-min who is an interaction/creative designer who worked in Google. He showed a design with a pattern that wasn’t boring and I feel fresh and great when I look at it. His artwork gave me lots of inspiration.

M: As a UI/UX designer, Steve Jobs has been a significant source of inspiration due to his visionary approach in seamlessly integrating technology and design. His emphasis on creating intuitive and aesthetically pleasing products has motivated me to strive for innovation and user-centricity in my own design work.

S: The key is “just give it a try.” Taking action can lead to either success or failure, but I firmly believe that there is something to gain from it, regardless of the outcome.

M: It's better to do and regret than to not do and regret.