Zkong and His “Creative Playground”

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On the preface of his Web site he states “zkong is a multi-disciplinary creative playground,” and after reviewing his work, I’d say he’s right on the money. He has experience with apparel, shoe, album and poster designs; photography; screen visuals; mood and style boards; ID branding; art direction; and motion graphics. Although multi-talented, his favorite thing to do is art direction saying, “Before you even design a cover you have to think of the style, the mood, what type of message you’re trying to convey—art direction covers all of that.”  He appreciates various artistic movements including Cubanism, Bauhaus and the Baroake period. Since he is into moods and emotions, his work is influenced by old school r&b, jazz and blues.

Zkong began developing his creativity in his youth and even experimented with graffiti on walls and canvases while in Miami during the ‘90s. He attended the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale and, while not initially interested in art in regards to corporate America, grew and learned different aspects of art and ultimately decided he wanted to make it his bread and butter.
 
As a Native South American in an industry where minorities are scarce, he has proven he is capable of handling an array of clientele.  He has worked with such companies as Spek Studios, Decon Media, Stimulated and Curious Pictures. Though his career has been challenging at times, his Web site literally illustrates the fruit of his labor: “I run the website kind of like a company. I do work that interests me from branding to video to campaign advertisement and then to my own product base.” Despite his impressive resume, his sights are set even higher with plans to build his company and expand to international status.

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inCOLOR: What challenges have you faced as a multi-talented artist?
I try to not be stuck or labeled to a style or just one thing.  I’m not just a designer.  That’s why I like art directing … I think it’s a label that pretty much runs better with me because there are times I haven’t designed what I’m working on, I have a crew of designers.

inCOLOR: Where do your ideas come from?  Tell me about your creative process.
I research before I come up with an idea. It all depends; personal work and corporate work is different. Corporations already have their ideas and my job is to attach content to it.  They have an audience, so I have to make it clear.

inCOLOR: Do potential clients get in touch with you or do you pitch to them?
Generally they contact me but, I send my resume. Mostly I work freelance for the motion graphics industry. Besides that I have a few clients from fashion and also a friend that is focusing on film and I like film so I do that on the side.

inCOLOR: You did the art direction for Sinai Rose’s “LOL” song. It was a very fun video; did you have just as much fun doing it? After hearing the song did you know exactly what you wanted the video to look like?
Yes, it was fun but hard. The creative director and I actually met with the artist and did b-roll on her to see her attitude, style, vision and also what it is that she represents.  Then we talked to a rep and we were given a lead. She’s very punk and at the same time, rap. So we researched the emo girl style and also went back to hip hop and worked to make it blend. The whole process included shooting and graphics. It took about a month to complete it.

inCOLOR: For the Red Bull “Live from Somewhere” advertisement did they tell you what they wanted specifically or did they give you creative freedom?
They gave me creative freedom. They’re pretty much doing very urban/hip hop type of concerts so from that part I didn’t have to research anything. It was easy designing it because, what is urban? Buildings, city lights, etc.

inCOLOR: You did the visual design/animation for Eminem’s performance in this year’s MTV Awards; did you get any feedback?
Everybody liked it. It was hard to work on; it took 7 (17hr) days. I was able to have creative freedom. I basically researched Eminem’s previous videos and then began developing my idea.

inCOLOR: What have been your most personally rewarding projects?
I think the most recent one, which is my street photography. The concept of the Labor Day photos was to showcase the vibe of the party scene.  I got interested in street photography from a friend and I love the rush. For now I am taking the pictures for myself but, I will eventually have a show that will showcase life. Sometimes when you walk around the same neighborhood you kind of get blind; you don’t notice the beauty. It’s as though it’s hidden. Also, I want to show how things are and how they can change. For example, two years ago in Norstrand in Brooklyn there were few people that were not native to this area. I was shocked to come back this year and see many differences including patrol cars going up and down 24/7; this was not there before. It’s pretty much become a new neighborhood … even the corner store has become more about aesthetics. 

inCOLOR: Yeah, gentrification is pretty obvious in the city.  What specifically bothers you about it?
I don’t understand why can’t you evolve and nurture what was there. I disagree that in order to make things better you have to take out the old. It’s a community and that community has been there even before you. They want to make the place better aesthetically but to what cost and to what respect .… I think New York has kind of lost its flavor. If you notice, not too many people who put New York on the map still live in the city or are even native to the city although some people still live here, which is great. I love NYC but, I don’t know if they’re trying too hard to build the NYC name.

inCOLOR: What projects are you working on now?
I have a clothing line which I’m actually pushing to come out next year called LOST.* It’ll be a T-shirt line first but, then it’ll expand eventually. I’m also doing a couple of short films. One that I’m working on right now hasn’t been named yet but, it’s kind of like a fashion piece.

inCOLOR: Okay, you just mentioned fashion; what interests you about it?
There’s a niche; the fashion market is trying to take their still images to moving images, especially on their Web sites. At the same time, the aesthetics have to be very clean and controlled because it is high-end fashion. They are also doing shorts but with high fashion aesthetics, meaning they have designer fashion clothing and fashion-looking models but, they’re actors. Some are abstract, just evoking mood. It’s more artistic, it’s not like a commercial. I definitely want to be a part of this movement. It’s challenging though; you have to have a good story and the aesthetics are demanding. You have to find the people that actually fit those criteria. I would love to use people of color because in the fashion world minorities are underrepresented.

inCOLOR: There are many creative artists such as yourself; do you find it difficult to differentiate yourself from others who are just as talented?
I don’t try for the competition, I just try for me. I know who the crème of the crop are and I don’t focus on that. I look up to everybody in this industry because everyone has to show me something new … every individual has a unique vision and perspective.  It’s up to me to actually learn from that.

If you would like to explore vivid images complemented by unique concepts go to Zkong’s website:  www.z-kong.com

(Photo credit: Zkong)

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