WONGFACE

Jordan Wong • Graphic Designer & Illustrator • Cleveland

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Another fantastic year! Here are the WONGFACE highlights from 2018…

• Featured on Design Recharge, hosted by Diane Gibbs, the one of the sweetest, most encouraging people in existence (Feb. 21st).

• Guest speaker at Designer Dialogues, an event series by AIGA Pittsburgh (Mar. 2nd).

• Guest speaker at Art Institute of Pittsburgh (Mar. 2nd).

• WONGFACE POSTER SHOWCASE presented by Blick Art Materials in Pittsburgh, PA (Mar. 2nd).

• Keynote speaker at AIGA Mobile’s Flourish: Emerging Designers Conference (Mar. 10th).

• Grace McConnell became my assistant this year and helped me in so many ways! (Grace, it’s been wonderful working with you! I am so grateful for you!) 

• PRECISELY + EXACTLY showcase and artist talk at StartMart in downtown Cleveland, OH (Apr. 19th). 

• Guest speaker at Ohio Wesleyan University (Apr. 26th). Big thanks to Dr. Michal Raizen for inviting me and special ordering WONGFACE cupcakes!

• Guest speaker at Pitch Neon, an innovation showcase presented by Flash Starts. My talk was also featured on Cleveland.com! (Sept. 10th.) 

• I received the honor to create a t-shirt design for the incredibly talented, straight from Argentina, tango-punk band El Cachivache! Thank you to Pooja Kumar of Guardia Vieja for the opportunity! 

• PANTHEON showcase at LOOP in Tremont, Cleveland, OH (Nov. 9th). This series is thus far my most ambitious work, featuring three, 4 ft. by 8 ft, full-color illustrative banners that were inspired by the ideas of deities and gods. Just you wait, I plan on going even bigger in the future ;) (Spoiler alert: murals!) 

As always, thank you to those who have shown me such generosity, love, support, and encouragement this year <3 

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PANTHEON is a series of large works inspired by the concept of deities and continued personal approach of automatic drawing (from the subconscious) mixed with illustration (depicting recognizable imagery). Each piece is composed of Asian cultural references, abstract musings, and hidden motifs reminiscent of comics, video games, and Japanese animation. 

The work debuted at LOOP cafe in Tremont (Cleveland, Ohio) and was shown from November 9th to December 12th,  2018. 

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What should I draw? Hmmm...uhhh... God, I have no idea. Okay, I guess I'll draw a shape or two. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Okay, cool, a head. Nice. Let's give it some spikey hair. Damnit...it looks like Dragon Ball Z. Eh...Whatever. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Ah crap, the eyes look like their from Scott Pilgrim. Yeah, I am pretty sure I've seen hundreds of other illustrators Draw the exact same character. Shit. Yeah, this is definitely not original. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Oh! I'll add a "0" on the forehead! That's weird and unique, right? Yeah... Hmmm...pretty sure I've seen something similar On Instagram. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Yeah this is pretty unoriginal. Derivative as shit. But everything is, right? Everyone has their influences, right? "Steal like an artist," right? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I know, I'll tighten it up as a vector. Ah, damnit...I always do that. Typical. I'm just falling into my habits. Am I even growing? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Or is it "original" to express the "unoriginality" of something? Wait, did Warhol do that? Fuck, what is anything anymore? 

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When I first moved to Cleveland back in 2015, I signed up to be one of the artists at SPACES's Monster Drawing Rally. It was a memorable, fantastic event, and I can only imagine how crazy it's going to be this year! It is an honor to have illustrated and designed this year's MDR postcard :D

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It was an honor to create a poster for long-time friend and comedian, Anand Mahalingham’s FIRST one-hour special. He had everyone howling at the Funhouse (Mr. Small’s) in Pittsburgh. Cheers to you, Anand! 

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Last summer, Jon Mecoli saw my artwork hanging in Phoenix Coffee Ohio City (Ohio City) and purchased two pieces from me. He then commissioned a third, which was to play with the idea of a "Super Businessman" and (sardonically) reference business jargon. The three pieces now hang in his office. Thanks, Jon!

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2017 was a fantastic year! Here are some of the highlights...

• Featured on the Creative South Podcast (Episode No. 61)

• Guest speaker at Walsh University’s Doodle Day

• Harmony & Hoopla | art showcase | Pittsburgh, PA

• Harmony & Hoopla | art showcase | Cleveland, OH

• Five | art showcase | Cleveland, OH

• Billboards | art showcase | Cleveland, OH

• Free Sticker Day at Mason’s Creamery | Cleveland, OH

• AIGA Cleveland Community Meetings

• Your Show Too (Canopy’s 2-year anniversary) | art showcase - wall mural | Cleveland, OH

• Began MOTION Collab with Purple Films and Deanna Dionne, an open studio event series that connects creatives and focusses on animation/motion work in Cleveland, OH.

• Became the design partner of SPACES gallery | Cleveland, OH

• Made over $1K with the WONGFACE Pop-Up Shop at SPACES event

I want to say thank you to everyone that I’ve worked with this past year as well as those who encouraged and supported me and my work!

Onward to 2018!

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DANG SNOW! Because of last Wednesday's treacherous weather I decided to do my pop-up shop event again this week! However, instead of one day, you now can visit me either... TUESDAY (19th), WEDNESDAY (20th), or THURSDAY (21st)! 11AM - 2PM (Stop by during lunch) 5PM - 7PM (Visit after work) Artwork available for sale will be set up in MY STUDIO! Come see my new home at SPACES. I only have so many original pieces left for sale, so plan to visit me sooner than later! Message me to schedule your visit <3 

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I will be hosting a one-day pop-up shop event at SPACES where I will be selling original drawings and prints. There will also be some WONGFACE FREEBIE SWAG!

Since making SPACES my new home of creative work, I realized that I have lots of artwork I need to get rid of. Help me find these little quirky drawings and illustrations a home for the holidays! All artwork will be offered at DISCOUNT PRICES!

RSVP on Facebook

The new year is upon us and that means it's a time for improvement! It is my ambition to update my process to a more streamline, digital approach. After doing some research and asking other creatives their opinions on drawing tablets, I've decided to invest in an iPad Pro + Apple Pencil. Money earned from the pop-up shop will go towards financing this new piece of gadgetry! So thank you for your purchases and support that will help me evolve my creative process! 

Can't make it to the event, but want to support me in my goal? Donations to my PayPal account are immensely appreciated! 

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I'm a fan of Creative Pep Talk, and it was Episode No. 158 - THE LIE THAT'S KILLING YOUR CREATIVE WORK (PHILOSOPHY SERIES PT. 2) that inspired me to create this quick graphic. Andy J. Miller discusses the importance of mastery, the pressures of being "great," and the healthy ambition of being consistently good. Check out the episode HERE.

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Beginning of November my friend, client, and fellow tango dancer, Pooja, flew me out to Austin, TX to help her with the branding of her new business. However, this trip was not all work and no play. Thanks to Pooja I had the pleasure of seeing how Austin has kept it weird with their vibrant scene of art, music, tango, and food!  GUESS WHO ELSE WAS IN AUSTIN!? Two days into my trip, I opened Instagram and saw that design legend Aaron Draplin was in town! The story of how our paths crossed in Austin is quite remarkable (and may feature a shenanigan or two). Be sure to ask me about it in person and I'll let you in on the details! 

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I am incredibly excited to announce that I am moving my studio to SPACES and becoming their design partner!

SPACES is a presenting contemporary art venue dedicated to artists who explore and experiment. Located on the west side of downtown Cleveland, SPACES currently operates three programs to feature newly created work by our curated artists: R&D (Research & Development), SWAP (SPACES World Artists Program), and The Vault.

I want to personally thank Christina Vassallo, Bruce Edwards, and Karl Anderson for making this partnership possible.

Keep your eye out for some WONGFACE flair in their promotional materials (like the SPACES in WONDERLAND Annual Benefit invitation and graphics)!

And yes, that is the legendary Michael Bierut! He stopped by last Thursday to SPACES during his visit to Cleveland! Not a bad way to christen a new studio space, eh?

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Back in the Fall of 2015, I was in dire need of a studio - I could not focus nor get any work done in my apartment. Because of Erika Jaenke’s generosity, I was able to move my business and creative work into Canopy in exchange for designing some of exhibition posters and other promotional material.

It has been a fantastic two and half years, but as many of you know, Canopy will be closing soon. It's tough to say good bye, but there are many more exciting chapters ahead! I can only be thankful for having Canopy be the home of my first studio space.

Throughout October I will be moving into a new studio, more details to come ;)

With that, I want to say thank you to Erika for having me be a part of Canopy, the artists who entrusted me with designing their exhibition posters, and to those who would visit me when I often needed a break from working.

Good bye, Canopy. It's been fun <3

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I'm honored to have worked with Ingenuity Cleveland this year and create the poster as well as some of the promotional material for IngenuityFest 2017! 

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It’s funny, I’ve been telling people that I’ve been working for myself for over two and a half years, but in reality, TODAY marks the full second year. Thank you to everyone who has encouraged and supported me this year!

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Love pandas? Love Godzilla? This shirt for you. Snag one at my online store!

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Today I did a joint promotion with Mason’s Creamery, giving away free stickers of this armored ice cream man. It was a great success :)  You can order a 12 in. x 12 in. print of this guy at my online store!