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Meet our Creative-in-Residence: Jonathan Lo!

Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you became interested in your field?

I studied economics in college. I wanted to understand how the economy shaped our lives and our decisions. After working in finance and consulting for a few years, I decided to pursue a creative career that was more hands-on to manifest my creative entrepreneurial ideas. 

I remember seeing an article about graphic designer Mike Mills, who had designed album covers and directed music videos for the Beastie Boys and Air. As a fan of their music, I loved how visual design shaped my perception of the music and my identity in it. So, I decided to study design to learn how to do that, too.

What inspires your work and where do you draw your creative ideas from?

A lot of my creative inspiration comes from personal experiences, including culture, traveling, and conversations. I’m always looking to understand the essence of different perspectives – why something is designed a certain way, or why someone has a specific perspective. Where does it come from? What informs it?

Through my creative practice, I am inspired to uncover these truths – whether of a person, a situation, a product, or an idea – and help express it creatively so it connects with our emotions.

Can you describe a project or piece you’re particularly proud of and why it stands out to you?

Some of the pieces I’m most proud of revolve around community storytelling. These projects include:

  • 290 Mulberry (and the corresponding characters) was a building branding project in Nolita, New York, which showcased a subversive art scheme. To pay homage history and culture of the gentrifying neighborhood, I illustrated characters that represented the people who lived in the neighborhood. These characters were not only used as part of the branding motif and opening gallery event to publicize the property, it was also stencil-painted into the walls of the luxury condominium as archeological artifacts to be discovered further into the future – during a renovation or when the building would be torn down. 

      • The Drop: Urban Art Infill – is art festival held in Chelsea, New York and under the highline. Working with artists like Yoko Ono, Charlie Ahearn, and others, we attracted over 4,000 attendees over two weekends. The festival featured local artists, vendors, and musicians, including a closing Pecha Kucha event featuring New York thought-leaders.

      • Virgin Orbit 
        • A series of comic books which helped to democratize complex ideas around space business. 
        • The Mission Wall was a participatory art project soliciting ideas about purpose and vision from the employees at Virgin Orbit

      What do you hope to achieve or explore during your residency with us?

      I hope to participate in various urban design projects from a visual storytelling perspective. In particular, I want to use the power of art and design to increase meaningful civic engagement, in partnership with local and marginalized communities.

      This can be manifested in two formats:

      • Making information more accessible: Support any new and ongoing efforts to make information about the public policies, processes, and systems, more accessible – to shape Long Beach and the greater LA into a more just and equitable city – for the people, regardless of their identities. By working together with the studios and the people who are directly impacted by these policies and systems, I want to elevate work that reflects the value, power, and vision of directly impacted people and communities.
      • Developing localized branding and storytelling: Craft narratives for the local community, and around new and existing buildings through branding, to reflect the specific characteristics of the neighborhoods, while engaging with the community in a site or community-specific way. 

      How do you see your work impacting or contributing to our office culture and community?

      I hope to be able to elevate the work that is already being done through my participation in various urban design projects. I hope to help facilitate more critical insight around storytelling and visual design. 

      By collaborating with talented designers and thinkers at the studio, I hope to be able to make projects that are greater than what I can accomplish alone!

      What do you think is the role of art and creativity in the workplace?

      If art mimics life – helping us see and engage more deeply with ourselves and each other, then by participating in the act of creative expression, we can more fully comprehend various perspectives – both in challenging our own, or finding our place in it.

      In turn, if what we are designing is ultimately for people, then we need to design solutions that consider art, to give our creations meaning and relevance. Our latest Rumble was engaging with Jonathan Lo, branding expert and art director, who captivated us with his presentation on the power of storytelling in design. Jonathan has a broad background as the creative director at Aurora Solar and formerly with Virgin Orbit and Virgin Galactic.

      Keep up to date with Jonathan’s work at JonathanLo.Design. Contact Jonathan at jonathan@publicassembly.org