10 Questions with Moree Wu
Moree Wu is an award-winning art director, graphic designer & illustrator. Her experience consists of a diverse list of creative studios and clients ranging from Lucid, Hornet, Brand New School, Facebook, Spotify, theSkimm, and Unicef. She also creates independent graphic works. Her works are influenced by Japanese anime's aesthetic and hold a love of abstract drawing.
Moree Wu Portrait
ARTIST STATEMENT
In Moree Wu's artworks, she has always tried to use graphics to recreate some interesting aspects of daily life that may be inadvertently overlooked. Also, she has a huge focus on how to convey a series of subtle emotional & sensational changes that flow in her mind and life.
"Whimsical Simplicity" & "Playful Poetry" are the ultimate goal she has been exploring. In the world she has constructed within herself, graphics are the fountainhead of all light, guiding her through the world of sensuality, in the meanwhile skillfully maintaining a balance between narrative and abstraction.
Moon and Flowers, Digital, 55x36 cm, 2019 © Moree Wu
INTERVIEW
You have an interesting career, with many important collaborations and independent work as well. Tell us something more about you. How did you start working with illustrations? And when did you realized you wanted to follow this career path?
I started realizing my interests in shape & form & color at an early age (maybe middle school). At that time, I just loved playing with them and always wanted to design something. Once, I watched a red carpet of an award ceremony and didn't like the cloth of a Chinese actress, so I spent several hours drawing what I wanted her to wear on my small sketchbook and showed it to my parents. Around 2000, when BBS was trendy, people would use some images to be their signature banner. I always designed by myself and tried to select fonts to make them work better with graphics. Those (very silly but lovely) stories gradually made me realize that I have strong feelings and a passion for graphic design & illustration.
Tell us about your background. How did you develop into such a skillful graphic designer?
Those child stories helped me realize what path I wanted to follow for my career. Then I developed more professional knowledge and skills of graphic design during college. But for illustrations, I never systematically study it from school or anywhere. Instead, I learned from the works of other great illustrators, drew in my sketchbook, and learned from every commercial work process and collaborators. I came to the US for my Computer Art (Motion Graphics track) MFA because I thought I could do both graphic design and illustration for motion graphics! I used to be a freelance designer and worked for many clients (like Facebook, Google, Spotify, etc.) and then had worked as an Art director at Lucid till this August. Now I'm working as an independent art director, graphic designer, and illustrator.
Bookmark #2, Digital, 5x12 cm, 2019 © Moree Wu
Bookmark #3, Digital, 5x12 cm, 2019 © Moree Wu
In your statement, you quote Japanese anime's aesthetic and abstract drawing as your main influences. How much do those references influence your work? And how do you incorporate them into your production?
Japanese anime is one of my favorites since middle school. I love how it creates a whole fantastic fantasy world through simple 2d visuals and brings huge entertainment. Comparing to recent, new, trendy animes, the visual expressions of old animes attracted me more. Because of the technical limitations of the time, people were not able to do very glamorous visual effects, so they had to use their imagination to create some straightforward but unique graphics to express. Looking at those graphics with putting narrative storytelling aside, it struck me that there was a wonderful coincidence between them and abstract painting. The simple graphics but imbued with strong emotions and unique visual charm are something I really like.
I take screenshots when I watch the animes, then distill or reconstruct the various graphics I find interesting from a graphic design perspective, and draw on my sketchbooks (or write down my thoughts). I will go back to them when I create works and get inspiration from them.
Flowers #2, Digital, 55x36 cm, 2019 © Moree Wu
You also state that you use your "graphics to recreate some interesting aspects of daily life that may be inadvertently overlooked". What are your preferred subjects? Do you lean toward some subjects more than others, or do you just like to consider daily life as a whole?
I don't have preferred subjects. It can be a personal emotional experience (like A Call from My nose) or a graphic re-expression of subjects (like a flower, a cup, etc.). For example, if I go to the supermarket, some people may focus on the story of what is happening in the supermarket. I may focus on the beauty and satisfaction I get from how food, vegetables, and fruits are being placed and the intriguing relationship between them.
What about your colors? You seem to work either with a strict black and white palette or a very colorful one. What does color represent for you? And how do you use them in your work?
Without a specific color palette, I do tend to use high-contrast colors! I feel that color is very emotional, and I will choose colors according to the emotional experience that different projects give me. The process is not fast. It goes through so many tests, and then I let my intuition tell me which one I want.
A Call from My Nose, Digital, 2018 © Moree Wu
"Whimsical Simplicity" and "Playful Poetry" are your ultimate goals. Tell us more about them; how would you describe them, and what do they look like in your art?
"Whimsical Simplicity" is the feeling that I want my work to present externally. I would like to have some wackiness, whimsical, uniqueness spark in the visual expressions. At the same time would like it to be simple, not too noisy, and not like some overwhelmingly burdensome for the eyes. It's more like the kind of mindset I hope I can keep when I am creating. Playful for me is a huge imagination. Poetry is deep perception and observation.
Let's talk about new technologies. What do you think of NFTs? Do you think they are just a trend, or are they here to stay?
I only know a few things about NFTs. Still, from what I have learned (very not enough, though), I think it's great that it can help independent artists make more of a potential profit directly for themselves rather than relying on any platform. If it can continue to help independent artists, I hope it can stay longer.
And what is one new thing that over the past year you have discovered? Did you participate in any online exhibition or event?
Last year, I became art director at Lucid, a learning app that helps people learn more & better with visual summaries. It's a beautiful journey that I can work with talented people, and we were like a virtual family during such a hard time. I also just had two solo exhibitions in Shanghai. Thankfully, they're not virtual! Those are good chances to show my works in front of people in China (including my friends and family) and let me re-review them from a new angle.
A Call from My Nose, Zine, 18.5x23.5 cm, 2018 © Moree Wu
What is your ultimate career goal? Is there a brand or project you would like to collaborate with? Or a project you have meant to start?
My ultimate career goal is to develop my design studio nicely, have the opportunity to choose briefs, and make enough money. And maybe hopefully build a brand with my friends, but I haven't thought about what the brand will do yet. I don't have a specific dream brand. Many big-name brands are doing interesting projects, and there are a lot of new personal brands with inspirational ideas. So I just hope that the briefs I get will be more and more exciting and accepting more creative freedom.
Lastly, what are you working on now, and what are your plans for the future?
Now that I am back to being an independent art director, graphic designer, and illustrator, I have more free time. A couple of branding projects are in the pipeline. And also kung-fu related personal projects and some more are waiting for me to explore! In the future, I hope to be able to do commercial & independent works, and most importantly, keep a "play around" positive mindset.
