Seongjin Yoon Explores Motion Design Without Anticipation
Seongjin Yoon is a senior motion designer at the New York-based animation studio, Hornet. Known for his stylistic innovation and ability to shape visual narratives alongside some of the industry's most iconic directors, he’s led creative strategy and crafted 2D, design, and motion graphic work for clients such as Amazon, Apple, Away, Chase, Meta, Figma, Glamour, Google, Kroger, MTV, Netflix, Salesforce, and Spotify.
Sharing his journey and insights with LBB, Seongjin discusses his passion for combining different styles, and some of the projects that he's proudest of.
Q> How did you first fall in love with illustration and motion design?
Seongjin> I’ve enjoyed drawing and crafting since I was little, and started studying graphic design at SVA (New York's School of Visual Arts). After taking a motion design class, I was intrigued by the techniques of bringing things to life through movement, which inspired me to pursue it as a career.
Q> How do you continue to experiment and push yourself as an artist?
Seongjin> When I have an exciting idea, I create a project where I can experiment and bring it to life. I find joy in the entire process of designing, illustrating, and ultimately animating the idea to make it move.
Currently, I’m focusing on 2D designs with an extra illustrative feel, which I consider one of my strengths within motion graphic techniques.
For example, in a recent piece, I tried to give pants a 3D-like texture and volume purely in After Effects, and the result was a cool 2D-meets-3D look. Then when I animated it, I gave the character realistic movement, which gave the overall video an interesting, ambiguous look. In these explorations, I just create without an anticipated outcome, and the style develops along the way.
Above: BTS Seongjin's dance animation
Q> Tell us more about your latest personal project and what inspired it!
Seongjin> I’m not a dancer by any means but in the 2010s my friends got into hip hop, so I was exposed to a lot of dancing. I wanted to work on something that tapped into that nostalgia. I hadn't seen many animations that focused specifically on feet as they dance, so I had an idea to explore that movement through animation in After Effects, as a personal project. I was also really inspired by the popular subject-tracking camera movement from TikTok, which is super fun and contemporary. Design-wise, I wanted to challenge myself with a complicated design for the sneakers. Through my research, I was inspired most by Raf Simons’ 2014 Spring/Summer sneakers.
I enjoyed working on a topic I love and I felt very accomplished after completing it. I also came up with new ideas for future projects and learned how to approach different challenges.
Q> How would you describe your style, and what are your biggest inspirations that developed it?
Seongjin> I love combining styles and finding ways to integrate everything from clean to sketchy to blurry to colourful. I sometimes add filters on top that add glow or grit. The only consistent part of my style is that it’s a combination of so many things, and that I keep exploring and adding new styles.
I’m inspired by artists like Chris Anderson, James Noellert, Jaedoo Lee, Jonathan Djob Nkondo, Tania Yakunova, Mar Hernandez, and Hornet’s own Natalie Labarre, who I work closely with a lot.
I’ve learned the most from working with Natalie and her design and illustration style. I learned how to animate in a stylistic way with her. I’ve wanted to learn how to animate my own style, and in time and experience I did that.
Q> Show us your favourite or most impactful project that you’ve worked on! What makes it special and what were the memorable moments or challenges?
Seongjin> I would say the Away - 'Travel the Vote' work was one of my favourite and most impactful projects. Natalie Labarre directed it, she and I designed it, and then Natalie, Sami Healy and I animated it. The biggest challenge was the timeline. We had only three weeks to produce the campaign, and the only way we made it was Natalie’s directing - we had such a specific, strong design that made the animation process so much easier. At that time, I hadn't had much design experience, but I learned a lot about design sense, and how smart design can help even a crazy production without losing quality but in fact gaining more. My animation skills also improved a lot after this whirlwind project.
Q> What is your favourite piece of technology or software that you use and how does it help your creative process?
Seongjin> After Effects. It is one of the most essential and powerful software programs in the field of 2D animation and motion graphics. It allows me to create work in many different ways, which I find very appealing. Compositing is another one of its strengths. It helps me add various effects after the 2D animation stage, allowing me to experiment with different skills in creative ways to enhance the final results.
Q> Outside of the field of animation, what really inspires you?
Seongjin> Photography is a huge inspiration for me and I also like to go out to art museums and galleries to see shows. I can get a lot of inspiration from paintings and sculptures.
Q> Any advice you would like to give to aspiring artists?
Seongjin> I think the most important thing is you should really love and enjoy the animation and motion graphic field! Another important thing is continuing to make personal creative work. I’ve had many great opportunities by continuing a personal practice and it has helped with improving my technical skills as I keep creating.
