VISUAL CITIZENS
VISUAL CITIZENS
Throughout the work of Visual Citizens, one can see a beautiful combination of art, architecture, geometry and sculpture in the design of beautifully composed spaces. Shali Moodley and Adam Kelly are the creators behind this project. Their work is infused with modern forms, textures and materials in combination with a unique sensibility for lighting.
For this interview, Visual Citizens will be talking about their work, their distinct process, their inspirations and more!
In a few words, describe yourself and your work.
Visual Citizens is an interdisciplinary design studio based in Rotterdam and Cape Town. Our studio has an appetite for surreal imagery and immersive visual experiences. I am an urban designer from South Africa my partner Adam is an architect from Scotland.
Would you define your work as architecture, visual arts, design or something in between? What is the idea behind Visual Citizens?
I would say it is somewhere in between. We started off by simply wanting to improve our skills in visualisation as well as design, but we were immediately captured by the limitless world of visuals. Digital design allows us to participate in a medium not constrained by the usual architecture restrictions. We are able to fully immerse ourselves in the complete design of a space through creating surreal imagery. In the future we hope to be able to realise some of the objects and spaces you see in our renders, it will be interesting to see if they can be created in real life!
Your work not only focuses on the composition of rooms, objects and colors, but also the composition of various textures. What is the process of creating your images? How do you decide what color scheme to use, what kind of space to create, etc?
The colours and materials selected in a visual are chosen according to the fictitious spaces we create. If we are designing a meditative space, for example, we think of colours and materials to enhance the experience making the visuals an immersive experience. We are also becoming increasingly interested in contrasts and using an atypical palette, so once we imagined a reading room that was entirely green velvet.
In your compositions, we rarely see anyone inhabiting the spaces. Why is that? Do you think adding a human figure to your image would change its meaning?
I guess you would generally use people in renders for scale. We have other objects for scale so we don't need people. If there is a person it almost gives a prescribed use (if there is a person in a suit then the space becomes formal). Also we want it to be as easy as possible for someone to imagine themselves in the space, and a person might disrupt that feeling.
What is the importance of light and reflections in the spaces you create? Why?
Light is an extremely important tool in visuals. Lights can be choreographed to create focal points within the space. It can be manipulated to affect the colour and appearance of materials. Light can be used to add a specific atmosphere you want, either something dramatic or something subdued. We use reflections a lot as well, it brings realism to the scene which is vital when creating immersive experiences. Reflections can also be used to create new geometries and forms, this is often why we add reflective pools to our scenes.
Who or what influences you as a designer?
One of our main sources of inspiration is modernist architecture, we love the works of Le Corbusier, Mies, Saarinen, Loos, and Kahn. However, our work only partially reflects that style of design as we try to translate the lessons we have learnt from Modernism to something more playful through an expanded material selection, wider colour palette and whimsical objects. We are also constantly inspired by our surroundings. We will often go to restaurants, hotels or shops just because we have heard good things about their buildings or interiors. Most recently we were in a restaurant with an amazing curtain, so a version of that appeared in one of our visuals the next week. On the other hand sometimes the inspiration is also less direct and more subliminal.
What motivated you to use this graphic style for your projects?
We want our visuals to be an immersive experience for the viewer, that is why we try to design spaces which are very stylistic and rich in colour and materials. We want our digital spaces to be like those you encounter in a dream - lifelike yet somehow different than what you are used to. Hopefully this approach will allow us to create some unusual aesthetics. Our graphic style has developed from the advice we have received from other people we have collaborated with and as our technical skills have improved. Whenever we watch movies or visit art museums we are constantly inspired by particular aesthetics.
Could you show us / talk about the process to create one of your images? What tools do you use? Which rendering software? How is your post-production process?
We focus on process. The process for us is as important as the final visual. We start off by sketching out spaces, perhaps choosing a function for the space and imagining how it feels to be in and so we build a fictitious world around it. We often play with colour blocking and collages and other tools to figure out the color scheme and materials. Because we were both trained in architecture we are quite used to using the 3D software Rhinoceros. We translate the sketches into 3D objects and render using Vray. We sometimes switch to Cinema 4D but most of our work is done in Rhinoceros. We use Photoshop occasionally for post production and colour grading.
“The process for us is as important as the final visual”
What advice has influenced you as an artist?
I think the best advice people have given us is to travel as much as we can. Adam and I met when we were both interning in an architecture studio in Barcelona. Catalan culture and architecture has had a huge impact on us as designers. Cities can challenge the way I see things and give me new perspectives on the world that otherwise may not have been possible. So we try as much as we can to immerse ourselves in new places, new cultures and new ideas.
What advice would you give to young designers?
I think it is important to find your own style. We are still growing and learning new things, but the way we found a style was to practice in as many different mediums as we possibly could until we found a medium we were comfortable in. I would say sketch as much as you can, collage, build models, make things, paint and try as many different ways to visually communicate your ideas.
“It is important to find your own style”
Shali and Adam, thank you for taking the time to interview with Arch-Vizz and show us your amazing work!
You can find more about Visual Citizen's work on their website visualcitizens.com and their instagram page @visual_citizens.
Interview & Images Courtesy: Shali Moodley and Adam Kelly - Visual Citizens
Interviewer: Stefani Fachini