Kailin Zhang, a self-taught art director and designer from China, honed her skills at Ogilvy Toronto, working on major global brands. Meanwhile, Krishna Betai, a poet and storyteller from India, began writing at the age of five and later turned her passion into a career, freelancing before interning at Rethink Toronto and JOAN Creative NY.
Kailin: I am a self-taught art director and designer, originally from China, with no prior art education background. I've been fortunate to have interned at Ogilvy Toronto, working on some of the biggest brands in the world.
Krishna: I am a copywriter, originally from India. My writing journey started at the age of five with poetry and short stories. Over the years, I’ve worked as a freelance content writer, and recently interned at Rethink Toronto and JOAN Creative NY. I will soon graduate from Miami Ad School, ready to embark on the most exciting part of my journey yet.
Kailin: The fact that people in the ad industry never grow old by heart resonated with me, and that's when I decided to become a creative.
Krishna: I love creating things that people can read, watch, and listen to, and the ad industry is one of the few places that allows for an individual to do all those things.
Kailin: Creativity for me is that unexpected "a-ha" moment, when you see something, and connect to it instantly, on a human level.
Krishna: For me, creativity means thinking of something that no one else has thought of or noticed, telling the stories people have read and heard in new ways, and bringing newness even in the small details.
Kailin: My favorite part of the creative process is when I get a creative brief, I sit down and think of all the things that have happened to me in my life, as I try to find something from my personal experiences that relates to the brief. I'm all about searching for that human truth, an insight that makes the idea strong and relatable.
Krishna: My favorite part of the creative process is brainstorming ideas, because that's where you can let your mind wander in infinite ways and dig deep before you find the golden idea. It's the most fun and exciting part of the creative process because without any restrictions, you can come up with the biggest and whackiest of ideas (or even a nugget of an idea that goes on to become something big), where there's truly no wrong answer.
One in three adults in the U.S. have pre-diabetes, and more than 80% of them are undiagnosed. Google Sweet Tooth is a conceptual app that uses image recognition technology to help you see how much sugar you're consuming instead of just reading it on the nutrition label of a grocery item. The app also gives information about the contribution of that item to the daily sugar intake, and suggests healthier alternatives, thus helping to prevent pre-diabetes without the need for a blood glucose test.
"Pre-diabetes is a new space with not a lot of solutions, this is a great idea and has the potential to change how people consume/shop" was the feedback given by one of our instructors, which gave us confidence to enter this project in the competition.
1) As a creative in the industry, no two days are the same.
2) Sometimes, the biggest ideas come from the silliest thoughts.
3) Ideating and bringing concepts to life is such a collaborative process. Great ideas can come from anyone – writers can think of great designs, designers can think of great copy.
Kailin Zhang, a self-taught art director and designer from China, honed her skills at Ogilvy Toronto, working on major global brands. Meanwhile, Krishna Betai, a poet and storyteller from India, began writing at the age of five and later turned her passion into a career, freelancing before interning at Rethink Toronto and JOAN Creative NY.
Explore the journey of Illum Cube Design Studio, the Gold Winners at the 2024 MUSE Design Awards. Jinda Zhong and Hui Jing, founders of Illum Cube Design Studio, are U.S.-based UX designers who combine graphic design and human-computer interaction to craft visually striking, seamless user experiences.