Hoon-Dong Chung, a designer and professor at Dankook University, is no stranger to pushing creative boundaries. With his recent works, “Tolerance” and “Imagery of 4 Consonants,” Hoon-Dong continues to challenge the interplay of legibility, aesthetics, and cultural identity through typography. Winning Platinum and Silver Awards in the Poster Awards 2025, these projects explore profound social and political themes, blending 3D typography with theoretical rigor. A celebrated force in the global design community, Hoon-Dong’s career spans over 200 accolades and works housed in prestigious museums worldwide, reaffirming his philosophy that “contrast is harmony.”
By: Hoon-Dong Chung, Designer & Professor, Dankook University
Tolerance
People often ask me, “What is your one masterpiece among many works?” I tell them that “Unity is Flexible” is one of my best works. It seems they also share a similar view. My ‘philosophy’ on work is that “contrast is harmony,” and “Unity is Flexible” best embodies this idea. It won the Platinum Award at the 2014 Graphis Design Awards, being my second Platinum Award. However, it was significantly meaningful because the thought of winning this award twice was inconceivable.
A decade has passed, and I wanted to celebrate the moment by creating a social and political poster that is similar yet different and different yet similar. That is precisely what “Tolerance” is. However, I was also under pressure not to undermine the value (or reputation) of the previous work, and it was not easy to balance the similarities and differences with the previous work.
At last, the piece is finished, and I am grateful for the ever-greater significance of winning 12 Platinum Awards.
Imagery of 4 Consonants
The “Imagery of 4 Consonants” was my submission for the TYPE TEXT KOREA Typography Poster Exhibition. As the title suggests, it is a typography work based on the Korean alphabet. 3D typography is both a design and academic interest of mine. Since I am an artist and a professor, I must consider empirical experience and theoretical application. For this reason, I have published papers based on my experience creating works and have sought to combine the theory with my new works.
Once, a long time ago, I created a piece titled “Imagery of 3 Consonants.” I also wrote a paper based on it. The “Imagery of 4 Consonants,” recently exhibited in Poland, considers the similarities and differences with the “Imagery of 3 Consonants.” The rationale was the possibility of the “Imagery of 4 Consonants” becoming an element of empirical experience and theoretical application if I have the opportunity to write another paper in the future. These Consonants posters are related to the balance between legibility and aesthetics in 3D typography. For reference, the starting point of my Ph.D thesis was the balance.
From there, I developed a variety of 3D typography works by crossing the boundaries of experiments and practicality. As such, I tend to think in terms of interrelatedness. The theater poster, which will be exhibited this coming winter, is no exception.
PS: From my observation of people around me, they seem to be gradually turning their attention to the world of AI. While I will probably join the trend someday, I prefer myself over AI for now.
Hoon-Dong Chung is a professor at Dankook University in South Korea. His works have been shown in international exhibitions and received over 200 awards, including the Graphis Annual Award, the German Design Award, the Red Dot Design Award, the iF Design Award, the Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Good Design Award, the Creativity Design Award, the HOW Design Award, and more. He also received a commendation from the President of Korea at the Korea Design Awards, which is known as “Korea’s Highest Honor in Design.” Furthermore, his works are in the collections of the Design Museum Munich, the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, the Museum für Gestaltung, the Musée de la Publicité, the National Museum in Poznan, the Poster Museum at Wilanów, the Dansk Plakat Museum, the Ogaki Poster Museum, and more.
