Always interested in all things art and design, Cman Wong was, in a way, destined to be an art director. Although she did not always expect to express her passions in the form of advertising, she found it a way to explore her creativity in a way she never thought possible. When creating dynamic visuals for the world’s largest brands, she feels a thrill.

“It’s a fancy job title with the responsibility beyond the job title. As an Art Director, you’re basically responsible for all visual elements of a product or campaign, from the presentation deck to the overall look and feel. You have to provide a visual direction that not only is eye catching, but also relates to your target audience and divert the message through it,” said Cman.

As an in-demand Art Director, Cman is consistently impressive. She has worked on projects for Marvel, Ferrari, and Undercover to name a few. She is always stimulated by her work and finds that although it may seem like she simply works in marketing, she is truly an artist.

Cman has also had the opportunity to work with acclaimed artists and filmmakers throughout her career. In December of 2016, the Art Director collaborated with Tan Dun, an Academy Award and BAFTA Award winning film composer and conductor. This experience was one of Cman’s highlights of her career.

“It was such a great honor to collaborate with such a prestigious composer like Tan Dun. It is one of my favorite experiences in my career and my life as a whole. Cross discipline collaboration has expanded the possibility and audiences of my work. It was another example to prove the boundless and flexible art I could make,” said Cman.

The project in question was that of the Modern Media National Spirit Achievers Awards 2016. The National Spirit Achievers Awards was first issued in 2007. It is a pioneering work of the Modern Communication Group to carry out “Everything Monthly” sincerity for the eternal moments of the times. It aims to recognize Chinese leaders who have achieved excellence in various fields and created an era. Eighty-one creators, including IM Pei, Fan Jin-shi, Xu Bing, Tan Dun, Ye Jintian, Zhang Yimou, Mao Yuchen, Zhang Xiaogang, Zeng Fanzhi, Ding Lei, Jia Zhangke, Chen Qigang, Huang Yongsong, and Lang Lang, were honored with awards in fields such as art, music, film, architecture, business, education and more. Nowadays, the National Spirit Achievers Awards has become an award with outstanding influence. Each awards ceremony has also become a glorious moment for elite leaders from all walks of life to meet.

For the ceremony, Cman provided the art direction on the video content for the main performance, setting the overall artistic style and visual image. In doing so, she developed key frame content that transformed the audience’s experience, adding another level of entertainment and layer of enjoyment to the performance. Rather than simply listening to the music, they had a visual spectacle created by an artist like Cman.

The video visualized the rhythm of the music in a poetic way. It was inspired by the music and culture of Tibet and Chinese traditional performance. In the breathtaking opening scene, dust begins moving, followed by a cinematic Chinese opera theme form in the 13th century during the Song Dynasty and digital ink Chinese painting scene. It reformed the best image of traditional Chinese Art in a modern way.

The response for the video was tremendous, and Cman personally received not only great feedback from the client, but also the audience who were completely immersed in her creation.

“I like it most because it’s a live performance to see the actual reaction and feedback from the audiences. It’s such a great lesson and inspiration to work at such a high level of international standard performance,” she concluded.

Written by Annabelle Lee