Jae Jeon: Interview on Design and Creative Trust

Jae Jeon is a California-based multidisciplinary artist, specializing in textural design, digital experimentation, and typography. Jeon shares more about his rigorous approach to research, the experience working with high-profile clients such as Apple and Moniker SF, and how storytelling is the most important aspect in establishing a brand narrative.

AJI KIJI. Branding, photography interior, package and web design by Jae Jeon.

Your graphic design strategy is rooted in experimentation and research. How valuable are these two factors when considering a new project? Are these the points from which the visualisation and design stem? 

I see research and experimentation as two different starting points that eventually meet.

Research is about perspective. Every project is multi-dimensional, and the role of research is to identify which layer to engage with — to find the right entry point and uncover a meaningful direction.

Experimentation, on the other hand, is how that perspective becomes visual. It’s about how far you’re willing to push and expand your visual language.

I often think about filmmakers like Paul Thomas Anderson or Martin Scorsese — their work carries both depth and a sense of newness. That balance comes from a deep understanding of context, paired with a continuous exploration of form.

In that sense, the outcome doesn’t come from one or the other, but from the tension and synergy between the two.

Fade Grotesk. Prompt-based type design, editorial desogn by Jae Jeon.

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In 2024, you were invited to contribute to the Flight Club Invitational, showcasing the legacy of these high-calibre basketball players. What was your role in this project, and what did you gain from this experience?

I was responsible for the overall event branding and design direction, shaping both the visual system and the experience around the tournament.

Beyond creating something visually compelling, the focus was on translating the players’ mindset — their ambition, energy, and competitive intensity — into a cohesive visual and experiential language.

What I gained from the project was a deeper understanding of how design can operate beyond visuals. It can shape how people feel, their engagement with the moment, and their remembrance of it.

Design, in that context, becomes part of the performance itself.

Flight Club Invitational 2024. Art direction, branding, web and spacial design by Jae Jeon.

Flight Club Invitational 2024. Art direction, branding, web and spacial design by Jae Jeon.

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How much creative freedom are you allowed when working with high-profile clients such as Apple, Landscape, and Moniker SF?

I think creative freedom depends on how you define it.

Coming from both cultural projects and more structured environments, I’ve experienced different levels of flexibility. In larger organisations or with high-profile clients, there are naturally more constraints.

But in my experience, creative freedom is less about complete openness and more about trust.

With clients like Apple or studios like Landscape and Moniker, there are very clear standards and expectations. Within that structure, however, there is still room to explore — especially when ideas are grounded and intentional.

The more deeply you understand the system you’re working within, the more effectively you can push it. Constraints, in that sense, don’t limit the work — they sharpen it.

Next Objects. Art direction, randing, merch, package and web design by Jae Jeon.

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Much of your collaborative work centres around “refining brand narratives”. How important is this incorporation of storytelling to your work and to establishing a meaningful connection between brand and audience?

Storytelling sits at the core of my work.

At the center of any brand or project, there are people — and where there are people, there are always stories. My role is not just to express a story from my own perspective, but to consider how it will be experienced and felt by others.

A brand is not just a visual system — it’s a way of positioning something within culture. Without a clear narrative, even well-crafted visuals can feel empty or interchangeable.

What I focus on is finding the right lens through which people can relate to the story. Today, audiences are highly aware and selective — they respond to authenticity and culturally grounded representations.

In that sense, refining a brand narrative is about defining how a brand exists in people’s lives, not just how it looks.

“Power of Community” apparel capsule from collaboration with Youth To The People.  Art direction, merch design by Jae Jeon.

“Power of Community” apparel capsule from collaboration with Youth To The People.  Art direction, merch design by Jae Jeon.

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Do you have a preference for the more tactile print materials or the digital experience?

I don’t see print and digital as opposing mediums — they operate on different timelines.

Print has a sense of permanence. It exists in a fixed state; it encourages a slower, more intentional form of engagement. There’s a physical presence that allows people to return to it, to spend time with it.

Digital is more fluid. It evolves constantly, responds to context, and exists in real time.

What interests me is not choosing between the two but understanding how they can inform each other — bringing the depth and intentionality of print into digital, while allowing digital to introduce movement, adaptability, and immediacy.

The tension between permanence and change is where meaningful work can happen.

Flight Club. Design direction, branding, photography direction, typography and merch by Jae Jeon.

Flight Club. Design direction, branding, photography direction, typography and merch by Jae Jeon.