Rising Stars: Meet Jam Dong

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jam Dong.

Jam, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Hi! My name is Jam and I am a freelance illustrator. My clients include the New York Times, the New Yorker, Plan Sponsor, etc. I also started my woodwork brand Sleeping House in 2020.

I think the most important factor behind the success of my brand is that I always stay true, have fun, and enjoy the process. I like bright colors and dramatic shapes and I get inspiration from nature all the time. I enjoy adding a sense of humor to my work to delight people. I believe my customers could also perceive the joy and positive energy of my art.

I used to wonder if I should change myself to fit more into the market, but it didn’t work out. I lost myself as well as the happiness of creating. So, from then, I realized that only being yourself could let you stand out and make a unique voice.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
As I said, I used to try to change myself, like the style or topic, to fit more into the market, which didn’t work out because I no longer feel like myself. Who would love the things I created if I don’t enjoy creating them? From then on, I decided only to follow my heart and do the things I really enjoy.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am an award-winning freelance illustrator. Most of my works are editorial illustrations for newspapers and journals such as the New York Times and New Yorker. I also do children’s book publishing. Besides illustration, I started my woodwork brand Sleeping House in 2020.

The thing that set me apart from others is that I always perceive and present a story in a unique way visually and conceptually. I would catch the idea that excites me and strengthen it through my visual language. I work with collage and hand drawing to get a rich sense of textures and layers. Although there are other collage artists, I invented this special perspective that compresses the top view and head-up view into one canvas, which makes my artwork one of a kind. I call it “flat perspective”. It not only makes my art unique visually but also carries more information as a medium of narrative and storytelling. Inspired by Cubism almost ten years ago, I’ve been working and experimenting with this style ever since and successfully developed this original visual approach, which opens up collaborations with the New York Times, New Yorker, Candlewick Press, etc. It also brings my work to international Exhibitions like the Bologna Children’s Book Festival and the Society of Illustration. I feel personal interest also matters. For example, I like nature a lot, especially biology. I spend a lot of time observing insects and plants, watching documentaries, and digging deep into their world. Those experiences and knowledge provide me with more details to apply to the story and make the final arts much more appealing.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I’m actually very good at cooking!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jamdongart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fisheaddd/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxdHoDQGo-C12fc–YJmTtg

Image Credits
Jam Dong