Sergey Kim
Sergey Kim doesn't see himself as an artist, because he is more practicle in nature, which you can tell by his works. He uses light amongst others to come up with crafty solutions.
A good example of such a solution is the concept that formed the basis for his start-up Velooq: “I had the idea of making transparent bicycle tires with a light source in them. This increases the visibility of the cyclist, and makes cycling a lot safer.” The project was awarded the first prize of the Happy LED! Life contest hosted by designboom.
Photo: Kim's LED bicycle, a creative way to be safe on traffic.
“Light is something I work with very naturally. It’s something I can’t help noticing. As a result, a lot of my ideas involve light.”
A work that made a big impression on him is the Kinetic Sculpture by Joachim Sauter in the BMW museum. “Both the simple beauty and the dynamic nature of the work are special to me, they make the sculpture both memorable and accessible. But what makes it especially interesting is how it uses movement and light to tell a story.”
Photo: Kinetic Sculpture by Joachim Sauter at the BMW museum (Joachim Sauter).
He draws his own inspiration mainly from cartoons. Kim: “Cartoonists have total freedom to express themselves, without the barrier of reality. In the world of cartoons, anything is possible. I find that inspiring.” In light art, too, there is more and more room for experimentation, the designer adds. “Technological developments are making the art form more accessible and flexible. My expectation is that the democratization of the medium will lead to the golden age of light art.”
Sergey Kim is a designer and art director from New York. He recently completed Google’s 30 Weeks experimental training program and is founder of Velooq, the first luminous tires for bicycles. Kim has 11 years of experience in art direction, UX/UI, graphic and industrial design.