Kingston: Now the world can see the power of memories through APAC Top 10 heartwarming face mask designs

In a world full of chaos, at times it is very important to cling to your indelible memories. Memories are an intrinsic part of our identity and an opportunity to fathom the strength in memories is the greatest of all. Kingston Technology, a world leader of memory products and technology solutions, along with CSD, a leading brand of face masks, called upon all the creative minds to unleash the power of memories in the form of compelling designs on face masks. For all the art enthusiasts across the markets, here is an opportunity to delve deeper into the designs of top 10 Finalists chosen out of 3100 entries. Not just this, you can bestow your love on your favorite finalists as the voting is open till February 7, 2021. 

Below is the glimpse of the work, which you will savour to the fullest! 

Perfect Imperfections, Aljohn M. Matias (Philippines)

Aljohn M. Matias depicts his collective experiences of meeting diverse groups of people over the years using a minimalistic approach. For the facemask design, his inspiration came from Picasso’s line art drawing. He has incorporated a minimalistic approach yet tried to express an accurate meaning behind it, which is art needs no boundaries and is a limitless form of expression. Each face tells us a story and that story lies behind the masks we all wear. His design reflects his collective experience of meeting diverse groups of people and how these differences make us who we are. This goes to show that our imperfections as a whole create powerful and meaningful art.

Siamese Fighting Fish, Waraporn Mamee (Thailand)

Formerly a product designer, Waraporn Mamee is now a Professor of Art and Design at Naresuan University, Thailand. The icon-like design in Siamese Fighting Fish ( ปลากัดไทย ) is simple yet intriguing as Waraporn Mamee embraces her memories from past challenges and uses Siamese fighting fish to signify her ambition and persistence on this journey. The red, white, and blue colors are integrated to represent her roots, as well as love and pride for her nation, Thailand. In the middle, the only two red fighting fish swims towards each other, delivering the message that if one wants to achieve a goal, ambition and courage to swim against the current and work towards target is crucial, just like Siamese fighting fish.

Lips & Water Chestnut, Wu Bo Yi (Taiwan)

When the young, aspiring product designer Wu Bo Yi saw the theme of the competition “There’s Strength in Memory”, he immediately recalled the traditional snack he enjoyed when little. Water chestnut, the fruit of floating aquatic plants, is a unique and delicious snack in Taiwan. Growing up in Southern Taiwan, Wu Bo Yi holds the childhood memories of collecting water chestnuts with his grandma close to his heart, it is a “familiar” and comforting food. On the other hand, due to the current pandemic, lips are covered by masks each day and have become something “unfamiliar”. In between the familiar and the unfamiliar, wearing a mask allows us to speak face to face normally with one another in these strange times. Lip & Water Chestnut is inspired by the contrast of familiar-ness, Wu Bo Yi plays with the positive and negative spaces, and creates a harmonious print of the two objects with expressive strokes and stimulating colors.

Doodling Paper, Nguyen Dang Binh (Vietnam)

Passionate for doodling and typography, Nguyễn Đăng Bình, a 29-year-old Banker from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, belongs to a family of artists, but his parents insisted him to choose a Finance job instead of following his heart. For him, all his memories have shaped his life and are pivotal to his existence. The time he spent during his college days with friends has always been etched in his memories, which were the happiest time as his spirit was untamable and dreamy. Therefore, he illustrated all his happy times through the interesting faces. Each of the faces represents a different joyful experience in his college days. Through his design, he wants to be a voice for every art and doodle lover. he hopes to unite art lovers and encourage them to follow their passion and be a beacon of hope and inspiration for the rest of the world.

Sparkling Lenses, Rishabh Raj (India)

Rishabh Raj, a postgraduate student of Textile Design from India, loves working on prints, designs, creative ideas, and software. Design is not just his profession, but an obsession. He believes that emotions do make one and their memories stronger- be it a happy emotion, sad or a bitter one. All the memories and emotions for him is an integral part of one’s journey of ultimately understanding the way of life. This helps people stay motivated, positive and relentless in life. His design submission is based on his memory of celebrations and festivals, which creates unforgettable memories in our minds. He used camera shutters with sparklings that are symbolic of celebration as well as to capture moments of the present which could be cherished in the future forever. Through his artwork, he wanted everyone to have a positive outlook and celebrate life to the fullest.

Love Memories Forever, Lilo Jong (Malaysia)

Multimedia Designer Jong Pei Yen has always been fond of capturing and preserving memories. In Love Memories Forever, the deep-rooted emotion of missing her family is evident. Jong uses storage devices from different time periods for each family members, the vivid colors are also used to represent different moods or family members’ personalities, for example, the calming blue color reminds her of her grandfather. She wishes to be reunited with her beloved family members, together, just like how it is in her artwork; she also reminds people that they are a precious part of someone else’s memories somewhere.

Construct X Deconstruction, Brenca Sun (Taiwan)

Visual designer Brenca Sun has always been interested in transitioning concrete objects and motifs into abstract representations and symbols. In everyday life, though people encounter all kinds of incidents, good or bad, our minds tend to construct and deconstruct the perceived experiences based on our perspectives and understandings. Often, it is the good and pleasant memories that end up staying in our hearts forever. In Construct X Deconstruction, Brenca Sun visualizes the concept of memory into a form of space and presents a magical paradise. The roller coaster track-like designs with brilliant colors are blueprints, storing the condensed, happy memories in her mind. Whatever people are facing now, the memories of the current situation will also be constructed and deconstructed into codes and symbols.

Summer memories in the wonder garden, Hsu, Hsing-Chen (Taiwan)

Hsu, Hsing-Chen, a student in the Department of Visual Communication Design, creates artworks with a magical and translucent clarity and a flavor of vivid color tones. Her facemask design artwork depicts summer’s refreshing feeling, with midsummer flowers blooming in the garden, and lemon tree bearing fruit. The beautiful scene of joyful summertime will last forever in the memory of people. By putting this design on the facemask, she hopes that her vision leaves an indelible imprint in the memories of everyone who sees it, as well as to alleviate the pressure and brighten people’s mood during this time, reminding everyone the beautiful memories of summertime.

Breath of Energy, Tsuyoshi Artman (Japan)

Tsuyoshi Artman is a freelance illustrator in Fukuoka, Japan. This memory profoundly impacted Tsuyoshi Artman’s interest in nature, and now as an artist, memory and the nature are his sources of beauty and creativity. In his design Breath of Energy, he emphasizes the importance of “breathing”, an action that is important to our lives on physical, mental, and spiritual levels. The image of plants exhibits vitality and prosperity, comparable to breathing. Previously a healthcare professional himself, he understands that facemasks have made people depressed and uncomfortable, he empathizes with those in this situation. He hopes that his design makes people feel mentally stronger and feel the energy of life when breathing through these masks. Tsuyoshi Artman chose psychedelic colors for his distinctive pop art-styled illustrations of plants and greenery, colors such as pink and purple that are almost shocking to the eyes, which further expresses the liveliness of his artwork.

Monster Nation, Yman.S (Malaysia)

Yman.S, a Senior Packaging Designer from Malaysia, loves creating something new to inspire other people. His childhood memories played an intrinsic part in his life. He is an ardent believer that our childhood fears also make us who we are today. As every other child, one of his biggest fears were monsters. After he grew up, he recognized that there are certainly scarier things than monsters which engulf our lives, and the day to day hardships and challenges are the real-life monsters. One such real-life monster is the ongoing pandemic for him. Through his design, he wants to incite the spirit of positivity and never-say-die attitude in everyone. He wants everyone to stop being afraid of these monsters. Hence, symbolically, he wants to turn the unwanted monsters into something cute and adorable. The little monsters in his artwork are his ode to the fighting spirit of people and his face mask design will always remind us of it.

 

For winner announcement for the fan-favorite awards and more details please refer to: http://kings.tn/Mask_Design_Finalists. Watch the top 10 finalists video in the pinned post here. Comment and share the video and other related social posts on Kingston’s social channels for a chance to win the exclusive Memory Box with facemasks of the top 10 designs! ​