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[ March 20, 2000 ]
Since forming in 1996, 52mm partners Marilyn Devedjiev and John J. Hill have left an indelible mark on the design world.
The duo's work has been shown in the Low Res Film Festival, the Art Director's Club New York and "Motion Graphics '98" at
the Axis Gallery in Tokyo. As they put it, the Manhattan-based 52mm "utilizes print, new media, digital illustration, film & video graphics, and digital sound design to reflect the depth and intensity of New York City." John and Marilyn continue to develop visually creative solutions in the form of print campaigns, marketing collateral, CD-ROMS, web sites and music videos. Their client list includes the National Hockey League, DC Comics, Headspace Music, Top Cow Productions, MTV Online, Fox.com, Bowne Internet Solutions, The Alternative Pick, Motown Records, Loud Records, Eruptor Entertainment, and many more. John and Marilyn sat down with altpick.com to talk about putting 52mm in focus. Accomplishments they're most proud of:
Future projects: While they both plan to do more work with SME Power Branding, who were just acquired by the SFX Entertainment Group, John is working on a collaborative electronica audio/visual CD project, under the alias Recognizer, to be released in the Spring of 2000. Marilyn, meanwhile, is doing a collaborative glass sculpture project with artist Peter Frank. Is there a common thread or element to your work? "No, at least not obviously. There will always be the element of mystery and trying to make sense of the gray areas of life through the design and art we make. However, this mostly works in the ideal, a purely creative scenario. Working on strict commissions is not so romantic. A lot of the time it's about taking what the client conveys and then repeating back to them what they're REALLY communicating, and finally melding their vision with our ideas. Sometimes the client has no idea what they really want, and it's up to us to help them flesh things out. Anyway, we often wonder where outside influences (i.e. the endless sources of stimuli that feeds our creativity) end and our work begins. Maybe there really is no boundary, one flows into the other. If someone was influenced or imitating something we've worked on, it wouldn't be so obvious to us because stylistically we don't think there are any rules of our own that can't be broken."
 -- Pictured above: NHL poster How would you describe your style? "Silence and noise, motion and stillness, and lightness and darkness--all at once." Tools of the trade? "Technology, a favorite pen and some good paper. Inspiring tools: music, fine art, dreams, relationships, comics, film and good food." What do you do to keep the ideas fresh? "Let go." 
-- Pictured above: Kaiju font What is the most satisfying part of the job? "Knowing that clients want to work with us because they can truly appreciate how we bring our unique methods of combining our perceptions with the ability to communicate their message. Knowing that the commercial aspect of our work is well-integrated with the artistic aspect of what we've produced. Last but not least, knowing that we're doing exactly what we are meant to be doing at this moment in time."
 -- Pictured above: Breakout championships logos for National Hockey League - Contributed by Michael Moses >> Find out more on how to become an altpick.com member |
