Min Hee-jin is a South Korean art director and graphic designer. She became fascinated in sketching and her grandfather urged her to seek a career in art and design. She joined the school’s broadcasting club since she once dreamed of becoming an audio director. She ultimately enrolled in an art school, where she received a degree in visual design.
Min decided to join SM recruits, showcase her artistic viewpoint and expose herself to the idol music market. She joined SM Entertainment, one of the biggest music labels in Korea, in 2002 as a creative director and oversaw projects involving stage design, music videos, and packaging design. With her constant efforts, she was put in charge of comprehensive visual direction of Girls’ Generation’s Gee and Super Junior’s Sorry Sorry in 2009. She was in charge of visual direction for SHINee, f(x), EXO, Red Velvet, and NCT since their pre-debut. She was then promoted to creative director of the board of directors in March 2017.
Due to releasing four to five albums per month which involves creative, promotional, and video effort, Min said during a program, “I burned out too much”. She left the company at the end of 2018. She stopped pushing herself when she realised she needed a break, and I think many should learn from her.
Min joined Hybe Corporation in 2019 to assist with the introduction of the multi-label system, Hybe, to direct the debut of a new girl group, and to start her own label called ADOR (All Doors One Room) to go into producing. As of November 2021, she will serve as the chief brand officer and the CEO of the sub-label ADOR for Hybe.
I think her designs are based on her experiences growing up, attending art school, and from art films.
Min has created numerous various designs, each with a distinctive feeling. Examples of Min’s work include Pinocchio album cover by f(x), Ice Cream Cake album photos by Red Velvet, and Girls’ Generation’s The Boys album cover. They all have a fresh, lively, and summery vibe. Simultaneously, Min designed EXO’s Monster individual teaser images, which exude a powerful, violent, gangsters-like and dark mood. She also created Perfect Velvet concept photos for Red Velvet, which evokes sensations of suspense, horror, and curiosity.
As of today, Min’s newly debuted girl group, NewJeans, is already well-known for their innovative concept Min created reminds people of the 90’s fashion. I believe this allows first generation K-pop fans to feel young and youthful again.
In my opinion, Min’s photographs have a distinctive style and convey a deeper meaning than what is seen.
For instance, Min photographed two girls in red standing in front of a house for a horror concept, though most common choices for the “horror” theme are a killer clown or a ghost.
I really like her designs as she takes both photography and design to a new level. In addition, Min experiments with various lightings and effects, colour schemes, and typography for her works.
References:
Allkpop. (2022). Get to know the 5-members of ADOR’s new girl group NewJeans + debut mini album track details. [Image].
Be Attitude. A Rare Peek into Min Hee-jin’s World.
https://beattitude.kr/issue-03/artistproject-minheejin-part2-eng/
Bloomberg. (2022, August 12). Min Hee-Jin.
https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/person/20761225
Flickr. (2017). Digital Booklet — Perfect Velvet — T_Page_01. [Image].
https://www.flickr.com/photos/redvelvetkpop/38440114536
Happy Velvets. (2015, March 20). Red Velvet — Ice Cream Cake album photos.
https://happyvelvets.wordpress.com/2015/03/20/red-velvet-ice-cream-cake-album-photos/
Hydekick. (2020, May 7). How K-POP gigantic company has changed without Min Heejin. Medium.
Kpop Post. (2022). Who Is Min Hee Jin and Why Is ADOR New Girl Group Very Popular Even Before They Debut? [Image].
Otakukart. (2022, July 28). Who Is Min Heejin? The South Korean Art Director And Graphic Designer.
https://otakukart.com/081528/who-is-min-heejin-the-south-korean-art-director-and-graphic-designer/
Style. (2022, August 12). Meet Min Hee-jin, mastermind behind K-pop girl group NewJeans: the CEO of Hybe sub-label Ador helped launch Girls Generation and Exo at SM, so why has her new group’s branding been slammed?
The Sports Grail. (2022, July 29). Who Is Min Heejin Of SM Entertainment, Age, Biography, Net Worth, New Jeans Scandal, Twitter, Instagram.
tvN D ENT. (2021, December 4). 케이팝에 신드롬을 일으킨 전설의 아트디렉터. 민희진 자기님의 한 마디 한 마디에서 느껴지는 일에 대한 남다른 열정 [Video]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt-oFzP88zg&ab_channel=tvNDENT