Herman Yap: Be Hypnotised
Herman Yap started his career as a graphic designer in 1998. His keen interest in illustrations did not stopped at work, many of his works have won awards and have been featured in newspapers, publications and magazines. Several of his illustrations have been featured in three fashion illustration books, “Madonna in Art”, “Imagemakers: Cutting-Edge Fashion Illustrations” and "Big Book of Fashion Illustration" that was released in July 2007. A fourth book, "Fashion Design by Computer" will be release in Spain in January 2008.
His style is a very romantic one. It depicts women who are deep and vulnerable. The composition of images is often quite abstract and shows mostly only the face of the characters. Emphasis is very oftern on dreamy eyes. Herman Yap uses a lot of details, his favourite ones seem to be all kinds of sparks and glitterings. He also uses very tender gradients a lot.
Much of his works elaborate on memories of people and places he has seen, Herman injects a large amount of the fantasy into his stylized illustration. His imagination is not restrainted by everyday, rather he creates flights of fancy that vividly project his personal belief that "design depicts individuality". His fantastical digital illustrations are a combination of photo-montaging and vector lines, as if they were taken from a dream.
The images are rendered with a beautician’s attention to lovely make-ups and facial details. In particular the ever-sparkling eyes are singled out for special treatment. The decorative framing of the figures is reminiscent of the hand-painted photographic pieces of Pierre et Gilles, which carry a similar narrative element.
