The Everyday Experimenter: Designer Park Kum-jun and His Endless Variations

Park Kum-jun, CEO of 601bisang, is a designer who constantly challenges conventions with an unrestrained spirit. Emphasizing the individuality of a designer, he pursues the undefined and unformalized, always aiming for the new. True to his ethos, Park never clings to ideas or styles he has used before, always striving to imbue each project with its own unique identity and aesthetics. This commitment to individuality means repeatedly returning to the starting point, embracing the difficulties of the creative process with determination.

Park’s influence spans both domestic and international stages. With numerous awards from global design competitions, he has earned recognition on the world stage and was honored with the Silver Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit in 2011 for his contributions to Korea’s design industry. His journey is deeply intertwined with 601bisang, the design studio he founded in 1998, which has become a hub for young, dynamic creativity. Beyond providing design services, the studio ventures into independent brand development and innovative projects, such as the annual 601 Art Book series and the official poster for the 2012 Yeosu World Expo. These works reflect Park’s distinctive design philosophy of freedom and originality.

Despite his global reach, Park finds inspiration in the everyday. He values humanity and the rediscovery of the ordinary, viewing his unique perspective as a designer’s greatest asset. His mantra, “Imagine what you desire clearly. There is creative power in thought,” is stamped in every book produced by 601bisang. For Park, imagination is the key to uncovering hidden elements in everyday life, and it is through this imaginative lens that he reinterprets and reimagines the ordinary. His originality shines in the fresh sensibilities and emotional depth he brings to his designs, which are rooted in the reinterpretation and variation of the everyday.