A Designer’s ‘Daily Life’ Dedicated to the ‘Practice’ of Design

A Designer’s Everyday and Practice is a collection of notes, articles, and emails exchanged over a decade by graphic designer Kwon Joon-ho while running his design studio, EVERYDAY PRACTICE. This book is both a ‘public statement’ from a designer and ‘a deeply personal account’ from an ordinary citizen living in Korea.
In our society, the term ‘design’ is often associated with making things more beautiful, refined, or even ‘hip.’ However, EVERYDAY PRACTICE, the studio run by Kwon Joon-ho together with Kim Kyung-chul and Kim Eo-jin, particularly underlines the concepts of ‘everyday’ and ‘practice’—ideas that may seem unrelated to design. Here, ‘practice’ goes beyond creating something visually appealing. It’s about the social actions Kwon believes to be necessary, not just as a designer, but as a worker, professional, and member of his community. This is what ‘practice’ stands for in EVERYDAY PRACTICE.

While often positioned within the typical ‘client and contractor’ dynamic or navigating the subtle power balance between curator and designer, Kwon Joon-ho questions these roles. He challenges the idea of a ‘popular design’ targeted at an indistinct audience and maintains his creative desire to pursue what he considers to be ‘true work.’ This questioning defines his everyday life. His practice involves thinking deeply about how design can influence society, proactively approaching civic groups to propose alternatives to ‘uniform designs,’ and reaching out to publishers who share passionate writings of workers, seeking collaboration as a ‘minimal effort not to overlook real-world issues.’ This is how Kwon defines his practice.