People - HOHOHO — Multi-discipline Design Agency

TIDO Total Solutions Creative Director (CEO)

¹Can you introduce yourself, Tido?

I serve as a CEO and creative director at HOHOHO. I like to ponder over problem and come up with idea; I consider myself an idealist who aims to create various brands in this process. At SADI (Samsung Art & Design Institute), I studied product design. At the same time, I conducted design research at Samsung Design Membership. After graduating from SADI, I began working as a product designer and UX designer for seven years in the mobile team at Samsung Electronics.

While working at Samsung, I participated in product design activities, which involved Galaxy Tab and the Galaxy S and Note series. I also participated in anticipatory design activities for Galaxy Fold and Infinity Display. I had chance to work on UX design and app development process when I transferred to the UX team for service project at HOHOHO. I believe my colorful experience has become a foundation for the studio, and it has contributed to building its systems. Also, as a lecturer at SADI, I strive to offer advice to prospective designers.

²What motivated you to establish HOHOHO?

I have always wished to change the world, even if it might be something insignificant. Design was the only tool that I could use to make this wish come true. I wanted to establish a design group so that I can make the most out of it. I truly believe that a change does not have to be something substantial. However, I think it is important to have a sustainable movement with energy so that I continue to make change little by little. That’s why I try something new each time and enjoy the process. To me, change is something you can enjoy. That was an overview of how HOHOHO was created. We work on projects that match with our identity under the themes of “novelty and joy.” This has been our aspiration from the beginning, which will stay the same.

³When do you feel proud to run the studio?

Each and every time. I have never felt differently since our establishment. My heart is always filled with pride and gratitude because I am blessed to work with amazing members, incredible partners, and great clients. I am thankful and proud to work on amusing projects and experiments, and also to learn, enjoy, laugh and cry in this entire process. Moreover, I enjoy the sense of responsibility that increases as HOHOHO continues to grow. I strive to understand the growing weight of responsibility and enjoy it as well. I don’t think I can predict the future path of the studio. However, as Tido who belongs to HOHOHO, I feel great and proud because we always can “say hohoho” without staying complacent.

ALPA Total Solutions Creative Director (CEO)

¹Can you introduce yourself, Alpa?

I like design and enjoy the act of designing; I serve as a CEO and creative director at HOHOHO.
At SADI, I majored in communication design. After graduating, I worked as a UX designer in the mobile team at Samsung Electronics for eight years. At Samsung, I joined a number of projects that involved Galaxy tablet, and the Galaxy S and Note series. More specifically, I worked on mobile platform UX design, communication and contents service UX design, and other projects related to Samsung mobile UX.

²What are some of your current activities?

Based on my understanding on graphic design and typography, I design user experience and converge 2D design with 3D design. With this, I implement creative projects that are unique to HOHOHO. Some of the clients are Samsung Electronics, Cheil Worldwide, SK Telecom, Disney, Line Friends, Seoul Metropolitan Government, and Seoul Museum of Art. As such, there are a number of clients including global enterprises and public institutions from home and abroad. At the same time, we continue to work on business projects for startups and small businesses.

I participated in multiple branding and design projects, including the Samsung Galaxy 9 unpacked experience solution and the Galaxy Fold unpacked campaign (to develop visual design and material design). I contributed to the branding projects for Seoul Dragon City, SBS, and MBC Entertainment. From 2018, I have been teaching GUI design at SADI and held seminars under the theme of “Design Thinking.”

³What is the vision of HOHOHO for its future?

HOHOHO aspires to become a globally renowned “total design group.” Moreover, we would like to establish our own brands and overcome limitations that a design group might experience. We are building new business models at the same time. In sum, our goal is to be able to perform enjoyable, neat, and creative activities for more than a century.

ZED Developement Solutions Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

¹How do you introduce your job profile?

I am an application software architect. I develop not only software but also more up-to-date mobile programs. I am familiar with multiple programming languages, and I enjoy learning new technologies and applying them to my projects. I design programs with my know-how, which I have earned from my experience in this field during the past sixteen years.

²What inspires you?

I like learning about various topics. In specific, I like working on my problem-solving skills by gaining a broader insight into science and history. Programming may not be directly linked to familiarity with history, but studying history helps me to set strategy and make decisions.

³What are some of your favorite things?

I believe I would be a farmer or a botanist (if I am not a programmer) because I absolutely love to grow plants and trees.

JIMI Business Management Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

¹How do you introduce your job profile?

I am a certified public accountant (KICPA), and I serve as a CFO at HOHOHO. I believe the most important responsibility of a CFO is to predict what might happen in the future based on current financial statements. I seek to save expenses for the company by reviewing financial data with the CEOs. Plus, I prepare against the best and the worst possible scenarios in terms of investment and cash flow. As a startup, we sometimes receive investment from external source, and take out loan from bank as well. I am in charge of preparing against any possible change of cash flow. At the same time, I control fixed costs which is an equally important task; all details including salary, rent, and utility bills need to be considered in order to efficiently manage cash flow.

More recently, there has been a paradigm shift in business. It is recommended to seek sustainable profit than to focus solely on quantitative growth. As a CFO, I work with the CEOs to identify our growth strategy so that we can achieve quantitative and qualitative growth at the same time.

²What do you think will happen after ten years?

I think HOHOHO will become a well-established company in ten years, and I will continue serving as a CFO. That being said, I also believe there might be a change. As our two CEOs built HOHOHO and created something out of nothing, we will search for talented young people who can do the same thing. We want to find talented individuals equipped with ability and knowledge; we want to invest in them so that there will be more design groups like us. We will go beyond generating financial profit and contribute to creating shared value for our society. With this, I believe HOHOHO will gain respect from society by creating virtuous economic cycle.

JQ Total Solutions Creative Director (HE>i )

¹How do you introduce your job profile?

I introduce myself as a graphic designer. However, that does not seem to ring a bell with people who are not familiar with the field. Some people think that I make drawings, and others think I am a logo maker. I find their reaction amusing. In fact, it is not easy to explain what a graphic designer does. Misconceptions about my job have given me multiple titles, including storyteller, visualizer, visual communicator, and visual poet. These titles are not ambiguous, but are not straightforward either. It seems that my job cannot be defined with simple sentence. I believe that is why people are more curious about what I do, and I often have to provide multiple descriptions to satisfy their curiosity.

²What do you think you will be doing in ten years?

I don’t have a definite answer. I am a physicist by training. Ever since I was a kid, I have enjoyed learning math and science and wished to become a scientist or a researcher. However, I changed my major to study graphic design. I cannot be sure about what I will do after ten years because of my past experience. In fact, I do not know what I will be doing next year. I enjoy this uncertainty because it makes everything open-ended; I can do anything and I can become anything. I am looking forward to what I will be doing. In sum, I cannot answer what I will do ten years from now, but I believe I will keep trying to be happy and living my life.

BAMA Total Solutions Creative Director (Extrude)

¹How do you introduce your job profile?

“I turn something intangible into a tangible outcome.”
My name is Bama, and I am a product designer. I am a member of the Product Solutions team, and I am in charge of overall 3D design. When my client or the studio gives a concept or a specific value, I translate it into a physical outcome. I imagine that this outcome is a “bowl” that holds the concept or value. The form of this bowl reflects what my client or the studio prefers and needs. In this process, it is crucial to ask right question and understand what I need to do. I strive to understand needs and problems so that I can make right suggestions. Therefore, what I do is like climbing stairs. I take each step to ask question, understand, and suggest so that I can deliver the best possible outcome. Since I continue walking up the staircase, I make sure to look after my physical health as well :)

²How do you take rest?

“Taking rest is part of work for me.”
I believe work continues even when I take rest as a consumer because I design consumable products. I often make observation in daily lives because I believe every experience is a valuable opportunity to be a more mature designer. Even when I experience and consume product, space, or content, I remind myself of my work. I search for a good idea since I do not know which project I might work on in the future. Therefore, I rest like I work and there is only a difference of degree.

POBY Business Management Manager (MOM)

¹How do you introduce your job profile?

I support other members at the studio. I am in charge of management support, which means that I coordinate and provide support to ensure all management activities can be carried out in order to achieve our overall target. I also establish medium to long term strategy and oversee financial stability. As you can see, I am in charge of many tasks, but I think my most important responsibility is to support members so that they can work in an optimal work environment and efficiently carry out their assignments. I believe the company has to provide the best condition for members to maximize their capabilities; that is how members can positively provide more energy. That is why I say I “support” other members.

²What do you enjoy the most?

I enjoy supporting others, which is what I do now. I enjoy my work, and I am truly happy when I see the members leading to great outcome thanks to my support. I like to assist others and have a positive impact even if what I do seems insignificant. I would like to help other members as much as I can, and spread positive and pleasant vibe. To me, this is the most ideal aspect of my role.

JUDY Business Management Manager (Merry:)

¹How do you introduce your job profile?

My role is to create connection. I act as a bridge between the company and the team members. I connect the company with other firms, and also with our clients. In turn, I make sure that everyone can create synergy. I help everyone to have a candid discussion, which leads to progress for the company. In short, I build a flexible environment where all members can enjoy working and create something new. I strive to improve so that no one experiences discomfort here.

²What are some of your favorite things?

What comes to my mind is my family. My family provides an environment where I can simply be myself. They support me no matter what happens and no matter where I am. Plus, they influence my emotions the most. In addition, I like to project positive energy. When I share positive vibes with people that I like, I can just enjoy the atmosphere; I feel like I am the happiest person on the planet. Good vibes only!

CELINE Business Management Manager (smiley:)

See you soon...

DIDI Brand Solutions Art Director ( '-'w )

¹How do you introduce your job profile?

“I am a graphic designer who works in the cultural arts sector that includes film and festival. I am expanding my portfolio to encompass sports and fashion.” When I say this, I usually get two types of reaction. Those who know about design nod their heads. Those who do not ask me back, “so what do you do?” Designers spend a lot of time searching for and finding the optimal solution. We have a lot of work, but it can be challenging to explain what we do. I use a metaphor to describe my job. I say I create “stats” for a character, which can be a person, an object, or a brand. Basically, what I do is designing “visual” stats that are similar to skills or features of a character.

²What kind of designer do you want to be?

A designer from Japan named Oki Sato wrote a book (its title can be roughly translated as “the story of Nendo design”). In this book, Sato expressed that he wants to be like a secondary character than a main character; Sato explained that he wants to be a designer like a talented supporting actor who can respond to any given situation. Thisis my goal as a designer. I would like to create excellent solutions instead of following trends. Doctors always try their best when they see a patient. Still, they cannot simply pick their single best experience. Like this, I want to be a designer who can excel in any given situation.

MAY Brand Solutions Designer ( .* ₅ *. )

¹How do you introduce your job profile?

I introduce myself as a Brand designer. I want to imagine user experience and deliver what users need instead of just creating aesthetically pleasing outcome. As a designer, I want to be someone who can see a forest and find out how old trees are.

²How do you take rest?

I take a break after work and on weekends. I wake up late on weekends, skip breakfast, and just have lunch. I sit on my sofa in the most comfortable way and watch video clips on YouTube while eating ice cream. I sometimes visit a coffee shop with my friends, and share iced chocolate and a piece of cake. We engage in conversation and enjoy the best dinner together. I can also take a break when I rent a Seoul Bike on my way back home and feel refreshing breeze. I finish up my “break” by preparing for the next day.

JENNIE Brand Solutions Designer (HO*W)