LEFT: SCANNING: THE ABERRANT ARCHITECTURE OF DILLER + SCOFIDIO, created for the Whitney Museum of American Art and published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc., March 2003. Designed in collaboration with Abbot Miller, Pentagram. Fun Facts: The cover (BOTTOM LEFT) was inspired by a lenticular STAR TREK image on the cover of a $2.95 TV GUIDE the designers found in their local grocery store. The edges of the frenchfolded pages (TOP LEFT) were perforated so the reader would tear them open to see the content but, says Kudos, “no one ever did because the book is so precious as an object.” BOTTOM RIGHT: VIETNAM PAR AVION, an article about Vietnam told through postcards, created in collaboration with Kien Nguyen. Part of an issue of SPLOTCH VISUAL PULSE devoted to the East, JULY 2004. TOP RIGHT: PRINT MAGAZINE REDESIGN, JANUARY 2005. Designed under the art direction of Abbott Miller, PENTAGRAM. “I worked with Abbott to transform PRINT into a more approachable publication with a system that is transparent to make the content easier to absorb.”

Johnschen Kudos, Pentagram New York Latin Name: Kudos Hominis Age: 26 917.862.5160 | www.splotches.org

Working at Pentagram New York under the guidance of Abbott Miller sounds like a dream job. It’s reality for Johnschen Kudos who’s been working with Miller for 4+ years since graduating from MICA. “Through Pentagram I have been able to produce wonderful works ranging from identity projects to publications such as Print magazine, to exhibitions for various clients including The Whitney Museum, Museum of the City of New York, Smithsonian Institution, Baltimore Museum of Art, and Steuben Glass, among others,” Kudos says.

He came to the U.S. from Indonesia when he was 18 to pursue a life in art. “I didn’t have a clue what design meant, but the undergraduate graphic design program at MICA, chaired by Ellen Lupton, inspired me and opened doors to many possibilities. The program allowed me to study with Paul Carlos, Philipe Apeloig, and Abbott Miller, and introduced me to the influences of Pablo Medina [Cubanica], House Industries, Paula Scher, Stephen Farrell, and Mike Mills through the lecture series and guest teacher programs,” he notes.

A recent project that’s consumed much of Kudos’ spare time is Splotch Visual Pulse, an online publication he has created with five MICA alumni (Kien Nguyen, Marc Fanberg, Andrew Liang, Adeye Deresse, and Anastasia Wong) that represents a collective voice about popular themes in culture. They have since produced five issues, each composed of works done in various media by fine artists, illustrators, photographers, video makers, designers, writers, and poets from all over the world.

Kudos was a student in Carlos’ Publication Design class at MICA where he tweaked his design sensibilities. “Clearly Johnschen has developed a compelling forum for collaboration and presentation. Of course there will be the immediate connection to the idea of ‘designer-as-editor’ since he works with Abbott Miller. However, his site has a different agenda and purpose. The collaborators are his peers and not well known. Despite working without a budget, there is no loss of richness of presentation of the artist’s work,” Carlos says. “The design of the publication takes advantage of the interactive medium. I get a true sense that the theme of each issue [‘In-between,’ ‘East,’ and ‘Copycat’] are those he has grappled with and is willing to give his audience and contributors an open microphone to address.”

“Splotch has become my way to be influenced by creative minds taking part in the process,” says Kudos. “It’s an ongoing learning experience.”
Emily Potts