A Study of Form, Metal and Meaning
Role
Art Director / Lead Designer
Developed at
2025
The Context: Escaping the Virtual
As an Art Director deeply embedded in VR, UI, and Web design, my professional world is often weightless—defined by pixels and intangible interfaces. Tigerine was born from a visceral need to bridge the gap between digital precision and physical presence.
The Objective
To treat jewelry not just as an accessory, but as a medium for "Physical UX." I wanted to see how far I could push my 3D modeling skills by introducing the constraints of the real world: ergonomics, material weight, and human scale.
Conceptual Pillars: Music & Meaning
The collection is a study in Synesthesia—translating auditory and abstract concepts into wearable metal.
Sonic Brutalism: Inspired by the album Brutalism by IDLES. This piece explores the tension between raw, architectural heaviness and the delicate skin of the wearer.
The Science of Pi: Drawing from Thomas Dolby’s “She Blinded Me with Science,” this design uses the irrationality of the number $\pi$ to dictate its organic, algorithmic geometry.
Typography in 3D: An exploration of letterforms as structural elements. Here, typography is no longer a 2D symbol but the very skeleton of the object, turning legibility into a tactile experience.
The Hybrid Pipeline
The project utilizes a modern Art Direction workflow, blending generative AI with traditional design principles.
Phase 1: Generative Ideation (AI): Using Midjourney to explore unconventional textures and "impossible" forms that challenge standard jewelry archetypes.
Phase 2: Digital Craft (Blender): Transitioning from sketches to high-fidelity 3D models. Unlike VR, where geometry can be infinite, every vertex here was constrained by the reality of a human finger and the physics of casting metal.
Phase 3: Scene Art Direction: Creating a bespoke digital environment for each piece. I treated the presentation as a cinematic reveal, ensuring each ring lived in its own "world" that reflected its conceptual origin.
Brand Identity: Tigerine
To house this exploration, I developed the Tigerine brand.
The Logo: A synthesis of organic aggression and geometric elegance.
The Aesthetic: High-contrast, premium, and futuristic. The branding serves as the container for the research, elevating the side-project into a professional-grade brand case.
Reflection: Why This Matters
This project is a testament to the versatility of Art Direction. It demonstrates that the same principles used to build immersive VR interfaces—scale, rhythm, composition, and user interaction—apply to the 1:1 scale of jewelry.
It proves that a designer’s eye is not limited by the screen; it is a tool for interpreting the world, whether through a web browser or a piece of polished silver.