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KUDOS AM/PM Podcast

Soramimi Visualizer

Gene Shinozaki

Capabilities

Focus Area

Client

Soramimi—“mishearing” in Japanese—is a song written by Gene Shinozaki of the beatboxing duo SPIDERHORSE, for his Grand Beatbox Battle 2023 showcase in Tokyo. The song portrays the yearning of someone to hear the voice of a loved one, and unfolds over a duration of 10 minutes with a narrative structure akin to that of a short film, complete with a beginning, development, turning point, and conclusion.

Gene initially created 10 frames of poetic pencil drawings to accompany the song, which we enhanced with watercolors and animated. The resulting dreamy colorations and motions resonated with the melody and beats of the song, and was projected onto the stage’s entire backdrop during Gene’s performance.

KUDOS mgmt

  • Kiki Katahira
    Art Director
  • Owen Febiandi
    Project Manager
  • Imam Fadilah, Muhammad Syamil Haqqoni, Putu Yogiswara
    Animators

Gene Shinozaki

  • Original Music and Storyboard
 

SPIDERHORSE at Beat X Motion Graphics

SPIDERHORSE

Capabilities

Focus Area

Client

Radiant collaboration with our acclaimed beatbox artists that moves two thousand hands and hearts

Beatboxing duo SPIDERHORSE was invited to perform at the 2022 Beat X Festival in Tokyo and Osaka, and requested motion graphics to accompany their performance. 

We created an animated backdrop featuring the group’s visual character, “SPIDERHORSE,” to narrate over their performance and enhance the show’s atmosphere. SPIDERHORSE engaged the audience, encouraging them to raise their hands and clap, which they did—despite COVID protocols restricting audiences cheering and singing along.

KUDOS mgmt

  • Kiki Katahira
    Art Director
  • Owen Febiandi
    Project Manager
  • Imam Fadilah, Putu Yogiswara
    Animators

SPIDERHORSE

  • Gene Shinozaki
    Creative Director, Beatbox Artist, Original Storyboard
  • Chris Celiz
    Creative Director, Beatbox Artist
 

BCL @ SXSW 2022

Blockchain Creative Labs

Capabilities

Focus Area

Client

Blockchain Creative Labs (BCL), FOX’s technology research and development arm, is on a mission to shape the future of content creation, distribution, and monetization by connecting creators and communities using innovative technology.

Whatever.co teamed up with KUDOS and a large cohort of producers to launch the BCL brand at the SXSW festival in March, 2022, in Austin, Texas. KUDOS was put in charge of creating a new visual branding system for BCL that was then applied to all aspects of the BCL House venue at SXSW. This included everything from a logo to a Web3-inspired website, lenticular badges, event posters, wayfinding graphics, animated POAP NFTs, Dolly Parton’s Dollyverse, and letterpress cards for the exclusive gala dinner—all aimed at delivering an immersive experience that spotlighted FOX’s new foray into the world of blockchain.

PROJECT TEAMS

  • Blockchain Creative Labs
    Client
  • Whatever
    Lead Concept & Creative Direction
  • KUDOS Design Collaboratory
    Branding & Graphic Design
  • Small Bands of Misbehavior
    Production Design

KUDOS Design Collaboratory

  • John Kudos
    Managing Director
  • Ashley Wu
    Art Director
  • Jessica Mackta
    Project Manager
  • Fay Qiu, Jamus Marquette, Owen Febiandi, Lauwrencia E. D., Putu Yogiswara, Ilham Muhamad Firdaus, Greg Wong, Brian Smith, Adriana Marquette, Erica Remmele, MacKenzie Schroeder
    Graphic Designers
  • Imam Fadilah
    3D Design
  • Christian Marc Schmidt, Joseph Gray, Kevin Hanes
    POAPs
 

Frock Magazine

Eli Schmidt

Capabilities

Focus Area

Client

Awards

Visibility matters—and the desire to see ourselves represented without censorship is what keeps our language and lineage clear, pure, and authentic. This unselfconscious attitude is the unifying attribute shared by all of the artists, personalities, and performers represented in Frock, a magazine launched by photographer and publisher Eli Schmidt in 2019 as a source for queer photo stories, interviews, performance, and erotic films.

Our publication design drew upon the language of artist journals, homoerotic photography, and independent zine culture to create a platform for celebrating authentic queer joy. We worked closely with Schmidt to experiment with pairings of typography and photography that embody uninhibited concepts and emotions—the kink in the straight line.

KUDOS Design Collaboratory

  • John Kudos
    Creative Director
  • Amanda Knott
    Project Manager
  • Fay Qiu
    Lead Designer
 

Proximity Media Website

Proximity Media

Capabilities

Focus Area

Client

Proximity is a multimedia company founded by Ryan Coogler, Zinzi Coogler, and Sev Ohanian and co-founded by Ludwig Göransson, Archie Davis, and Peter Nicks. Their projects include worldwide sensations like Stephen Curry: Underrated, Judas and the Black Messiah, Creed III, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

We developed the company’s website to feature their projects, latest news, press mentions, and company information, with a unique audio podcast widget as a special feature. We also showcased full-screen images and videos on the website, in recognition of the company’s remarkable projects.

View proximitymedia.com

KUDOS Design Collaboratory

  • John Kudos
    Creative Director
  • Ashley Wu
    Art Director
  • Amanda Knott
    Project Manager
  • Owen Febiandi
    Designer
  • Putu Yogiswara
    Designer
  • Imam Fadilah
    Animator
  • Chris Manlapid
    Web Developer

Proximity Media

  • Pete Nicks
 

Qubic Pictures

Website

Capabilities

Focus Area

Client

This UI/UX project for Qubic Pictures underscores the company’s dedication to immersive storytelling and global collaboration. As an independent production company specializing in original and branded entertainment, Qubic Pictures required a website that seamlessly integrates its founder’s narrative while showcasing its diverse portfolio.

We implemented a sophisticated blue palette and bilingual interface, ensuring accessibility for both Japanese- and English-speaking audiences. With a captivating single-scroll feature specifically tailored to the company founder’s story page, the site invites users into the heart of Qubic’s vision and mission. The interactive design not only highlights the company’s commitment to storytelling, but also strengthens its connection with fans worldwide, fostering engagement and inspiration across cultural boundaries.

View qubicpictures.com

KUDOS Design Collaboratory

  • John Kudos
    Creative Director
  • Fay Qiu
    Designer
  • Amanda Knott
    Project Manager
  • Chris Manlapid, Arif Widipratomo, Faris Han
    Web Developer
 

IFFestNY 2019 Branding

Indonesian Film Forum NY

Capabilities

Focus Area

Client

IFFestNY is the biggest Indonesian film festival in the East Coast. Held annually, the festival introduces works by internationally acclaimed Indonesian filmmakers. In 2019, the festival took place at SVA Theatre (New York) on September 6–7.

We designed a brand identity system for the festival that was made up of three overlapped letterforms, I-F-F, which animate the surrounding frame. The program brochure unfolds to reveal a poster featuring a striking scene from one of the festival’s showcased films.

KUDOS Design Collaboratory

  • John Kudos
    Creative Director
  • Owen Febiandi
    Designer
  • Aditya Bayu Perdana
    Designer

Indonesian Film Forum NY

 

SPIDERHORSE Visual Identity System & Swag

SPIDERHORSE

Capabilities

Focus Area

Client

Based out of New York City, SPIDERHORSE is an award-winning beatbox duo composed of Chris Celiz and Gene Shinozaki. The two have been creating music together for seven years and expanding the capabilities of the human voice in an innovative and exciting way. The group’s symbolic mascot—a character called Mr. SPIDERHORSE—and logotype were hand-drawn by ReepsOne, their artistic idol (who is also a beatboxer).

To develop SPIDERHORSE’s new identity, we digitized that original artwork and developed a complete visual branding system and supporting assets around it that work in various formats, including an animated version. We also designed and developed their new website. We used SPIDERHORSE as a versatile character to narratively accompany the group’s music; animated, he acts as the show’s MC, guiding the event and expressing the music’s mood. (He can even multiply his legs to double as a hair comb!)

We also enjoyed pushing the boundaries of SPIDERHORSE merchandise with unique materials and techniques, including hand-dyed T-shirts, wooden combs sourced from a local woodshop in Indonesia, bamboo-handled fans, and plush toys incorporating a plethora of pastel colors to reflect the group’s vibrant artistry.

View spider.horse

KUDOS mgmt

  • Kiki Katahira
    Creative Director, Designer

SPIDERHORSE

  • Chris Celiz and Gene Shinozaki
    Conceptualizers

ReepsOne

  • Logo Designer