Out of the 'Ordinary': Inside the design studio behind BTS album covers and Korea's big brands

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Out of the 'Ordinary': Inside the design studio behind BTS album covers and Korea's big brands

Published: 20 Mar. 2025, 07:00 Updated: 20 Mar. 2025, 16:12

SHIN MIN-HEE
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

The album components for J-Hope's solo EP, “Hope on the Street Vol. 1” (2024), designed by Ordinary People [ORDINARY PEOPLE]

The extraordinary minds behind the designs of your favorite K-pop album or logos for well-known brands, surprisingly, have a modest name for their collective.

Called Ordinary People, the design studio specializes in brand strategy and art direction and has put together albums for acts including BTS, Tomorrow X Together, Enhypen, NCT and Astro’s Yoon San-ha.

Seo Jeong-min, creative director of the design studio Ordinary People, poses at the "DDP Open Curating Archive" exhibition at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in central Seoul on March 11. [SHIN MIN-HEE]

Ordinary People's studio is filled with previous design projects, including K-pop albums and liquor brands. [ORDINARY PEOPLE]

The resume extends further, almost infinitely. Whether it’s the cosmetics and health supplement retailer Olive Young, art museums like Leeum and Hoam or even the streaming service Watcha, to name a few, Ordinary People has and is churning out ideas while crafting distinctive brand identities behind the scenes.

Ordinary People, currently comprised of 10 members, was formed in 2006 by a group of college friends from Hongik University.

It’s conspicuous that the name seems humble for a studio that boasts this much experience and influence on our everyday lives. Initially, the members brainstormed lavish ideas for names, but the true eureka moment came instantly while they were listening to John Legend’s 2005 hit song, “Ordinary People,” during a meeting.

This episode, it turns out, reflects a similarity in the studio’s work process.

“We always try to talk it out,” Seo Jeong-min, creative director of Ordinary People, told the Korea JoongAng Daily in a recent interview at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in central Seoul.

“We may not get a certain result immediately, but ultimately, we tend to reach an understanding.”

″We Make Posters″ (2006) by Ordinary People [ORDINARY PEOPLE]

The studio started out with the project, “We Make Posters” (2006), before gaining big-name clients. A rookie group brimming with passion, members hung up promotional posters that included their contact details around the Hongdae area, advertising that they would create posters for any non-profit exhibition or event, free of charge.

Seo recalls it as an experience stemming from any design major’s eager desire: to manifest an idea in the physical world as something they could call their own.

Ordinary People later saw a turning point in 2018, when the studio helmed the renewal of MBC’s graphic identity. Characterized by layers of colorful, slanted bars, the public broadcasting company’s overall visuals became more vivid and sophisticated than before.

“Nowadays, it’s all about personal branding and being able to cater to each brand’s needs and values,” Seo said. “The project with MBC helped us evolve into a studio that is capable of directing a broader scope of visual brandings, such as logos, product packaging and digital graphics.”

An installation view of Ordinary People's exhibition at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in 2021, titled "Digital Wellness Spa" [SEOUL DESIGN FOUNDATION]

In 2021, Ordinary People also ventured into art curation, after it was selected by the Seoul Design Foundation’s “DDP Open Curating” project in which up-and-coming designers are selected to hold exhibitions at the DDP.

Titled “Digital Wellness Spa,” Ordinary People’s exhibition explored new modes of leisure amid a digitalized world after traveling was severely restricted due to the pandemic.

During the interview, Seo gave a glimpse into how Ordinary People has built the faces of a multitude of brands.

The album artwork for BTS's compilation album, "Proof" (2022), designed by Ordinary People [ORDINARY PEOPLE]

The album components for BTS's compilation album, "Proof" (2022), designed by Ordinary People [ORDINARY PEOPLE]

BTS albums

Before the seven members of BTS enlisted in their mandatory military services in 2023, the K-pop megaband rolled out “Proof” (2022), a compilation album of previous hit singles as well as demo versions and new tracks.

Because it was BTS’s last release as a whole unit until after the end of its extended hiatus, it was important that the album portrayed a grand ending to a chapter that summarized the first nine years. The release had to provide proof, true to the album's name, of how an ambitious boy band from a small company managed to make it as the world’s biggest K-pop act.

Ordinary People received a guide from HYBE that detailed the concept and core message for “Proof.” Despite the members’ usual heavy involvement in songwriting and production, they did not directly communicate with Ordinary People.

The album cover was therefore chosen to utilize what represents BTS the best: its famous logo of two trapezoids forming a door-like shape. The studio used the same style to spell out the word, “proof,” and zoomed in on the image to create the illusion that it’s opening another door.

“We imagined a new perspective in which it feels like you’re entering a new dimension,” Seo said, regarding the meaning behind the image.

The album artwork for Jungkook's solo digital single, "Seven" (2023), and its remixes, designed by Ordinary People [ORDINARY PEOPLE]

The album covers for J-Hope's solo EP, “Hope on the Street Vol. 1” (2024), designed by Ordinary People [ORDINARY PEOPLE]

After the making of “Proof,” Ordinary People continued to work with HYBE for future albums, notably Jungkook’s solo digital single “Seven” (2023) and J-Hope’s solo EP “Hope on the Street Vol. 1” (2024).

Although not always the case, HYBE also prefers to use typography rather than images of artists on album covers, according to Seo, with “Seven” serving as the prime example. The inspiration for the single was high-end brand campaigns, emphasized with poster images featuring Jungkook, reminiscent of luxury photoshoots.

As for “Hope on the Street Vol. 1,” the EP design alludes to old school hip-hop magazines, with a large portion of big, bold graffiti-like letterings as well as cityscape images. It represents J-Hope’s lifetime devotion and passion for street dance.

Signage at the Leeum Museum of Art designed by Ordinary People [ORDINARY PEOPLE]

Art museums

The two art museums managed by the Samsung Foundation of Culture, Leeum in Yongsan District, central Seoul, and Hoam in Yongin, Gyeonggi, have an overall, contrasting ambience.

One will notice that Leeum has a toned down, earthy interior, while Hoam’s is richer in hues with a relatively livelier mood. The two museums’ signage and color palettes explain why.

Leeum and Hoam were both temporarily closed for a little over a year during the pandemic, during which they both underwent renovations, including branding renewals.

Ordinary People decided on the neutral tones of black, gray and beige for Leeum, as the museum preferred its signage not outshine the rest of the exhibition space and, most importantly, the artworks, Seo said.

Signage at the Hoam Museum of Art designed by Ordinary People [ORDINARY PEOPLE]

Signage at the Hoam Museum of Art, including the logo, designed by Ordinary People [ORDINARY PEOPLE]

Hoam, on the other hand, wanted to go “all out” and was happy to use bright, primary colors along with a unique pixelized letter font. The distinction was given due to the museums’ different identities: Hoam is dedicated to blending both tradition and contemporary elements through art and the surrounding landscape, such as its garden.

Ordinary People interpreted this as a connection between the past and future, therefore opting for a stair image of going up and down. The studio adopted a 4:3:2:1 ratio for the museum’s signage and the Hoam logo — that’s why the “H” is so long compared to the rest of the letters.

"Design really isn't just about an individual's taste; it's about attaining a common goal," Seo said. "It's through discussion and persuasion that we find the most extraordinary outcomes."

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [[email protected]]