About

About

Visual Artist Seong-Te Park | magritti Design Studio

Close-up of a red hibiscus flower with green leaves in the background and the word 'maggriti' overlaid in white text.

I adore botany…

I only have hay in my head,

I’m going to become a plant myself.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1765

A young boy with short dark hair wearing a sleeveless striped shirt and sunglasses hanging from his neckline stands outdoors in front of a decorative stone fountain and red flowering bush.

Visual Artist:

Seong-Te Park

Woman in floral dress standing among pink flowering bushes outdoors, with a tiled building and a staircase in the background.
A young man with dark hair, wearing a white shirt and a black backpack, standing near a pond with lily pads, trees, and a clear blue sky in the background.

Chapter 1

Finding Inspiration in Nature

Nature, especially flowers, has always been more than just a source of inspiration for me. They hold a remarkable ability to bring meaning into my life.

As I travelled across the world, I was continually struck by the beauty and resilience of flowers. Wherever I went, they revealed their silent elegance, quietly reminding me of life’s endless possibilities. Through every season, in every place, flowers have a way of restoring balance and offering small but profound moments of reflection.

Person holds a tablet displaying a digital image of vibrant pink and purple flowers with green leaves, while sitting outdoors.

Chapter 2

Exploring Visual Language

My passion for visual expression started early, and flowers have consistently been at the heart of it — both in their natural presence and their aesthetic qualities. Their vibrant colours, intricate details, and organic forms continue to captivate me.

Over the years, I have explored various painting techniques — acrylics, oils, and watercolours — to better understand how to translate their essence onto the canvas. More recently, I have been focusing on digital painting to expand how my work can live across different media platforms and creative outlets.

Drawing plants and nature has sharpened my observation skills, allowing me to see them in more nuanced and sensitive ways. I am continually experimenting with different styles and embracing new methods to grow my visual language and creative vocabulary.

During my undergraduate studies in Media and Communication in South Korea, I learned to blend creativity with strategic media practices, particularly within the advertising industry. I also collaborated with a client on a painting project for a restaurant interior, which later became a filming location. These experiences sparked my early understanding of how art and media intersect in real-world projects.

Group of people gathered outdoors near a historic red-brick building with trees and colorful flowers in the foreground.

Chapter 3

Exploring New Media

Motivated to expand my digital creativity, I moved to the United Kingdom in 2022 to pursue a postgraduate degree in New Media at the University of Leeds.

There, I explored a wide range of digital media practices — from content creation to interactive design and storytelling — broadening my approach to visual communication in the evolving new media landscape.

One creative challenge I often faced was translating the emotions and stories captured in my flower photography into digital artwork. Searching for a way forward, I found unexpected inspiration in the lyrics of the British band Oasis: “I’m free to be whatever I want.” Somewhere along the way, I also came across the phrase “I dug widely to dig deeply”, and I decided to make it a guiding motivation in my life.

This spirit of freedom and exploration led me to illustrate flowers using digitised charcoal pencils, Conté crayons, oil paints (employing glazing and textured techniques), watercolours, and vector graphics. Some of my works are detailed and realistic, while others lean towards abstraction and surrealism — each capturing a distinct mood and narrative.

Through this process, I have come to realise there is always more to explore and learn. Experimenting across different methods has become a core part of my creative identity.

Four people wearing white t-shirts with red and black text, standing among large green tropical leaves and plants, smiling and making peace signs.

magritti

Design Studio

A hand with a ring on the finger holding a torn piece of paper with the word 'magritti' written on it, surrounded by green plants and small purple flowers.
Person wearing headphones working on a laptop in a cubicle with purple walls, a black backpack on the desk, and a water bottle.

Chapter 4

The Beginning of magritti

After completing my postgraduate studies, I spent a lot of time considering my next steps. I felt the need to learn more and gain hands-on experience to truly immerse myself in the creative field. I thought: what if I launch a brand that also serves as a broad, evolving portfolio? That way, I could engage with different workflows and processes across design. From this idea — grounded in my existing design work — a brand began to take shape.

With that foundation, I launched magritti, my independent design studio based in London.

A young woman standing in an art gallery next to a framed painting of irises and a garden of flowers, with another framed artwork visible in the background.

The roots of the studio trace back to my early twenties, when I travelled around the world, wandered through countless art galleries, and discovered a profound passion for visual expression. I was captivated by the way Claude Monet translated the delicate flowers from his garden onto canvas with such perceptive sensitivity; by Andy Warhol’s Flowers (1964), which I encountered at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice — its flat, graphic repetition felt strangely distant yet emotionally charged. Paul Gauguin’s depictions of Tahitian wildflowers, rendered in vivid tropical tones, stirred my curiosity about colour and storytelling. Henri Matisse’s use of playful, almost childlike pigments, and Henri Rousseau’s Surprised! (1891), with its dreamlike stillness and unexpected tension in colour, both left lasting impressions — the latter viewed at the National Gallery in London.

Now based in London, I continue to find inspiration in its hidden gardens, flower-filled streets, and the city’s creative energy. All of these impressions and memories eventually converged to form the foundation of the magritti project.

A brick wall with a sticker that reads 'magritti' attached to it, situated near outdoor stairs with trees and a clear sky in the background.

Chapter 5

So, Why magritti?

 

So, why magritti? English-speaking friends often call me Siong-Ti, and over time, a few playful nicknames started to emerge from that. I eventually combined the name of my creative hero, René Magritte, with the final syllable of my first name — Ti. And that is how magritti came to be: a name that blends admiration, identity, and a touch of serendipity. 

The studio’s logo — a hand-drawn hibiscus — also carries special meaning. It was inspired by a 2012 trip to Hawaii, where I first encountered the Hawaiian hibiscus: a flower that, to me, symbolises beauty, resilience, and vibrancy.

Hand holding a printed sheet with botanical illustration and text in front of large green leafy plants.

Chapter 6

Building and Growing

Initially, magritti began as a personal portfolio project. However, over time, it evolved naturally into a more experimental and collaborative studio.

Through this journey, I have taken the lead across every stage — from painting and design to merchandise production, teamwork, and social media promotion through Instagram. In addition to creating content, I have also gained hands-on experience using Instagram’s advertising tools and analysing campaign performance, helping to strengthen audience engagement and refine our promotional strategies. This holistic involvement has allowed me to build a well-rounded understanding of design workflows, branding, and digital marketing within today’s fast-changing media environment.

Thanks to long-standing connections with friends in South Korea, I am now expanding magritti into the world of creative merchandise and clothing, collaborating with studio members on exciting new projects.

At its core, magritti is about curiosity, exploration, and connection — with nature, with creativity, and with people. I am excited to continue expanding this journey, crafting meaningful works, collaborating with others, and sharing stories through visual language.

If you would like to collaborate or learn more, please feel free to reach out. I would love to hear from you.

Meet the Team

  • A smiling person with glasses and a turquoise scarf around their neck, standing in front of a terracotta wall with green leafy plant and pink flowers behind them.

    Seong-Te Park

    Creative Director

  • A young man in a white shirt smiling at the camera, standing in front of the ancient Greek Parthenon ruins with tall columns and a clear sky in the background.

    Hije Kim

    Communication Manager

  • A smiling young woman with long dark hair wearing a white knit hat and gray coat, taking a selfie outdoors in front of a rural landscape with brown soil, a green hillside, and a single tall tree under a partly cloudy sky.

    Ahyeon Lee

    Social Media Manager

  • A woman stands outdoors during sunset by a body of water, with a city skyline and bridge in the background.

    Minkyung Shin

    Operation Manager