Neon Typography Art by Rizon Parein.

Neon poster design for 2011 movie ‘Drive’.

Sitting at the niche confluence of graphic design and 3D art within the design profession, Belgium-based 3D designer and illustrator Rizon Parein has become known for constantly pushing both aesthetic and technical boundaries within advertising in particular with his neon typography.

Parein grew up demonstrating a fascination with graffiti, and after dropping out of high school at 17 went on to undertake a miscellany of construction jobs. During the early 1990s, after a few years of being unsatisfied with working for others, Parein decided to begin designing posters for venues; his posters for Kozzmozz and Fill Collins Club were deemed the most popular of that time. After a few years, Parein’s work progressed to hold a 3D typography and animation based focus, at a time during which he began working for international studios and agencies such as Tronic Studio, Buck, Transistor Studios and Hello Hikimori. Originally painting 3D letters during his venue poster-creating days, his curiosity led him to play with 3D typography, experimenting with material properties and lighting. Each flyer acted as a tutorial, enabling him to further develop a graphic technique.

‘Turn the Lights Off’ for Eristoff Vodka.

After turning down an attempted head-hunt to become Creative Director at a New York based Broadcast Design Company, Parein instead stayed in Belgium due to his successes within the Belgian advertising industry. Since 2007, he has increasingly collaborated with photographers, integrating real footage into 3D architectural and graphic environments, particularly for the Fashion and Advertising industries.

Parein is best known for works such as the neon poster design for 2011 film Drive (yep, the one with Ryan Gosling), Nike’s Air Max campaign, and the unlit neon typography experiment ‘Turn the Lights Off’ – which developed within working for an Eristoff Vodka campaign called ‘Bring on the Night’. Parein believed turning on the neon typography ruined the aesthetic of what he was creating, hence decided to make a series of his own posters. In discussing his work with Nike, he notes the large amount of creative freedom given the interaction directly with the in-house creative teams rather than outsourcing to advertising agencies.

Nike AirMax Neon Art & Logo.

His unique 3D style has been described as colourful and playful, the resulting aesthetic industrial, with a beautiful contrast between both the unlit and lit signage elements across the body of his work.

Pharrell Neon Typography.

Neon Mundial Animation – Toykyo x Rizon Parein x Combustion Collab.

[Images courtesy of Rizon Parein.]