Yoni Alter

Yoni Alter
Born1980 or 1981 (age 45–46)
Neve Monosson, Israel
EducationBezalel Academy of Arts and Design (BA, Visual Communications, 2006); London College of Communication (MA, 2007)
Known forSculpture, print, graphic design, public art
MovementPop art
Websiteyoniishappy.com

Yoni Alter is an Israeli–British artist and designer based in London, known for vibrantly coloured works that reduce architecture, cities and familiar imagery to bold silhouettes and geometric forms.[1][2][3] He works across print, sculpture, painting, public installation and digital media,[4] and has collaborated with Hermès, Karl Lagerfeld, Tate, London Live and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, among others.[5][6][1]

Early life and education

Alter grew up in Neve Monosson, a community in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, the youngest of four siblings.[7] The Evening Standard has reported that his father is an architect and his grandfather was an engineer.[8][9]

He studied Visual Communications at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem, where his teachers included the graphic designer and Israel Prize laureate David Tartakover.[9][10] During his third year at Bezalel he spent a student-exchange term at Middlesex University in London.[7] He completed his BA at Bezalel in 2006 and returned to London in 2007 for an MA in Graphic Design at the London College of Communication (part of the University of the Arts London).[7][11] From 2008 he worked as a creative at the advertising agency JWT in London, continuing his personal art practice in parallel before transitioning to full-time independent work.[7][8]

Work

Alter's work sits between graphic design and fine art, with what Creative Review described as "strong silhouettes, bold colouring and Pop Art iconography".[2]

Shapes of Cities

Alter's best-known print series is Shapes of Cities, in which the signature buildings of a given metropolis are stacked in a single frame at accurate comparative scale and rendered in overlapping translucent colour.[3][12][13] Designboom described the prints as "sharp, detailed and vibrant",[3] and Alter's New York skyline image has been stocked by the MoMA Design Store.[14]

Love Continuum

Love Continuum is a 7.5-metre (approximately 25-foot) looping typographic sculpture that reads as an abstract curve from most angles but resolves into the word "love" when seen from a specific viewpoint.[15][16]

The sculpture was first exhibited in London at Duke of York Square in Chelsea, opposite the Saatchi Gallery, in summer 2024 as part of the Kensington + Chelsea Art Week public art trail.[16][17] Colossal compared the work to Robert Indiana's LOVE and noted its focus on "connection and togetherness".[15]

In February 2025 the sculpture made its United States debut in New York City. It was installed at University Place Plaza, between 13th and 14th Streets adjoining Union Square, on 20 February 2025, presented by the Union Square Partnership in collaboration with the New York City Department of Transportation Art Program and Artmax / Andrew Logan Projects.[18][19] A smaller version was also shown in the ground-floor storefront window of 860 Broadway (the building that had once housed Andy Warhol's Factory).[18]

City Lights

In 2021, Alter created City Lights for Wembley Park's Winterfest light trail: a digital artwork displayed across LED banners along Olympic Way and culminating on London's tallest LED Christmas tree, a 25-metre walk-through structure carrying 100,000 kinetic lights.[20][11][21]

Pointillist Bird

For the 2022 Summer Lights festival at Canary Wharf, Alter presented Pointillist Bird, a three-metre suspended sculpture formed from 98 translucent coloured discs.[22][23][24]

Collaborations

  • Karl Lagerfeld — Alter was the guest artist on the brand's Spring 2018 capsule collection, producing pixelated and pointillist graphics of the designer and his cat, Choupette, applied to ready-to-wear and accessories.[6][25]
  • Hermès — Alter designed the double-sided silk scarf Drive Me Crazy (90 cm), depicting a motorcyclist's and a horse-coach driver's points of view, for Hermès' men's collection.[26]
  • Tate — Alter has produced a long-running merchandise range for Tate.[11]
  • London Live — Alter was the artist for the London Live television channel, designing the brand identity and the five 25-second idents used at its 31 March 2014 launch;[1][10][27][28] his London-landmark graphics also appeared on double-decker buses and a 25-metre banner in Shoreditch.[29][11]

Publications

Alter is the author of the illustrated books:

  • London: Cityscape Timeline. Prestel.[5]
  • New York: Cityscape Timeline. Prestel.[5]
  • Dot Art: Sticker Seurat. Prestel.[5]
  • Dot Art: Sticker Van Gogh. Prestel.[5]

His pictogram skyline work was included in the anthology Visual Families: Graphic Storytelling in Design and Illustration (Gestalten, 2014).[30]

Selected exhibitions

  • City, Kemistry Gallery, London, 27 March – 3 May 2014 (solo).[2][31]
  • Love Continuum, Kensington + Chelsea Art Week, Duke of York Square, London, summer 2024.[16]
  • Love Continuum, University Place Plaza, Union Square, New York, opened 20 February 2025.[18][19]

Recognition

Alter was one of the honoured artists at the Global Gift · Hainan Expo Selection Awards Ceremony and Design Gala, held in Haikou on 14 April 2026 as part of the sixth China International Consumer Products Expo.[32]

References

  1. ^ a b c Sweney, Mark (14 January 2014). "London Live reveals its bright lights for the big city". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 April 2026. The branding has been developed by Israeli-born, London-based artist Yoni Alter, who is known for using bright, colourful imagery, with ad agency Kemistry animating the graphics.
  2. ^ a b c "Urban geometry: the colourful work of Yoni Alter". Creative Review. 14 April 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  3. ^ a b c Reed, Trevor (16 September 2015). "'Shapes of Cities' by Yoni Alter presents signature buildings from iconic metropolises". Designboom. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  4. ^ Aszman, Amanda (1 October 2017). "Designer of the week: Yoni Alter". Print Magazine. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Yoni Alter — Author page". Prestel Publishing. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  6. ^ a b "Karl Lagerfeld creates capsule collection with Yoni Alter". FashionNetwork UK. 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  7. ^ a b c d Saar, Yuval (13 April 2014). המעצב יוני אלתר צובע את הערים הגדולות [The designer Yoni Alter paints the big cities]. Galeria. Haaretz (in Hebrew). Retrieved 19 April 2026. אלתר, בן 33, בוגר המחלקה לתקשורת חזותית בבצלאל, גדל בנווה מונוסון, הצעיר מבין ארבעה אחים
  8. ^ a b Hatfield, Stefano (18 March 2014). "London's true colours". Television. Evening Standard. p. 13. Yoni Alter, the Israeli artist behind London Live's soon-to-be ubiquitous branding, has a typical London story. He came for a term on a college exchange from Jerusalem and stayed for the best part of a decade.
  9. ^ a b "Israeli artist Yoni Alter's colourful graphic designs". King & McGaw. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  10. ^ a b Durrani, Arif (17 October 2013). "London Live appoints Kemistry for brand identity of TV launch". Campaign. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  11. ^ a b c d "LCC graduate creates digital artwork for London's largest LED Christmas tree". University of the Arts London. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  12. ^ Hosmer, Katie (20 February 2013). "Shapes of global cities defined by colorful silhouettes". My Modern Met. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  13. ^ Jobson, Christopher (8 May 2014). "Colorful city silhouette prints by Yoni Alter". Colossal. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  14. ^ "NYC Skyline Model". MoMA Design Store. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  15. ^ a b Mothes, Kate (2 July 2024). "In London, all you need is 'Love Continuum' by Yoni Alter". Colossal. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  16. ^ a b c Brandoli, Lucia (4 July 2024). "Yoni Alter's typographic artwork is dedicated to love". Domus. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  17. ^ "Love Continuum: Yoni Alter at the Kensington and Chelsea Art Trail". Embassy of Israel, London, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  18. ^ a b c "Union Square celebrates the essence of love, welcoming bright and whimsical sculpture "Love Continuum" by artist Yoni Alter" (Press release). Union Square Partnership. 20 February 2025. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  19. ^ a b Rahmanan, Anna (21 February 2025). "This brightly whimsical new interactive sculpture is now in Union Square". Time Out New York. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  20. ^ "Winter at Wembley Park looks absolutely magical". Londonist. 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  21. ^ "Winterfest returns to Wembley Park with illuminating launch event on 25 November" (Press release). Wembley Park. 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2026. London's tallest LED tree, which stands at 25-metres high and features 100,000 kinetic lights... giving visitors a first look at the specially created 'City Lights' artwork by Brent-based artist Yoni Alter, which will adorn the tree.
  22. ^ "Summer Lights 2022 — Map" (PDF). Canary Wharf Group. June 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2026. Pointillist Bird — Yoni Alter — Wren Landing.
  23. ^ "Canary Wharf's Summer Lights display is back for 2022" (Press release). Canary Wharf Group. 10 June 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2026. Yoni Alter has taken inspiration from the pointillist movement of the 1880s... a 3-metre-wide pointillist bird, made of 98 colourful translucent discs suspended in mid-air on wires.
  24. ^ Saville, Alice (24 June 2022). "A dazzling free summer lights festival is hitting Canary Wharf". Time Out London. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  25. ^ "Karl Lagerfeld announces MA Graphic Media Design grad as guest artist for Spring 2018 season". London College of Communication, University of the Arts London. 4 April 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  26. ^ SCMP Style Reporter (20 September 2021). "Style Edit: jazz up your autumn wardrobe with the new Hermès men's collection". Style. South China Morning Post. Retrieved 20 April 2026. Designer Yoni Alter's double-face scarf features bold colours in pop art spirit... Alter plays with multiple layers, reliefs and colours of a motorcycle and a team of horses.
  27. ^ Montgomery, Angus (17 October 2013). "Kemistry works up London Evening Standard TV brand". Design Week. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  28. ^ Banks, Tom (16 January 2014). "Branding launches for London Evening Standard TV channel". Design Week. Retrieved 19 April 2026. The identity will use the work of a new creative each year, and launches with a series of illustrations by Yoni Alter.
  29. ^ Gosling, Emily (25 June 2014). "Yoni Alter's bright take on London". Design Week. Archived from the original on 17 August 2025. Retrieved 20 April 2026. The Israeli-British artist has lived in London since 2006, having studied in Jerusalem Academy of Art & Design before taking on an MA at London College of Communication.
  30. ^ Visual Families: Graphic Storytelling in Design and Illustration. Gestalten. 2014. ISBN 978-3-89955-540-0.
  31. ^ Banks, Tom (14 March 2014). "Yoni Alter's city". Design Week. Archived from the original on 24 December 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  32. ^ "2026 Global Gift · Hainan Expo selection awards ceremony and design gala held in Haikou" (Press release). Newsfile Corp. April 2026. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
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