Today we’d like to introduce you to Van Nguyen.
Van, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
If you go through my baby photo album, you’d find a page from a coloring book with a beautiful green horse and a matching green man wearing red overalls. Three years old me, had fun filling in the page with crayons. It was a defining moment that would follow me for the rest of my life. As far as I can remember, I’ve always loved the arts. I loved music, photography, and drawing. It’s the one thing I could spend hours doing and never get bored. When I was younger, I would draw whatever I wanted to, penguins, lions, fairies, you name it. It really became a way for me to express my thoughts, likes, dislikes and dreams on paper. As I grew older, the tools that helped me express myself grew beyond just a pencil and paper. I discovered graphic design and made a decision to pursue an education in design. I learned so much in school; it really helped me confidently present ideas and expressed myself clearly. And just this May, I graduated! I look forward to being able to create for a lifetime.
Has it been a smooth road?
I think this has always been a natural progression towards this road. But it isn’t to say I had some setbacks and fears. First, I felt scared to pursue design, because people always say, art does not make you money. But I felt like if I didn’t go after what I wanted, I’d regret it. Then for my education, I worried about how I’d pay for it, but that wasn’t the biggest worry. Every semester, I’d go no sleep some nights trying to work on projects so I could turn in my best work. But sometimes, balancing work and school just kicked my butt. I’d be too tired to go to class, and felt too tired to even do work at times. This made me second guess my dedication and love for design. But somehow, semester after semester, I pulled through. Despite how tiring it has been so far, I think the fact that I never gave up, showed that I really wanted to be a designer.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I am a designer. I make illustrations, posters, branding, etc. but I love print design, especially creating posters. I just love the process of coming up with a good poster. I’m always jealous of people who create designs that make me go, “huh, why didn’t I think of that… it’s so clever.” That’s what I try to do when I’m designing something. In the process of my designs, I tend to use a lot of photography. I think a good photo can make a design much more visually impactful and effective when used smartly and effectively.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I think San Diego is becoming to be a good place for the field of design. There is already a lot of companies with designers here, but I think it could expand a lot more. The main reason why I personally think there are other cities that might be better to start out is because other cities have huge companies. With huge companies, I just think there are more resources to train and mentor a designer who is just starting out. Regardless, San Diego has a big community of creatives. People are so supportive of helping others grow in their field. It is a great place to make some friends and gain some mentors. It also provides for a community that could help artists grow through collaborations with other creatives.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://imvannguyen.myportfolio.com/
- Phone: 619-319-0562
- Email: van.nugwaien@gmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/xs.van
Suggest a story: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
