People come to America to fulfill their dreams and passions, and that can be said for Neo Tran, one of the most talented graphic designers, artists and UI/UX Designers worldwide, who decided to bring his talents to America!
As a person who focuses on the user interface of companies and then creates mind blowing digital works of art to accompany them, Neo has seen his work showcased with many high profile clients. And what’s more, is that he is about to showcase his work even further through an art exhibition on vaporwave aesthetics.
We learned more about his talents, industry, trends and his art show “VIBERWAVE” in an exclusive interview!
1. What exactly does a graphic / UI UX designer do?
A UI/UX designer is a person who focuses on designing user interfaces using a thorough understanding of user experience principles. UI/UX designers can also be called digital product designers or simply product designers. Product designers come in various expertise and backgrounds. Some UI/UX designers focus heavily on user interface while some focus more on user research and data; also there are designers who are truly in tune with both equally.
The work of a UI/UX designer normally includes designing a beautiful user interface for a website, a dashboard, an app with considerations of user research in mind. This research can be a number of aspects like target user demographic, user journey, internal/external research, etc,…
As for me I focus more on user interface design. I’m a happy camper when it comes to have other team members geek out on research and I can use the data to inform my design. The more you do it the more you learn what is optimal for users across industries.
Beside working in UI/UX, I also work in traditional form of graphic design. I enjoy many aspects of graphic design like illustrating, packaging, logo design, printing, etc,… It’s more of a “having a cake and eat it too” situation for me ! I love design through and through
2. The pandemic has brought forth a lot of challenges for companies, how has yours made it through these various challenges?
Lucky for me the nature of my job doesn’t require me to be in-person. Everything I do can be fully remote. I understand it was a trying time for most people. Fortunately for me there was an increase amount of work needed from me when the pandemic happened. Across all industries, companies are more open to hire remote designers from outside of their area. While living in Los Angeles I have clients from New York, Kansas City, Costa Mesa, San Francisco, Seattle, and so on.
3. You are originally from Vietnam… How has it been working and living here in the United States?
I love working with my American colleagues. They are always supportive and friendly. I try to do the same in return. I feel comfortable asking for help and in return happy to assist other designers. There are so many opportunities in the states. I love how American people are open to good designs. I feel American people are more in tune with bold, simple, clean and modern looks so it makes my job so much easier.
4. What trends in your industry do you see happening?
I can see that the industry is opting for streamlining content creation for their sites. This means that companies can churn out website pages in large numbers. I see a lot of companies need this skill set from a designer. They need someone who is experienced in making this transition. Creating and streamlining components to be used in web pages so they can be consistent across the board.
5. Why do companies need to hire a designer like you now more than ever?
I’d like to think I’m a versatile designer and easy to adapt. In my portfolio I’ve worked with different industries from fitness to soap making. I have experience implementing a well thought out design process, creating, refining and leveraging design systems to create new web pages. I can see my skill set is not limited to just digital or traditional so I find myself to be a valuable asset in companies. I love sharing my knowledge and use my skills to help companies and colleagues succeed.
6. You also have an art exhibition coming up, tell us about it and how people can view it?
My exhibition is about vaporwave aesthetics. My collection explores the intricacies of the interwoven relationship between chillwave Lo-Fi Music and Vaporwave.
I think it’s a total vibe!
My show is called VIBERWAVE because it’s THE Vibe !
My artwork is here to take you on a mystical retreat to a world where modernism and minimalism interwine; to give you a sense of belonging in this ethereal world.
The exhibition takes place on Thursday, June 16th, 2022 at Spaces Seattle Belltown. If the show have good turnout I will consider showing more in galleries around Seattle area.
7. How would you describe your style of art?
My style of art is always modernism/minimalism. The quicker I can communicate my point across effectively the better. I’m influenced by the modern art movement of America and modern designers like Paula Scher, Milton Glaser, Paul Rand and so on.
8. What changes in the overall American design/art industries would you like to see changed, if any?
In the design space, I would love to see less generic placeholder arts in websites as much as possible. Companies should move away from generic stock photos with models laughing at salad bowls aesthetics and be more thoughtful of their imagery choice so they can communicate better about their brand.
