Qian Hui (or, Jess!) is a Graphic Designer who started out with quite an ambitious dream, to essentially leave a mark somewhere on Earth. With that in mind, she felt art/design was the best way to both express herself and also leave an impact on others. In her words, "It's kind of a cliché, but I would not want people to know me only by the name on my grave you know?"
What is your life ethos and how does it relate to your creative journey?
Similar to my design style, I do not stick to a single "life quote/motto". To put it simply, it changes seasonally. Sometimes it's about cultivating myself, being aware that we are investing our time and it's more valuable than we think. At times, it is a simple mindset of "Making allies is better than making enemies", or it could be an odd quote of "If you succeed, you succeed!", an awareness to celebrate small achievements and knowing it's totally okay to be proud of how far you've come.
(Yay me!)
Logo Branding Design by Qian Hui
I hope one day people would realize that it is fine to slow down and take time to appreciate little things in our simple everyday life.
What are some of the things your artworks are constantly seeking to explore?
Depth and introducing a different perspective. I admire great artworks which take years and years of time to input thoughts and details into it. Through a great amount of experience, refinements and questioning even at the finest details, to create an impactful piece of artwork which changes lives.
What was the most significant/impactful project for you thus far — why?
Pop That Cherry! is definitely my favourite project thus far. Living in a day and age where safe sex is often neglected and put off as trite advice, the bright and funky humour of these cards set out to ease and educate the ever so common misconceptions from the general public on safe sex, usage of condoms and everything in between. It is also the first project which I get to learn and tryout Risograph printing, where I fell in love with the vibrant colours and the technique behind the print.
How do you see the world?
I view the world as something that is ever-evolving. Time passes, so do the people, everything changes. The rhythm of life gets faster as everyone is trying to catch up, then people get burnt out doing so. I hope one day people would realize that it is fine to slow down and take time to appreciate little things in our simple everyday life.
What type of artist do you wish to be, and what's your ultimate goal as a creative?
I want to be a creative who churns out quality designs, not quantity. Although it is great to earn big bucks by climbing the ladder, but I would hope to utilize the power to educate and inspire future designers on the core essence of design, to solve everyday problems and to innovate design forward.
What is your favourite and least favourite part of the creative process?
My favourite part is definitely the ideation and conceptualization of a project. The "why" part which questions the purpose plus function of a design, and the effort put in to solve the puzzle is the most enjoyable of all.
The least favourite? Naming all my layers one by one, and organizing my files neatly so that I do not give a headache to future-me. It's a good practice, but it's a tad-bit tedious process.
"Change this Malaysia" by
Qian Hui.
What’s your guilty pleasure(s)?
As a female? Indulging on dessert-sorry but that Oreo Mcflurry is just too good to resist. As a designer? Taking a "mental break" day, where although we all agree it's totally necessary, but sometimes it's just a plain ol' excuse to procrastinate. Also, having way too many Whatsapp meme stickers, well it's an arguable "guilty" pleasure, but I just love it when I send it along with my files to my co-workers and it cracks them up.
How would you describe your creative and artistic style? Do you feel much has changed?
I do not have a specific artistic style. I love to experiment and play around with different concepts every now and then. Oftentimes I think about ways to create designs which sparks conversations, how to pause my viewers to ponder and go "hmmm, waiittttt".
"Depart" Branding by
Qian Hui
Who is someone you would love to collaborate with and why?
Oh my, the list is longgg, but I would love to collaborate with Huruf and Fictionist Studio! I love designs from both of these studios so much. I admire the type designs and typography works from Huruf and I would love to learn from them. For fictionist Studio, I would absolutely love to walk through an entire design process from scratch with them. Just learning how to craft designs from scratch, to research and experiment designs, exploring new ways to breakthrough from the norm.
Please share with us who/what you are constantly inspired by!
My surroundings! I am a pretty observant person, and I like to compare items and dig for inspirations from unlikely places. It could come from anywhere - furniture, music, fashion, paint, food, prints, tools, where each product has their own unique design. And yes, shower thoughts are included.
Lastly, who are your 3 creative crushes and tag them!
Huruf @huruf.my
Fictionist Studio @fictioniststudio
Red Hong Yi @redhongyi
There are so many more great great local designers which I absolutely love and I hope more Malaysians would take notice of them too!