We recently connected with Haley Jiang and have shared our conversation below.
Haley , thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?
Passion. It would be incredibly difficult for me to stay motivated if I don’t enjoy making art. I love doing it. But life happens, things fall apart and sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of my goals because it plays hide and seek with me in a place called real world. Sometimes it’s very tiring.
In days like that, I remind myself where the passion starts, the Ah-ha moments, the thrill of seeing what’s in my mind comes into reality. How do I know if it will last? Because of the times when I feel something when I look at a painting, listen to a song or see a movie or a sign on the street, I realized that someone had the same feeling as me, and at this exact moment we linked. And I have to stay optimistic because really want make work that connect people, and tell them that we are not alone, transcending time and space. It’s going to take time but I feel grateful to be able to continue down the path with my old friend: passion.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am an illustrator and designer. I work with editorial magazine company, design studios and start-up companies. One thing I love about my job is I get to learn new things all the time. Sometimes I have to learn a new skill, like 3D modelling and animation. Sometimes, I’m given an article on real estate market or synthetic biology to illustrate, which I would never read about if it wasn’t for the project. I think it’s always fun to do something I’ve never done before, it excites me and feeds my curiosity.
This summer I developed an interest in Riso printing, it produces a similar effect as screen prints but through a copy machine like printer: Risograph printer. Working analogue has a certain charm. I like feeling the paper, seeing the colors layering physically. Most importantly I love the happy “mistakes”: when things don’t line up perfectly, it creates this offset gap between shapes. I am hoping to get my hands wet on making more prints next year and even start selling some postcards if things go well.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I am still relatively young in the industry, but looking back I definitely developed skills and quality that kept me in the arena.
Empathy is something I value a lot. Working in the creative industry, I consider myself a vessel that holds and spreads voices and ideas. Therefore I try my best not to judge but observe and understand.
Humbleness is also something that I consider important. There are always things to learn from everyone around me. I like to self reflect once in a while and ask myself what are some areas I can work on. This helps me get better technique wise and keeps me open-minded.
Lastly, commitment. I think if I want to achieve something, big or small, I have to be committed. Failure does not exist unless I decide to quit. So it is up to me to do my due diligence and overcome anything that stands in my way. There is no easy way out so stick to it.
My advice is to take things slow, one step at a time and you will only get better. Have faith in yourself!
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
Of course! As a creative worker I am always looking forward to collaboration or platforms to share as many work as possible.
It is always important to contribute as much as I can to meet the goals of the project, and at the same time we can both learn from each other and grow. The best part about collaborating is sharing the insight and invaluable experience of our journey, Many of us believe in the power of art. The mutual passion in making differences through creativity is what I always look for in the people I work with.
I’ve been working on an illustrated zine exploring time, moments and memories. I really look forward to the possibility of publishing it with independent publication studios. A few names I would love to collaborate with is studios like Cold Cube Press, Printed Matter, Zine Hug and Wobby Club.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.haleyjiang.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/haleyjiang_/
Image Credits
Haley Jiang
