Meet Chen Huang

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Chen Huang. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Chen below.

Hi Chen, so excited to have you with us today, particularly to get your insight on a topic that comes up constantly in the community – overcoming creativity blocks. Any thoughts you can share with us?

We all know that practice makes perfect—but the flip side is that it can also lock us into a “safe zone.” Over time, our visual style, storytelling habits, or creative process can become so fixed that they quietly limit our future growth. To keep myself from falling into that comfortable rut, I rely on two simple but surprisingly powerful practices.

First—meditation.
It may sound counterintuitive, but meditation often sparks the most unexpected images in my mind: shapes I’ve never seen, colors I’ve never imagined, and visual worlds that feel almost magical. These flashes become seeds for new creative pathways.

Second—I learn from places far outside my comfort zone.
Every day, I spend just ten minutes exploring subjects I once considered “not for me”—math, physics, deep tech, or podcasts from industries I know nothing about. I treat these discoveries like little artifacts: I write them down, tag them, and sort them into categories. Over time, they form a personal idea-library.

Then comes the fun part: I built a small tool that randomly pulls together a few of these tags and challenges me to create from the mix. One day, it might prompt: “pure black and white,” “Van Gogh–style strokes,” “webtoon format,” and “sci-fi, postmodern mood.”
The combinations are whimsical, sometimes chaotic—and incredibly inspiring. They push me to stretch past what I already know.

So, to summarize my process joyfully and simply:

Go with the flow.

Collect anything unfamiliar.

Tag everything—and let the combinations surprise you.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’m a UX and product designer by trade, focusing on user experience and data visualization for SaaS products built by entrepreneurial teams. Outside of work, I’m a visual designer, comic artist, and illustrator—roles that let me lean fully into humor, humanity, and playful storytelling.

Over the years, I’ve made it a practice to look for humor in the small, unexpected layers of everyday life. I try to bring that spirit not only into my own work, but also into a creative community of people who share the desire to weave humanity, joy, and emotional resonance into their projects. Even in a world that often feels stressful or overwhelming, I believe there is always room for stories that make us laugh, breathe, and reconnect.

Recently, my creative direction has been deeply influenced by my exploration of spirituality—especially meditation—which has opened new ways of seeing the connection between people and the world around us. This has inspired me to experiment with new genres, including multi-age books and mixed-media storytelling, and to explore technologies I’ve never used before. It’s an exciting chapter, and I’m eager to keep creating work that brings a little more joy and wonder to the world.

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?

Across more than a decade working in design, art, and the business world, I’ve discovered three qualities that have shaped my career — and that I hope younger designers will carry with them.

1. Execution.
It’s easy to talk more than we make, especially when real creation takes time, labor, and the willingness to repeat things until they work. We all have ideas, but without the drive to do the work, they stay trapped in our heads. Execution keeps us grounded: it pushes us past fear of failure, keeps us current with fast-changing technologies, and helps us enter a flow state where abstract ideas become tangible, interactive, and real. Only then can the world respond.

2. Curiosity.
Continuous learning is essential, especially in an era where technology evolves faster than we can predict. Curiosity nudges us toward unfamiliar spaces — even when they feel risky. Small, consistent acts of exploration expand our comfort zone and open doors to insights we never expected. Curiosity is how we stay alive creatively.

3. Empathy.
Many designers start with passion and slowly lose their purpose when money, fame, or pressure take over. Empathy grounds us again. It’s more than a UX buzzword — it’s a daily practice of seeing the world with openness: observing without judgment, listening widely, absorbing new perspectives from people, news, ideas, and unfamiliar concepts. Empathy broadens our vision, enriches our storytelling, and allows our work to move, educate, and connect with others on a deeper level.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

Now that I’ve reached my mid-30s, the biggest challenge I face is my own personal growth — not just in my career, but in my personality, my pace, and how I move through the world. In an era where technology and the economy evolve at lightning speed, I often feel like a “slow-born” person living in a fast-moving landscape. I’ve long struggled with the question: Should I fully commit to emerging technologies as a designer, or follow my deepest passion for illustration and visual storytelling?

The truth is, my personality allows me to do both — the challenge is choosing how.

Recently, I’ve learned that the first step is simply to observe. A concept borrowed from spiritual practice, observation has helped me reframe my questions:

Is this even a real problem I need to solve?

Could this be something I don’t need to treat as a problem at all?

Where does this question come from?

Is there a deeper fear or belief underneath it?

The second step is learning from others. Many introverted designers try to solve everything alone, but reading memoirs, listening to podcasts, and hearing stories from people in similar situations has reminded me that I’m not unique in this struggle. Sometimes these questions aren’t heavy dilemmas — they’re simply thoughts we all pass through. How seriously we take them determines how much power they have.

I also realized I had been trapped in dichotomous thinking — believing I had to choose one path or the other. In reality, life rarely works in binaries. We can blend the best parts of both directions, honor our passions and our skills, and let the combination evolve naturally.

So, in short:

Observe yourself. Have honest conversations with your inner world and notice how you frame your challenges.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://chenseanhuang.framer.ai
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sean_ch.visual
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chenhuang777/