We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Henry Han. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Henry below.
Henry, 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?
My optimism emerged from the pandemic era. Before the pandemic, I was always following the same routines. Every morning, I would go to the office, and work in the office for the whole day. Although I am a designer with an artistic background, I worked in an office like a 9 to 5 salaryman. I wasn’t thinking about what was the best for me. All I thought about was keeping my job, and getting a paycheck. That’s what I was always told to do, and I had that tendency to follow other people’s footsteps. I never thought about what would happen if an emergency happens. I just thought that everyday would be the same, and that I would stay in the same job for years. And for many years, that was the case. There was this false sense of repetition. My life had the same routines everyday, and I was blindly going through the motions. I felt like a lot of people felt this way too before the pandemic. What I didn’t realize was that my routine wasn’t healthy. I wasn’t staying active, and I didn’t have a plan for my life. I was never exercising, and I didn’t have a positive outlook.
My unhealthy routine became apparent during the pandemic. During the lockdown phase of the pandemic, my lifestyle became so secluded and inactive, that I started to develop health issues. I was feeling dizzy, had trouble walking, and sometimes felt like passing out. I was also noticing increased tensions among my colleagues. Everyone else were also feeling burned out from staying at home all day, and had that same fear of losing their jobs. I knew the path I was going down wasn’t the right path, and that the longer I go down this path, the worse it gets. What truly shocked me was how quick the world suddenly changed just in a matter of a few months. All the things that I took for granted, could be taken away from me in an instant. That was when I realized, I needed to be in the driver seat of my life. I need to know what is the best for me. I need to know how to come up with solutions when an issue arises. Most importantly, I need to be create a lifestyle that constantly produces optimism. That lifestyle might be exercising regularly, better work and life balance, or improve my social life. Overall, I needed to take actions that produce exponential results.
Eventually, I decided that I needed to take any actions that create a lifestyle that constantly produces optimism. I started to diversify my life, my sources of income, and my daily activities. I looked into what else I can do with my skill sets. Eventually, I changed my job, and moved from Austin to Dallas in 2022. I needed that change of scenery, and always liked Dallas as a city. After I moved to Dallas, I decided to start collaborating with small local businesses, diversify my reach online, and start accepting consultations from potential clients. This is how I launched my own art studio, started working with my own clients. It was the beginning of my long relationship with my clients who I trust and enjoy interacting with. I was deep in my crafts, getting hands down on doing my favorite thing: creating art. That’s when I realized, I need to constantly take proactive actions to produce optimism, and I need optimism to everyday.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am a digital designer, and primarily design web and mobile applications, after doing research on the users who use these apps. I also design digital art such as logos, 3D art, and promotional graphics. I enjoy working with clients of all sizes and industries, getting to know their stories and where they struggle with their online presence. That’s where I come in, to create seamless experiences for their customers. I would proactively ask them about their customers, such as who they are, and what they enjoy about the brand. This is what enables me to create digital experiences that satisfy user needs. I am currently expanding my reach with local small businesses. I love to help out local businesses and also hear their stories. Sometimes, things aren’t easy for small business owners. And I want to make sure they also have great, simple to use, and sleek interfaces, online presence.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
A lot of people say that I’m detail-oriented, so I guess it must be true. That makes sense because I’m usually really aware of my surroundings. If I’m at a nice coffee shop, I would take pictures of a beautiful wall texture, I would also look at the placements of their menu, their coffee grinder, the sweetners, etc. It allows me to get a sense of how the baristas work behind the counter, and are the placements of the items convenient for the baristas.
As for younger designers who just joined the work force, I’d recommend going to as much designer gatherings as possible. You need these resources to know what others designers are doing in other parts of town. Talk to them, listen to their aproach to design. And you get a sense of the landscape of designers in your city, and will make some friends as well.
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
This is a very hard question to answer, personally. I think there are a few points to tackle this question. If you look at some famous athletes, such as Simone Biles, she started doing gymnasitcs when she was baby. Because of how early she started doing gymnastics, and was already 5 times better than her peers in elementary school.
But if our strengths aren’t strong enough to push that ship forward. Or if a strong wind current hits the ship, it can’t keep going forward, that’s definitely a sign to invest in areas you aren’t as strong in. This is especially true if those areas are related to your strengths. In that case, improving on your weaker areas can actually improve your strengths as well, hence the idea of the sum of 2 related things can create exponential results.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.henryhan.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_henryhan/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/henry-han-4787083a/
Image Credits
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