1Please give us a brief bio of yourself and your creative background.
Hi all! My name is Xuecheng Xiong and I’m a multidisciplinary graphic designer/ creative director based in New York & Shanghai.
2What made you become/why did you choose to become a creative?
Since childhood, I have been obsessed with creating graphics and aesthetically pleasing visual works. As I start trying to do it professionally as a designer, getting recognition definitely solidifies the path.
3Tell us more about your business/company, job profile, and what you do.
As a multi-disciplinary graphic designer, I have years of experience creating brand identities, and digital solutions for products and services, and a wide scope of design skills. My projects range from Brand Identity, Type Design, Editorial Design, Motion Graphics, Web/UI, and Art/Creative Direction. I've worked on projects for Volkswagen, Yeezy, Fila USA, and many others.
4What does “creativity” mean to you?
It’s about my point of view, my thoughts on a subject and how to visualize and narrative them.
5To you, what makes a “creative” idea and/or design?
In my opinion, there should be some unusual or interesting pieces of thoughts behind the work and a considerate way of communicating in the work.
6Tell us about your creative and/or design process.
After understanding the brief, I always start with the research, meaning searching for everything related to the subject, culture and audience. Research always leads to different directions for creative ideas. The rest is to visualize the ideas and just keep elevating the design by inputting fresh perspectives and thoughts.
7What's your favorite part of the creative process and why?
Research is an important part of my creative process. It’s a way to immerse myself in the subject, the culture and the audience.
8Describe your creative style and its main characteristics.
All my projects have this logical framework so people could understand what I’m doing. And my platform is more on typography experiments with a clean and modern style.
9Do you think your country and its cultural heritage has an impact on your creativity process?
US. Chinese people tend to honor tradition but we also embrace many parts of Western popular culture. The appreciation for harmony over conflict definitely shows in my work in a clean, harmonious style.
10Congratulations! As the winner of the 2023 MUSE Creative Awards, what does it mean to you and your company and team to receive this award distinction?
It’s so inspiring. It’s a great recognition of the work I do as an individual designer. I’m really proud and grateful to MUSE Creative Awards for recognizing this amazing project. Winning the MUSE Creative Awards means more visibility and a larger reach for my own brand.
11Can you explain a bit about the winning work you entered into the 2023 MUSE Creative Awards, and why you chose to enter this project?
The branding project creates a unique visual language for Weekend Bike CA, a Vancouver-based bike shop. Their tech-forward products aim to draw young audiences to the area. This project explores modern visual language with a technical aesthetic. The concept behind the brand identity is to reinterpret a scenario from micro to macro - the icon represents screws, the wordmark represents the bike parts, and the layout system represents the environment. The lockup becomes an assembled machine existing in a technical world.
12What was the biggest challenge with this project?
The challenge of this project is to create a unique visual identity system that explores modernism with a technical aesthetic.
13How has winning an Award developed your practice/career?
As an individual, winning awards is a confidence boost and recognition by the most experienced professionals. Being seen by more people also brings more opportunities.
14What are your top three (3) favorite things about our industry?
- The design community is always loving and caring.
- The diversity in the work definitely broadens my horizon.
- Flexibility. As a freelancer, I’m able to work from anywhere in the world and I manage to have a great balance between work, self-development, and life.
15What makes your country specifically, unique in the creative industry?
The growing force in the graphic design industry in China.
16Where do you see the evolution of creative industry going over the next 5-10 years?
AI. It’s like when people started to use computers as a tool to design, AI would be the next evolutionary tool for the creative industry.
17If you were a student entering this industry or an aspiring MUSE Creative Awards submitter, what advice would you give them?
Polish the work and focus on the details. Never compromise the quality of your work.
18What resources would you recommend to someone who wants to improve their skills in the creative industry?
It’s Nice That. Creative Podcasts. Instagram. E-flux. Youtube interviews. Don’t always go on Pinterest or Behance. And talk to the creatives you admire through email or direct messages.
19Who has inspired you in your life and why?
First of all, I'll give a big shout-out to my family who constantly supported me even when I decided to give up a stable job and switch to this creative career path. Also, I have so many mentors that I didn't get to meet in person; I learned a lot from them.
We may talk through Instagram or email and they've given me encouragement and compliments. We may never spoke but their story and work have always inspired me. I would never be where I am without their love and help.
20What is your key to success? Any parting words of wisdom?
My mentality to constantly push myself a step further in my work differentiates me as a designer and artist. This line from Kanye had always inspired me:" I would use confidence when I knew what I was doing and arrogance when I didn't know what I was doing."
I'm willing to try stuff and so not afraid to fail because there's nothing to lose when I am young. The key is to keep educating yourself and have this bold confidence when it’s your showtime.
21Do you have anything else you would like to add to the interview?
Big shoutout to the MUSE Creative Awards. It's an honor to share my story here. Really appreciate your time.
