Interview
Handowin He
China
Handowin He was a student participant in the Vega Digital Awards and captured our hearts with her first published work, Snow Warrior!
1 Please give us a brief bio of yourself and your background.
I'm an award-winning author-illustrator based in NYC/Shanghai and just graduated from MFA Visual Narrative program at SVA. I collaborated on many significant projects with globally renowned enterprises, including Nike, Vans, Disney, Carlsberg in China, as well as global & domestic children
2 What made you become/why did you choose to become a digital designer/artist?
My passion for the art drove me to land in the illustration industry in 2019. Keen on a storytelling approach to serving my various whims, I hold a strong desire & ability to create artworks in which each one could feel my extraordinary imagination with a funky soul. As a digital artist, I could face a larger pool of art lovers and enjoy more a feasible creating environment.
3 Tell us more about your business/company, job profile, and what you do.
I was a brand marketing professional. Now I'm a freelance illustrator and motion designer. Besides, regarded as a "slash" person, I am also a street fashion/art influencer, brand planner, curator.
4 What’s your favorite kind of digital design and why?
I love the digital design which is created in a story-telling way. "Story first" is always the pivotal core value of each artwork. The design lack of values and meanings is a skeleton without a soul.
5 To you, what makes a “good” design?
good concept + storytelling + skill + personality
6 Describe your design style and its main characteristics.
I started doing digital illustration in 2019. Within these few years, I haven't shaped a very fixed art/design style because my curiosity and desire for exploration drive me to practice, to experiment and to play. However, those who love my works can figure out my traits immediately - the story behind, the sense of using colors, the obsession with patterns and lines and unique way to structure the visual.
7 Tell us about your design process.
The general scenario is to research and find inspiration first, to sketch and to design a color palette, and last to complete the image. The medium determines the design process though.
8 Where do you draw inspiration from?
Daily life (gallery show, art exhibition, event and even a window poster or a random conversation) + social platforms related to art and design
9 What current trends in digital design (or really anything digital related) are you most excited about?
Diversify and imperfection. Before I highly focused on the perfection of all the details. I used smooth, sharp, flat brush to draw. Now I lead towards to texture, roughness and incomplete visual.
10 Congratulations! As the winner of the 2021 Vega Awards, what does it mean to you and your company and team to receive this award distinction?
My winning project is a children's book. I believe this awards can offer me more chances or add more possibilities of publishing this book.
11 Can you explain a bit about the winning work you entered into the 2021 Vega Awards, and why you chose to enter this project?
Snow Warrior is a children's book - my first one both written and illustrated by myself. Snow Warrior weaves together a poetic fairy tale set in Snow World, which symbolically represents the Arctic. The story, illustrated in an exquisite, beautiful style, targets 10-12-year-old children. Elena, a brave young girl who lives on the southern side of Snow World, perseveres in trying to save her animal friends on the northern side from the harshest conditions of climate change induced by human behaviors while the people there ignore the situation. It is also my thesis project of the MFA program.
12 What was the biggest challenge with this project?
I didn't learn how to write a children's book story before or the experience of drawing a children's book. It was a trial-and-error journey for me.
13 How has winning an Award developed your practice/career?
it gives me more confidence to move forward in children's books.
14 What are your top three (3) favorite things about the digital industry?
time-efficiency, diversity, high-tech
15 What makes your country specifically, unique in the digital industry?
Government's investment in digital innovation The trend: The great retail integration; The virtualization of services; The mobility revolution; Digitization of social life; Industrial IOT / supply chain digitization; and digital urbanization. More room to develop
16 Where do you see the evolution of digital industry going over the next 5-10 years?
More novel media will pop up. The concept of meta-universe will boost and influence the ecosystem of digital industry.
17 If you were a student entering this industry or an aspiring Vega Award submitter, what advice would you give them?
Show your personality
18 What resources would you recommend to someone who wants to improve their skills in the digital industry?
online tutorial/workshops social communities
19 Who has inspired you in your life and why?
I don't remember who said this or where I found this. But I was inspired to try something new and jump out of Comfort Zone. "If you are always trying to be normal, you will never how amazing you can be."
20 What is your key to success? Any parting words of wisdom?
Listen but don't blindly follow/accept be yourself confidence and passion
