Today we’d like to introduce you to Mingyuan Dong

Hi Mingyuan, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?

My name is Mingyuan Dong. I am an artist, designer, and writer based in California and Rhode Island.
I’ve known that “art” would be my calling since I was a toddler. I was born with an artistic instinct to create. By the age of two, I was already picking up pens to draw, needles to sew, and scissors to cut. As soon as I became aware of myself, the objects, and the spaces around me, I knew I would dedicate my life to working with the arts.
When I gained more mobility around the age of four, I started carrying a sketchbook wherever I went and built my own toys from cardboard. At eight, when I learned to write, I created illustrated storybooks and game sets, sharing them with friends and family.
In high school, I ventured into running my own art and design business, producing custom home items and jewelry at local fairs in California. Seeing the reactions from a diverse range of customers, from children to the elderly, made me realize the power of art and design in bringing functionality and positivity to people’s lives. This is why, when I attended the University of California, Berkeley, I chose to major in fine arts and economics, merging my passion for art and business.
Writing, for me, has always been an artistic practice. I began writing surrealist short stories at the age of twelve, and even incorporated surrealist elements into my schoolwork, which often made teachers wonder why I wrote the way I did. Later, I studied French, which led me to discover the roots of surrealism and inspired my decision to pursue French literature as a third major in college. Over time, I began integrating surrealism into both my art and my writing.
These experiences have shaped me into who I am today: an artist, designer, and trilingual writer.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

It wasn’t a smooth road because I was interested in too many art-related things and had too many hobbies. I would describe my path as “chaotic.”
Though I mainly studied drawing in studios growing up, I also loved music, opera singing, and performing. I participated in numerous musicals, both on stage dancing and singing, as well as doing prop work behind the scenes. For operatic singing, I performed a few recitals in Italian and German. With an interest in psychology, I spent my teenage years watching videos and reading books on the subject. My fascination with physics and engineering led me to volunteer to build four houses in Mexico during high school. And with an interest in ecology, I curated an eco-art exhibition at UC Berkeley and co-authored an eco-crafts book with my team.
So, beyond art, writing, and business, I’ve dabbled in just about every art-related field.
As a result, while keeping all my other hobbies, I ended up pursuing a triple major in art, economics, and French. Each year of college, I tried a different internship: at 19-20 years old, I taught art at a summer camp I found; at 21, I did marketing, coding, and space UX design for Times Art Museum; at 22, I worked as a French-English translator for Picture This Post magazine. As you can see, I tried to get an internship for each of my majors.
At 23, after completing my first illustrated book, I realized that design was the one field that could combine all my interests. It merges art, language, music, theater, physics, engineering, psychology, ecology, and everything else that engages my diverse mind.
Now, things are no longer chaotic because I can integrate everything I’ve explored into my Master’s in Industrial Design at Rhode Island School of Design. This year, I’m also collaborating on design projects and organizations with computer science and engineering departments at Brown University, since it’s in the same city. My journey here allows me to concentrate all of my passions.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

I work at the intersection of art and design. Previously, I explored behavioral and environmental economics through installations, performances, and paintings. My works have been exhibited at the New Museum Los Gatos, Columbia Global Center, and Worth Ryder Gallery. In my art, I explore the theme of economics as a language involving translation, exchange, simplification, extrapolation, and the creation of culture. I use art to examine and expand behavioral economic ideas, evolving them from individual theories into complex commentaries on social patterns. As a result, my work critiques the forces that drive our decisions within the economy and how humans navigate and reshape those forces.
I am also the author and illustrator of Not Sci-Fi, a surrealist novel where I explore various topics of interest, including physics, psychology, and ecology. This project combined my passions in art, design, and writing.
Now that I’ve transitioned to industrial design, I am currently focusing on designs that address disabilities and sustainability. I’m interested in integrating everyday objects with technology to create universal designs—designs that begin by improving the lives of an underprivileged group but ultimately benefit all users. As the boundary between art and design can be fluid, I continue my artistic practice within my design work through form and material explorations. I consistently apply psychology and behavioral economics to study users and their biases within social infrastructures, while using environmental economics to assess the environmental impacts across the life cycle of products. My economic art background, passion for improving lives through behavioral analysis, and focus on non-mainstream perspectives in ecology set my design practice apart from others.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?

I’m always drawn to cities with water, so I love the seaside in LA. Seeing the endless ocean speaks of freedom and relaxation to my busy mind and body. I remember sketching by the sea with my friend Nancy after swimming. That day, the water stole my glasses, and everything became blurry. All I could see was the vast azure gradient in the distance, where land met heaven, and the glistening sand reflecting the blue. With my vision impaired, my other senses heightened: the heartbeat of the waves echoed mine, oscillating in my pencil strokes; the salty sea air made the breeze feel fresh, infused with the sweetness of sand and wind. I’ll never forget that day.
Humans are made of 60% water, which might explain why I’m so drawn to it. When I’m near the ocean, my spirit flows and wanders with the water, a fluidity that mirrors my inner self, full of freedom.
What I like least about LA is the safety concerns, as various friends warned me to avoid certain areas. However, with caution, the beauty of LA surpasses the risks, thanks to its vibrant nature, history, and culture.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mingyuandong7.wixsite.com/home
• Instagram: mingyd.arts
• Other: https://www.amazon.com/Not-Sci-Fi-Surrealist-Environmental-Novel/dp/B0CQNSB65Q

Image Credits

Mingyuan Dong