We recently connected with Xiyu Deng and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Xiyu thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you have a hero? What have you learned from them?

I was inspired by Leslie Cheung, a former HongKong actor and singer, who was also an LGBT activist when such topic was still a taboo in most of the Asian countries back in the 90s. As part of the LGBT group, he challenged the traditional fashion standard by wearing high heels and short skirts on stage; His performance unveiled his journey of embracing his own identity.

I found his story inspiring and encouraging. When he unfolded his story on stage, I teared up by feeling his sincerity and courage, which, in my point of view, made his performance a legendary one.

In this information over-flooded era, it’s rather easy to find visual inspirations and reduplicate any exiting styles. We see more and more visually similar designs, but fewer that actually touches our heart. Because what’s been missing is the soul in the art. We need to more time to sit down and reflect; we need more courage to cut ourselves free from “likes” on social media. Only when we have enough story to tell and courage to share, we start to be true to our work, and we’re one step closer to create things that actually impact.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a visual designer who currently works at a design agency called Instrument. I graduated from California Institute of the Arts with an MFA degree in graphic design. I’ve built brand identities and told stories across many different brands, including Apple Music, Apple TV, Appfolio, Google, Greenhouse, SKII, Pepsi, Lay’s, CalArts…

I like to craft experience across disciplines. While focusing on brand identity, I keep a practice in creative direction and motion graphics as well. I believe that design is not only about solving problems but also about raising questions throughout the design process.

Besides design, I love traveling, cooking, and making pottery. I’m always excited to meet people with various cultural backgrounds and hope to bring different voices into my practice.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

The time I graduated from CalArts was May 2020, during pandemic. It was a time when there was no job opening and the previous president Trump threatened to kick the International students out of America. As a student visa holder, I had only 90 days to find a job otherwise I would lose valid visa status and have to leave the country. It was a dark time and the pressure was real. There was not much i could do except for polishing up my portfolio and sending out resumes. I emailed hundreds of design studios and only got a handful replies. But I never gave up. I had to keep trying till the last day on my visa. If I have to leave, i will leave with no regret. This was the thought that I was reminding my self every morning. With that in mind, I never got upset with the process, because I knew that as long as I was still trying, I was not losing my goal, which was: no regret.

Luckily, 2 months later, my dream studio reached out to me and offered me a job.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Design is a vehicle that serves to transform ideas into different forms. Aa a designer, I put concept before visuals. In my point of view, only when a visual is built off of a concept that is well thought through, it truly speaks for its form. So, bridging a concept to its visual is the hardest part for me, because it takes rounds of iterations and assessments to find the best form that speaks to the concept. But it’s also the most rewarding part for me as a creative.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://xiyudeng.design
• Instagram: immmxiyu
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xiyu-deng-6a4982108/