We recently connected with YI LIN YE and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, YI LIN thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with education – we’d love to hear your thoughts about how we can better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career.

The undergraduate program in visual communication at our institution appears to be outdated, structured around concepts and methodologies that were prevalent 30 to 50 years ago. This is partly because our faculty largely consists of long-standing members, with few newcomers to infuse fresh perspectives. This is not to devalue the experience and knowledge of our older generation of educators, but in a field like visual communication – particularly crucial for those aspiring to careers in the fast-evolving creative industry – staying abreast of contemporary trends and technologies is essential.

In visual communication, strategic thinking and a robust conceptual brainstorming process are important, and the ability to effectively present and communicate ideas. In the competitive and rapidly changing creative industry, the inability to showcase ideas innovatively can significantly hinder a professional’s visibility and success.

Our school operates primarily on an alumni-to-instructor model, wherein graduates often return to teach, perpetuating a dated educational content and methods cycle. While they bring valuable insights into “art” and “design thinking”, their teaching often reflects the knowledge and techniques they learned as students, which may not align with the current industry standards. Moreover, very few of these instructors continue to engage actively with the industry while teaching, leading to a gap between the curriculum and the real-world demands of the creative sector. This disconnect can be detrimental, as it fails to adequately prepare students for the challenges and opportunities of the modern creative industry.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

As a 21-year-old senior undergraduate student, I am set to graduate this December. Over the past five months, I have gained practical experience working as a graphic designer at a smaller interior design firm.

Entering the creative field, I was driven by the ambition to bring my imaginative ideas to life, embodying the optimism of youth. During my tenure at the firm, I focused on graphic design, motion design, interior graphics, and interactive spatial work. A key aspect of our role as designers is to solve problems for clients who often are unsure of how to approach them. We aim to carefully craft solutions, presenting them in a digestible, step-by-step manner. For instance, a client approached us with a request to transform their corridor into a dazzling experience for volunteers, encompassing both an entrance and an exit. Designing within the constraints of an already constructed space, especially one serving multiple purposes, presents its own set of challenges. However, with strategic use of colors, text, and lighting, we can achieve remarkable transformations.

For this project, we installed an agamograph on the ceiling, which cleverly displayed different messages when viewed from the entrance and the exit. We used color segmentation to demarcate various sections of the corridor, each conveying a distinct message. The culmination of this project involved creating a 3D-rendered video of the space, enabling the client to fully grasp and visualize the transformation. This project reinforced the idea that in the realm of design, visuals are often the most powerful and effective means of communication.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Seeing my imagination being executed, and as it is used to overcome the challenge that was once so frightening.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

For whomever is needing a creative service. I want to say

“Imagine with us, so we can actually create something cool; you play a very crucial role.”

Contact Info:

• Website: yilinye.com
• Instagram: leaf_tot
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allen-ye-b76396234/

Image Credits
Allen Ye