3Points Welcomes our First Design Intern, Chenyu Jiang
If there was one dominant theme of our blog in 2018, it was the growth of our intern program. We had our first academic year intern in the winter. We had a record number of summer interns. And we welcomed our first international intern in the fall.
We’re only a couple weeks into 2019, but we’re already growing even more — last week, we welcomed our very first design intern, Chenyu Jiang. A native of China, Chenyu recently graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a Master of Fine Arts in Visual Communication Design. She’ll be working with our design strategist, Jessica, on a variety of graphic design projects, and bringing her animation skills to our team as well. Get to know Chenyu through the Q&A below!
What principles do you think are most important to good design? How would you describe your design style?
For me, the essence of design is not to make a delicate decoration of a project, but to think how to express the project more clearly and accurately through the designer’s visual logic, and how to optimize and perfect the project’s structure of information. The most important thing in design is to express the information accurately.
My design style is kind of diverse, but I enjoy using colors and interesting animation ideas to optimize the project’s vision, and I have a specific expertise in making hand-drawn illustrations.
Is there a specific designer or artist who has influenced you the most?
One designer who influenced me a lot is a Japanese designer called Kenya Hara. The most famous branding design from him is MUJI, a retail company that sells many different household products. (Here is an interesting video that showcases their products：https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a-TTuFS6y0) He thinks that design is a re-creation of life, good at observing life and discovering the beauty of our life. And this concept has always influenced my design a lot.
What are you looking forward to learning and contributing at 3Points?
For me, graduating from school is a start. The most important thing for me now is to get more experience in a real market and strengthen my design abilities. Also, I hope to use my skills in animation and graphic design to help 3Points complete the enhanced brand vision that we hope to achieve.
What was your favorite class at the Art Institute?
I actually loved all my classes, but if I had to choose one, I might choose Motion Graphic Design. In this class, through the study of some software and applications, I learned how to turn many of my illustrations and ideas into animations, which makes my work more interesting and brings me more possibilities.
Why did you decide to come to Chicago? And what was the biggest adjustment coming from China?
I was very interested in the Art Institute of Chicago. When I decided to come to the United States from China, this school was one of my preferred schools. In fact, Chicago has a very similar climate with my hometown, except for the winter, of course. For me, maybe the food is the most different. Especially cold drinks. In China, most people prefer hot drinks, even in summer.
What do you enjoy most about living Chicago?
Chicago’s summer is very comfortable and there are many interesting entertainment activities. I really like to go to Millennium Park with my friends to watch the open-air movies. Chicago is also a city with a strong musical atmosphere — there are lots of interesting operas and musicals, which I sometimes like to try with my friends. In China, we have few opportunities to reach out to these cultures. We usually get to know these cultures from movies and other recording videos.
Last question: what do you recommend for good, authentic Chinese food in Chicago?
I often try to find authentic Chinese restaurants to save my Chinese stomach. Hot pot is my favorite food in China. There is a Chinese hot pot restaurant in Chinatown called Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot that is great. Also, MingHin Cuisine, which is a dim sum restaurant, is also a good choice for me.
