Yijun Jiang

As a teenager, I was enamored with drawing and contemplated three career paths: artist, art teacher, and designer. Initially, I aspired to be an artist, but concerns about economic instability led me to briefly consider teaching. However, my innate desire for creativity persisted. After navigating various challenges, I finally chose to pursue a career as a designer.

The company I currently work for is Bridgenext, a global digital consultancy. Bridgenext helps clients innovate with intent and realize their digital aspirations by creating digital products, experiences, and solutions tailored to the needs of real people. With consulting and delivery teams across the U.S., Canada, and India, Bridgenext facilitates highly strategic digital initiatives on a global scale. As a graphic designer, my responsibilities include creating engaging work across various media such as Brand Identity, Website, Online Display, Print, Out-of-Home, Social, Experiential, and Video. I am involved in the entire design process, from conceptualization to the final product.

For me, the creation process is to manifest visions into reality. With a finite life span, my passion for design drives me to explore diverse design fields and embrace interdisciplinary skills. For me, it's about staying attentive to everything, connecting past experiences, and synthesizing them into something completely new.

In artworks, showing personal characteristics is what allows others to see and resonate with the work. Graphic design is a technique of visually communicating abstract concepts, and the key to creativity lies in how to facilitate dialogue and communication between visuals and the audience.

The first step is "empathy," standing in the other's shoes to understand what the user is thinking. People don't approach everything with functionality or a detached perspective; they view things emotionally. Second is analysis and research, hoping that the elements in the visuals can tell a story. Each project is customized and unique, with different goals and issues.

I love brainstorming ideas the most. There is no standard answer, and there are always endless possibilities. Once the idea is conceived, the process of bringing it to life from scratch and the sense of accomplishment that comes with it are very important and also the most wonderful part.

I enjoy learning about various folk stories and trivia. If I had to categorize my work, I think it would make great use of cultural symbols. I understand them first with my emotional heart and then design with rationality. For me, artwork can carry memories, emotions, and lifestyle habits.

My country is a multicultural immigrant society. Once, during my graduate studies, I discussed with American classmates the phenomenon of the fusion of Buddhism and Taoism in temples. It was amazing for my Christian classmates to see Buddhist bodhisattvas and Taoist deities coexist in the same temple. In addition, in my country, banks and registered mail still require a name or business seal to verify identity; signatures are not accepted. However, procedures can be completed directly through ATMs and online platforms. My country is a blend of old and new, considered one of Asia's most progressive yet deeply traditional places. I believe this background allows my design style to be diverse and incorporate a mix of elements.

Winning a MUSE Creative Awards is an effective way to expand your network, build recognition, and open up other opportunities. For designers, it is crucial to ensure that their work resonates with contemporary audiences to avoid becoming self-contained. Receiving such an award can be incredibly exciting.

In 2024, I entered four projects, and all four projects were awarded Silver Awards. The four projects include Acosta Group's website, Siemens Mobility at the 2022 WTS Annual Conference, The Home Depot Celebrating 25 Years 2022 Playbook, and the American Heart Association: National Hypertension Control website. These four works addressed business issues for our clients, and we tailored the main visuals for them, as well as developed applications and brand guidelines based on the main visuals. These four projects also received positive feedback from clients and spanned websites, user interfaces, events, and printed materials.

For me, participating in international design competitions is one way to evaluate my work, as well as to challenge myself. Winning an award is an additional affirmation.

First, being a designer is a process of self-discovery. Just like enjoying and supporting design, it's a wonderful thing that signifies our need for life. Secondly, because I can be highly focused and creative. This, for me, is a very fortunate thing. Third, the career path of graphic design is unpredictable. Seeing your work in the spotlight will reshape the way you see things.

My country is the only place in the world where traditional Chinese characters are used, preserving a vast array of Chinese character artistry and traditional culture. It is also the only place in the world where Zhuyin Fuhao (Bopomofo) is used as a phonetic notation system to learn Chinese, making it a unique and meaningful phonetic system. My country is characterized by its richness, diversity, and openness. The integration of old and new, along with the influence of different cultures and religions brought by immigrants, contributes to our country's diverse creativity and aesthetics.

Today, everyone is focused on generative artificial intelligence, especially in areas such as text-to-image based on natural language processing. This is a very hot topic globally at the moment. From an engineering point of view, everything has become simpler. We no longer question what technology can do; we only care about user experience and how users feel. For me, the trend in the next 5-10 years will be an emphasis on emotional design, which is precisely what AI finds difficult to excel at today.

Clear thinking is essential, and images and descriptions of the work should clearly express the design intent. Pack your work; whether rendered images and contextual images or videos are captivating enough. Is the presentation of the work clear?

Learn to "see" and cultivate a sense of design aesthetics. Platforms like Pinterest, Dribbble, and Behance allow you to view the work of others while following contemporary designers on LinkedIn or Instagram can provide insights into current business trends. AIGA and Graphis provide insights into the context of designer associations. Also, visiting libraries to browse books or simply reading text can sometimes yield unexpected insights. However, I believe that the most important thing for a creator is to experience and feel life deeply.

It is important to have the ability to think independently, learn independently, and make independent judgments. Try to have extensive exposure to various industries and communities, gathering diverse and fresh information. For me, it means perseverance