River Liu

A creative profession came naturally to me and had roots in my childhood. Thankfully, starting to paint at a young age has allowed me to accumulate a certain level of aesthetics, and my creative mind has enabled me to continually innovate. My desire to create remained strong over the years, I continued to develop my design talents, and I naturally gravitated toward careers that would allow me to follow these creative paths.

I began learning painting at the age of six. I was most proud of my participation in the Youth Science Fiction Painting Competition and winning the national first award for the first time in Guangxi Province when I was young. My works were on display at the Guangxi Art Museum. In addition, I have engaged in numerous textbook illustration projects. I was awarded the Silver Prize in the Undergraduate Advertising Design Competition and the Honorable Mention in the Platinum Creativity Competition. I earned first place for mascot design in China Unicom's "No. 1 Store" design competition and participated in the subsequent mascot research and development. In 2022, I received the MUSE Creative Awards Competition's platinum medal for logo design and a silver award for poster design. I am the chief designer of a Los Angeles-based company, responsible for graphics, brand image, and web design. I led the creative team in redefining the company's brand image, designing a new logo, developing and launching a brand website, and effectively establishing the brand's interaction with consumers in order to increase its market awareness. Not only is our brand recognized by the market, but we have also successfully collaborated with Macy's, Nordstrom, Stitch Fix, and other big and famous companies. I am confident that I am talented in art. However, I am still working hard to learn and explore, maintain my curiosity for new things, use my keen observation to help the works develop market linkages, and strive for the integrity of each piece. My experiences studying and working in China and the United States have broadened my perspective. Combining western thought with eastern aesthetics is a strength of mine. This distinct perspective distinguishes my own works from those of others.

Creativity is not restricted to art, but encompasses all facets of an individual's work and life. Creativity is the capacity to create new things and see old things in new and different ways. There are potentially countless perspectives and ways of viewing the world. Creativity exists so long as these viewpoints and methods of experiencing can be applied to daily life. Creativity imparts cultural implications and stylistic traits to works. Not only is it the essence of design, but a solid creative idea may also make a work personal, professional, and distinctive.

For me, the concept of design can be interpreted in two ways. First, from a purely conceptual standpoint, design is an aesthetic, a notion and idea that transforms the objective reality, and a technique for assisting clients in problem-solving. The second is that, from a business perspective, an exceptional design can develop positive relationships with market consumer groups. In addition to aesthetics, design also involves good market insight. A superior design production method strikes a balance between aesthetic value, economic worth, and social value.

I divided the design process into multiple steps. After receiving the demand, the initial step is exploration: determining the business background, product target, and user population that generated the market. The second step is divergence, often known as brainstorming. Then, we enter the design phase to determine the optimal approach to ensure the job fits the client's requirements. The subsequent stage is to deliver the works, and the final step is to evaluate the commercial impact of the design scheme, i.e., whether the design meets market needs and helps the brand's popularity grow.

My favorite is brainstorming. I enjoy the enthusiasm of the brainstorming process and the process of a group of individuals thinking freely about a particular topic of interest. Listening to diverse perspectives allows me to explore new realms of thought, resulting in several new ideas and methods of problem-solving. I appreciate that people freely express their fresh ideas, generate ideas like crazy, and then construct new ideas on top of everyone else's. Brainstorming is characterized by creative storms that allow designers to expand their thoughts and cause diverse ideas to collide with one another. On the basis of decision-making, everyone promotes creativity as much as possible and develops as many ideas as possible. The process of discovering its practical viability amidst the chaos is akin to a gunpowder-free war, but the process is amazing.

Having studied and working in China and the United States has broadened my worldview. I am skilled at applying Western thought to Eastern aesthetics. This distinctive viewpoint inspires my own efforts. In addition, I am skilled in drawing illustrations, which enables me to develop my own beauty more effectively.

I am originally from China. Not only does China's traditional culture have a lengthy history, but it also has a strong cultural connotation in traditional national culture, which has a significant impact on the design of contemporary art. I enjoy incorporating traditional Chinese culture into contemporary art design, which has become a current trend and is also a characteristic of the current era's development. Only via the study of traditional culture and the production of art based on national culture research is it possible to have far-reaching relevance for the progression of human history and play a significant role in the global arena, as evidenced by the facts. I believe that through my design, the world will have a better understanding of China, our culture, spirit, and morals, as well as the excellent cultural history and traditional art of my country.

I am somewhat surprised to have won this honor. MUSE Creative Awards are highly regarded in the industry, and I have always aspired to be honored by them. After years of perseverance and effort, this is unquestionably a tremendous honor and acknowledgment of my accomplishments, for which I would like to thank the jury for its wise and fair evaluation. I am genuinely honored to win this award, but I am also aware that I must work harder to maintain it. This award is so significant to the international design community that I must express my gratitude to everyone who has supported me in the past.

In this competition, I got a platinum award for logo design and a silver award for poster design. My work, the logo design of "Tibet Shannan", presents the brand's design concept and expresses the local customs of the city of Shannan through the use of distinctive colors and shapes. The "Dream" poster discusses the journey of self-discovery and realization in a chaotic society. When I heard that the 2022 MUSE Creative Award competition had begun, I began preparing my works with the intention of presenting my design concepts using the most perfected works possible. I am confident in my ability to design logos and posters professionally. If I am able to receive the acknowledgment of an internationally influential competition, it will help me advertise my brand more effectively and serve as recognition for my years of effort.

The greatest challenge should be how to extract the best parts of the job in order to maintain the brand's integrity. Since each participant can only provide a small representation of the work, selecting the most representative portion has become the most challenging aspect. My work is defined by the brand; thus, it took me a great deal of time and effort to present the complete creative process and convey its economic value with as few photographs as possible. In the end, the competition recognized my efforts.

I would like to begin by thanking the jury for their insightful and objective evaluation. The award has boosted my professional self-confidence and enabled me to acquire additional resources, such as an increase in clients and corresponding reports. This award coincides with my immediate career planning, bringing me one step closer to my career goals.

My top three favorite things about the industry are variety, inclusiveness, and influence.

Today, the influence of modern art and design demonstrates a state of contention between different schools of thought. My entire artistic design philosophy revolves around the preservation of a country's heritage and the harmonious coexistence of man and nature. I feel really lucky to have been raised in this historically and culturally rich environment. The transmission of traditional Chinese culture to modern art design is a crucial trend in the future growth of traditional Chinese culture, the aim of contemporary design, and my responsibility as a Chinese designer.

I believe that the aestheticization of life is a significant opportunity for the creative industry, as it not only integrates the value-added of the creative industry with the technology of the new economy but also boosts the aesthetic value and social value of cultural and creative products and services. Therefore, the creative industry will continue to be one of the most promising industries in the world during the next 5 to 10 years.

Without a doubt, MUSE Creative Awards is a reputable, professional award. If the entrants can get the evaluation and guidance of industry experts after winning the award, it should help the entrants to improve their design skills.

Image resources I really recommend Unsplash, Pexels, and Offset. I recommend Behance, 99designs Discover, and Httpster if you're looking for inspiration-related resources.

I have many secrets that will always stay secret.

I'd have to mention my mother. My mother is a professional architect. I became gradually interested in art as a result of her influence. She was incredibly supportive of my interests and career goals. I am grateful that my mother is not like typical Chinese parents; she has an open mind, she allows me the maximum freedom, and most importantly, she has an inexhaustible capacity for love. Without my mother, I would not be the person I am today.

My success can be attributed to my talent, hard work, passion, and persistence. My parting words of wisdom are as follows: You are perfect because you are not perfect.

You are perfect because you are not perfect. Do your best and live life to the fullest!