Meet Jessica Liou | Motion Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jessica Liou and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessica, what do you attribute your success to?
My name is Jessica Liou. I come from Taiwan and am a Motion Media Design graduate student at Savannah College of Art and Design.

I think the most important factor that affects me is my multicultural background. Unlike most designers and artists, the truth is I did not “love drawing since I was a kid”. In fact, I was a business management major in my undergraduate study, and took the first leap to the art field in my 20’s. In my first year in SCAD, I really felt ashamed about my lack of technology, but now, I think what I own has become my strength after all.

As a business management major student, it allows me to lay a good foundation for research, analysis, and to optimize the creation process more systematically. For example, before starting the creative process, I will set the goal more consciously, do data collection and research, and analyze references and competitors in advance. Furthermore, more than two years of practical work experience in the marketing industry has also allowed me to apply theory to practice, which not only allows me to cultivate my sensitivity to social media, but also to better combine my creation with customer needs. For example, during the one and a half years as a marketing and design intern in an integrated marketing company, I have participated in major projects from the very beginning to the end many times. I was involved in data analysis, creative concept development, operation implementation, analysis and review, etc. I can complete my work perfectly on the basis of good collaboration with. Through the actual work experience in the business culture, I can grasp the balance between business and creativity.

My experience as a choreographer from the university’s pop dance club helps me to become a better designer. Through participating in multiple performances and competitions, the learning of choreography has made me more sensitive to the composition of music and patterns movements. For example, when creating dynamic scenes, what I value most is the compatibility between the movements and the music. I will take apart every audio track and try to use the items to interact with the sounds instead of simply using it as background music. I also think about the rationality of motion and how to make the audience understand the content well without the narration. In addition, when it comes to scriptwriting, I can better handle plot transitions through rhythm and performance, and these are all because I find the culture of dance and motion design share a lot of similarities.

Multicultural background gives me the ability to rationally analyze and systematically plan my work. In addition, the business team collaboration process and proposal experience that I learned in the workplace have enabled my creation to be practically applied; the sensitivity of music and visual storytelling, which are cultivated by learning choreography, enriches my expression of motion graphic design. Ultimately, a multicultural background is an important part of my creation and who I am.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
First, I learned graphic design through self-study as well as some technical classes at night school. Lately, I found graphic design alone no longer satisfied me and realized that motion graphic design as a media with more dynamic is something I get to express my ideas better, this made me want to study more. However, since I was not studying in a design-related department, there are huge obstacles and resistances when delivering internship resumes in my junior year. Most workplaces in Taiwan need academic qualifications or a large portfolio to obtain internship opportunities during the student period. Despite my strong passion and the software skill set I developed; I was automatically disqualified without an undergraduate degree in design. In addition, I then discovered that the current design industry in Taiwan’s workplace is full of limitations, which is mostly based on customer requirements without much respect for the creatives, and customers only want to imitate successful cases in the past, so few innovative ideas can be accepted, in which limit the development of imagination. As a result, I made up my mind to go to the United States to pursue graduate study.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I have been living in Savannah for one and half years. During my life here, I spend most of my time lying in Forsyth park, a beautiful place to walk around, read a book and spend an afternoon here to relax. Also, there are a lot of historical buildings all around the city, which are definitely worth traveling and having a wonderful journey here.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I met many awesome friends in my journey, who have encouraged and helped me, yet also some are cynical about my choice: all of them make me grow stronger. I can’t forget the first time I wanted to try to design a poster, I got a response from the senior: ” You really think design is THAT simple? “. This stimulated me to start to learn and develop more, and made me find the things I am willing to do for my entire life. Also, I want to thank my artist mentor and friends I met in SCAD. They didn’t dislike me because I had no art background, instead, they believed me, pushed me further, and made me believe in myself. I really appreciate it.

Website: https://www.therookies.co/u/huadesign

Instagram: @hd_huadesign

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