Meet Tian Zhong | Art Director & Graphic Designer

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

Hi Tian, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
Making the decision to move on is not easy, but I am the kind of person that always keep going unless I must give up. Otherwise, I will still choose to keep going even if there is only a 1% chance. So, how to know if your decision is appropriate? From my personal perspective, I would look into one’s past experiences and imagine at least three results. For instance, I used to make several advertising campaigns, there are always some ideas that need to be given up. My formula will often count the value between the process and results. If the result’s value could be equal to the process’ value or more than it, I will keep going. However, I will still sometimes make the wrong choice than make no choice at all. You never fail until you stop trying.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have studied in the US for 9 years alone since I was 16. It wasn’t easy at the beginning as a non-native English speaker, I had to learn the way to communicate with other students. But it was a great opportunity to start early, which led me to study a double major (Informatics & Art) at the University of Iowa. However, I was not sure of the goal of my life and career at that time as an undergraduate student. When I saw my surroundings were applying to graduate school, some of them were even lower grades than me. I was triggered, why can’t I get into a great graduate school? Then, I only used one month to get all materials done and applied to three graduate schools that related to my most interesting major – Art. It was the hardest time in my life, I have to face the fact that I might go back to China and end my study life. Finally, SCAD (Savanah College of Art & Design) sent me an offer from the program of advertising. It was the highlight of my life, I was announcing to my family which supports me financially the whole time with a tone of satisfying tears. You never fail until you stop trying. It is worth studying all these years.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Of course, if my best friends plan to visit the area I am currently living in – Atlanta. I will definitely bring them to the Coke-Cola Museum and the Aquarium first, which are two of the most famous place to visit in Atlanta. As a foodie, I have so many choices for them, but I would recommend several Asian foods first, such as Mamak Malaysia Kitchen, Urban Hai, and Ginya Izakaya, etc. I will also bring them to the zoo to see the pandas for sure. After eating, we can hang out at the high museum and bring them to my school SCAD to see the place I study. Finally, I will recommend one of my favorite seafood restaurants – The Optimist, to enjoy their tasty oysters. A week will never be enough for a great trip in Atlanta.

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 really want to thank my instructors, Patrick Kepler and Stephanie Brunia, who helped me a lot in the field of art study at the University of Iowa (School of Art and Art History). They also helped me with my recommendation letter. I also want to thank my family to support me financially this whole time. Last, I want to thank my graduate program professors, Judy Salzinger, Gauri Misra-Deshpande, and Reggie Harrison. They helped me a lot on the study of Advertising in SCAD.

Website: https://www.tian416.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tian_zzzzzz/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tian-zhong-a17b25160/

Image Credits
Pexels, Cyberpunk 2077, instacart, Google, Adobe Stock