Meet Vivian Truong: Graphic Designer

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

Hi Vivian, alright, let’s jump in with a deep one – what’s you’re definition for success?
My definition of success has definitely changed over the years. Initially, as a second-generation child and the oldest in my family, I put a good amount of pressure on myself to make sure I made all the right choices to lead a successful life which included graduating high school and college and getting your standard 9-5 job. The core of my drive for success came from making sure my immigrant parents’ sacrifices weren’t in vain, which is why success for me was living out the American dream. When I graduated from university at the end of 2019, my eyes were set on getting a full-time job but little did I know that everyone’s lives would change in 2020, including mine. Graduating in the midst of a pandemic was incredibly frustrating for me since the job market was non-existent, especially in my field. I started to question if I was even cut out to be a graphic designer with the amount of rejected job applications I was getting. I thought I failed not only as a graphic designer but as a daughter. It wasn’t until I started doing some self-reflection during quarantine that I began questioning myself on what success really meant to me. I realized that my definition of success was more superficial than I thought, and that success was more than just having an abundance of material things and having a full-time job. Success to me now has a foundation based on happiness. I believe success comes from a mixture of passion, drive, but most importantly, joy. If you don’t feel joy in what you’re doing and especially in yourself, then I don’t believe you can truly be successful. You may be successful in your career field, but I believe it’s more important to see it from a bigger picture and question what success means in your life. I realized that once you’ve found happiness from within and what you truly love to do, then everything else will fall into place. While I still don’t hold a full-time job or have all the material items that I want, I feel like I’m still successful in life because I finally found the joy, confidence, and drive from within to keep chasing my dreams, and that’s all you really need to achieve them, no matter how long it takes.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Whenever someone thinks of graphic design, there’s so much to think about from branding to print collateral to digital collateral. Graphic design is such a broad industry that I’m still having trouble finding my place in the world of graphic design. While I may not have figured out where I want to be whether it be advertising, UI/UX, etc., I know that I want to use graphic design as an international communication tool. I think what’s amazing about graphic design is that through visuals such as icons, anybody in the world can understand it regardless of what language they speak. Finding a career that I can use visual design as both a communication and educational tool would be a dream come true for me.

My passion for graphic design started in high school when I decided to enroll in a graphic design course on a whim. I ended up taking more advanced courses as well as AP 2D art which made me realize that this could be something that I wanted to make a career out of. After high school, I was accepted into the Graphic Design program at the University of Georgia where I continued my studies and built my design foundation. Getting into the program was one of my greatest achievements because not only was there an incredible workload, but it was also extremely competitive since the program only had 45 seats and there were 60 of us trying to get in. After getting into the program, you were faced with not only critique from your professors, but you also had to fight the ever-looming imposter syndrome that followed you everywhere. I’m incredibly grateful for the friends that I made in my cohort who were always supportive, giving me constructive feedback, and reminding me to not be so hard on myself. My cohort’s support was truly the backbone of why I was able to get my Bachelors of Fine Arts in the Fall of 2019.

One of the most recent challenges I faced in my career was the pandemic. With being a recent graduate who graduated on the cusp of the pandemic, I had opportunities that ended up falling through once the pandemic hit. Not only was I competing with other recent undergraduates in the job market, but the unemployment numbers were also growing and so did my competition. While I still haven’t found a full-time career yet, I’ve been able to advance my career in other ways such as doing contract design work, freelancing, and getting into a mentorship program that I’m incredibly excited about. None of these opportunities would have come by if I didn’t actively try to network and reach out to people in order to make connections. Through all the challenges I faced, I realized that staying connected with your current network as well as actively trying to expand it is key to reach your next career goal.

Most of my work has an emphasis on de-stigmatizing mental health, bringing social injustice issues to light, and female minority empowerment which are all great passions of mine. As both a Sociology and French minor, I wanted most of my personal projects to have either a focus on de-stigmatization or minority empowerment. I believe design is only successful if you design with empathy, and your audience is always in mind when creating in order for the message of your work to be effective. For my senior capstone, I created a female empowerment campaign called “Fem(me)” which focused on minority females my age doing incredible things in the world. The origin of my campaign name came from a combination of three of my passions: French, sociology, and feminism. The French word “femme” means woman or female, and I decided to emphasize the word “me” in “femme”. The emphasis on self was incredibly important in this campaign because  I wanted to showcase that no matter what age you are, you can make a difference in the world even if you may not be the majority in society. With the creation of my book of interviews, I also made stickers, t-shirts, social media, and a website (which has now since been deactivated). While this campaign was only short-lived since it was my senior capstone, my hope is to one day make it into an established campaign and brand where I can keep sharing inspiring stories of female minorities that continue to make this world a better place.

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?
The High Museum of Art will always be one of my favorite places that I frequent enough to call it home. Especially with all the new exhibits they have, there’s always something exciting to see. Some other staples would be the Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coca-Cola of course! I especially love seeing the fun and innovative design Coca-Cola comes up with especially during the World Cup and Olympic seasons. A tourist favorite has also been the Swan House which was a prime set location for The Hunger Games movie franchise and is currently the new home of the Cyclorama. Ponce City Market is still one of my favorite places to explore because of the art installations along the Atlanta Beltline as well as all the incredible wayfinding that’s around the area. Not only are you able to be active and get some fresh air, but you’re also able to find some fantastic art along the way. Speaking of fresh air, the Atlanta Botanical Gardens is also a highlight on my list because of all the beautiful topiaries and faunas you get to see. During the winter, they hold a holiday event where they string up millions of lights across the gardens which makes a perfect family or date night activity! I just went last winter for the first time, and it was absolutely magical with all the twinkling lights and holiday music.

One of my favorite food places including the Vortex (21+) because of their amazing burgers and drinks as well as the retro yet raunchy interior decorations. On certain nights, they host stand-up comedy shows which I have yet to attend but are definitely on my post-pandemic bucket-list. Dr. Bombay’s Underwater Tea Party is a super cute high-tea spot that has a whimsical dark academia aesthetic when you walk inside. From the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves to the upside-down umbrellas that are hung from the ceiling, you feel like you’ve been transported to Alice in Wonderland. Krog Street Market is also one of my favorite places to go because of the mix of small shops and food stalls. I’ve always emphasized shopping and supporting local businesses, and this is the perfect place to do so while being in the hustle and bustle of 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 want to dedicate this shoutout to Keli Chau who recommended me to Shoutout Atlanta! We worked quite closely over the last year, and I’ve been incredibly grateful for her kindness, compassion, and grace when it came to both work and life. She is an amazingly strong female figure that I look up to and hope to become as both a mentor and a leader. I just want to thank you for all you have done for me over this past year, and without your endless support, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Thank you for always keeping things transparent and looking out for me this past year, and I hope to return the favor!

Website: www.viviantruong.me

Instagram: vtruong.design

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/truvivi/