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Interview: Shadow Chen, independent creative director

Last Updated on 2022/04/22

Shadow Chen (Leiying Chen), based in Shanghai, is originally from Ningbo. She is good at making colorful illustrations and digital art, graphic design.

Her artwork style often rich in liquid forms and imaginations. She has been working with clients including many trendy brands, and also participate in cross-over collaborations. She used to work as a creative director at a Shanghai creative agency Neocha, now she’s busy in creating personal artworks, her own creative projects, freelancing and working as an independent creative director.

Interview by Dominique Musorrafiti

Official site | DevianArt | Behance | Instagram

China-Underground: What motivated you to become an artist and illustrator?

Shadow Chen: I’ve always loved to draw and been fascinated by the colors of nature, it’s more like a pleasure of mine than a career.

Shadow Chen Chinese creative director
Shadow Chen

C-U: Your style is unique and full of colors, does it reflect the way you see the world?

S C: Thanks! Definitely it does, sometimes I love to stare at an abstract form things like stains of water, or textures of a concrete wall, and thinking about what kind of figure they would bear or maybe inside there are secret codes, and colors. I’m overly confident that I’m among those who could see the world with much brighter and vibrant colors. But more like, I have remained my child heart inside.

Volvo, Häagen-Dazs, Pepsico, Adobe, Adidas, Gap, Converse, Nike, Starbucks … are some of the many clients of Shadow Chen

C-U: What keep you inspired to make the difference compare to other?

S C: I never think that I’ve made enough to be different to actually make a difference, but I will always try to be better, right now I’m very aware of taking the chances to help me to actually make one. So far I just hope my interesting shapes and bright colors could make some of who are viewing my works a little bit happy.

C-U: Are there any of your work related to a moment that marked a significant change in your life?

S C: Many of my personal artworks do, some of the works have fairly brighter or more colors they represent my voice that eager to be heard, and those seem quite emotional are definitely portraits of my heart that grown with changes, right now I’m trying to redeem a lot of my old works, I believe that there is brilliance in every artists’ early works, sometimes more than later, I try to update them with my grown skill and a new perspective.

Shadow Chen Chinese creative director
Art is for the love and understanding of this world, and nature. For me the creating process often has something to do with discovering the primary forms and colors of the universe, the evolution of life, colors sometimes tones, and textures might reveal the existence of the energy of the five elements, shapes and the communication with the other creating factors are the stories when those elements meet time. So as the story goes…” Shadow Chen

C-U: As a digital artist and illustrator do you prefer to work by yourself or do you enjoy working with a team? What are the different benefits?

S C: I definitely love and enjoy working with a team, although as an artist there’s naturally more chance to be alone than to work as a team, but I have it in mind of how amazing it feels when working with other brilliant collaborators as a team, and actually create way better result, less personal, but more together.

C-U: What about your work experience as Creative Director at NeochaEDGE?

S C: I loved my working experience in Neocha, it’s very important for the growth of myself in all kinds of aspects, I learned a lot of different designing and creating process and a lot of organizing and managing other artists to create good results for some of the most innovative brands and agencies today, plus I made bunch of best friends to help me with my Shanghai lifestyles haha, to make me feel like home actually.

C-U: What was the best goal do you achieved during this period?

S C: The best goal was gaining confidence of me directing the creating process for major brands, and have found some of my best friends.

Shadow Chen Chinese creative director
Eros – “Nothing is better than swimming with all the colors of rainbow in a big white piece of paper, sometimes inside of a computer screen, and of course another thing lifting the mood is dancing with lines and the shapes, both things always bring back a smile on my face, and eliminate the fears, because that art is therapeutic, and I want to make art that has the ability to cure others too.” Shadow Chen

C-U: Has the Shanghai lifestyle changed, compared to when you moved? If yes does this affect your way of creating?

S C: Yes significantly, the focus has been shifted from the western value to Chinese value, before we would love to be hired by the western companies and make it as a privilege of our experiences, right now we need to think harder and work harder to compete with the western artists and designers who would love to work for Chinese companies and brands, my way of creating definitely need to measure up to the international standard, and at the same time, focus on our unique roots and our own culture.

Photos courtesy of Shadow Chen

topic: best creative designer,what does a creative designer do,top creative design,creative design ideas,creative graphic design

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