Anh Nguyen

Anh Nguyen was born in Varel, Germany on November 5th, 1997, and spent the first years of her life there. At that point, all she knew was German culture, and she saw the world through innocent, rose-colored lenses. “The world must be like this,” she believed, “this” being clean streets, good quality food, "everyone had a home"— everything was perfect.

However, even with this positive outlook, Anh felt the pressure of living in a “perfect” culture. Because everything seemed perfect, she was also held to a higher standard and judged for being different. In school, she was made fun of being short or small, and stood out by being one of the only Asian kids in class. She worried about a lot of things: how she looked, making friends, if she was behaving properly so her friends would like her, all in conjunction with staying on top of her classes. Her parents would remind her to “be polite,” to not do things that would make her stand out, and she often felt that she had to censor herself. She would later understand that her parents cautioned her because they were experiencing differential treatment in their workplace due to their race at the time. Looking back on that time, Anh surmised,

"It probably feels different if you're not German, as a minority... Children are so pure and think nothing of race, and think of everyone as the same."

Anh’s art during these years were influenced by the structured environment, and she mainly stuck to “one style of art, one style of drawing humans." Her drawing style was most based off of popular cartoons and comics in Germany, how they portrayed humans and dogs. In addition, she described the scenery in Germany as clean, not very colorful and naturesque, with many brick roads-- this imagery was also reflected in her art.

Pictured: Examples of art that inspired Anh while living in Germany. (Unfortunately, she has no copies of her work from back then.)

When Anh was between 8-10 years of age, she and her parents moved to Vietnam, where her parents had grown up. Her parents wanted her to experience her culture and history, as well as learn English, as they planned to eventually move to the U.S.  

"We'll go to America someday." This promise of the American Dream was something Anh heard regularly growing up and took to heart.

Anh immediately experienced culture shock when stepping into a Vietnam airport, as everyone seemed to wear what they wanted and act how they wanted, not caring about others’ opinions, and there was litter everywhere. In the streets, she was struck by the poverty she witnessed, and recalled seeing beggars and people selling lottery tickets. “There were people who barely had anything,” and she had never seen poverty face to face before.

At first, she was too young to understand these new experiences and appreciate them, wondering why her parents brought her to Vietnam. However, over the years, she learned to embrace Vietnamese culture as a part of her identity. She developed a newfound love for “everything I see, everything I’m given,” from food, going to school, and making new friends. Anh thinks the cultural expectations in Vietnam are different from Germany because what people focus on is different. In Vietnam, people have questions like, “'Will my house flood the next day?,' 'Will we have food?,' and 'Is my family okay?'” The intrinsic focus on survival makes worries about being proper or others’ opinions extraneous, and helped her develop humbleness, respect, and gratitude.  

Anh's level of contentment and relaxation in Vietnam really stood out to her.

“Germany was great, but when I grew up there, it just felt not as free. That structured mindset flipped upside down when I moved to Vietnam. In Vietnam, no one judges you. . .I didn’t put crazy expectations on myself like I did in Germany to be perfect. . .

. . .I felt more relaxed to do what I wanted to do."

The acceptance she felt helped her lean into her creativity and expand her art, and she found inspiration everywhere. She describes Vietnam as colorful, sunny, and diverse with fruits, plants, and stores everywhere, and this chaotic imagery moved her as an artist. She drew inspiration from paintings of flowers, plants, and forests, so different from the art she saw in Germany. “My art basically changes depending where I go, the style changes. . .my art in Vietnam was more flowy, more free, more colorful.” She found Vietnam itself to be a creative environment, with the scenery changing drastically from region to region.

After living in Vietnam for 5 years, Anh and her parents moved to the U.S. When she first arrived, she had a difficult time communicating with others, and looked for ways to express herself.  After obtaining a drawing tablet, digital art became a medium of communication. She shared her work through digital art sites like deviantart, and was able to make “art friends.”  

In school, Anh struggled due to the language barrier. She excelled in math and art, but was taken advantage by other students who would would copy her notes and homework. People told her that she would not be able to catch up, learn English or do well in school, and at first, she felt pressured and discouraged. However, she eventually decided,

"No way am I going to stay here."

Anh found many avenues to get involved in school, staying in afterschool programs, joining school leadership, and participating in science fairs, all the while drawing on the side. All these activities helped her learn English, and by the end of her first year in high school, her language arts placement changed from ESL to English Honors. Anh continued to progress in school and extracurriculars with the mentorship of teachers who “saw my work ethic,” and eventually reached an incredible achievement: winning 1st place in a national level science fair.  

Through this achievement, Anh proved all the people who told her that she wouldn’t succeed, wrong. To her, her achievement represents the fruits of her hard work, but more importantly, that “teachers have purpose in doing what they do.” She strongly believes that she would not have progressed so far without her teachers' faith in her. This belief culminated into speeches at 10 high school educator conferences, at which Anh spoke about how her teachers helped her adapt and grow into science. She developed an image that expressed this significance:

At UC San Diego, Anh started out with a chemistry major but eventually found a good fit with the math and computer science major, which she can use to implement her love for design through UI and UX interface. Her community at Tritons Gaming was instrumental in her major switch. They inspired and showed her how to incorporate design and technology, and see design as a potential career path.  

After spending several years building a portfolio, Anh was able to solidify design as a career prospect. During her third year at UC San Diego, Anh worked on merchandise and graphic design for Blizzard, one of the biggest videogame developers in the world. After an enriching experience there, Anh is now the Graphic Design Lead at The Zone, the student wellbeing lounge on campus, and a graphic designer and illustrator for Tespa, a collegiate esports organization under Blizzard. What remains crucial to her in her various design roles is making sure her work fits her interests.

Since coming to the U.S., Anh has been struck by her ability to explore different styles of art from all around the world in one place. Not only is the U.S. incredibly diverse, but the internet access and technology available allows her to branch out and explore all different types of art forms. Anh is inspired by all artists she sees and meets, online and in person.

“Everything from art, art styles, museums, and architecture are all shaped by whatever culture is going on in the city and who lives there. There’s a lot of diversity, environmentally and online.”

Now, Anh's art is a way for her to venture and create her own world. She describes her art as “story driven”-- she creates designs and characters, and helps them follow a storyline of her own creation. It’s a free art style that blooms from her own imagination, and experience-driven from whatever she’s interested in exploring. Anh is also creating and selling her own products, from keychains, stickers, to plushies, on her Etsy shop.

Anh's Etsy shop, Rose Gold Jelly:

Moving forward, Anh has faith in herself from all of the people that have supported her. All of her past experiences have helped build her confidence, and continue to motivate her to pick herself up when she fails. She has a firm resolution to "face things and make things happen."

In the future, one of Anh's main goals is to work within a company that shares her passions and values, and can provide enough reach to help her make a global impact. She names Pixar and Disney as big companies that make a big impact on new generations through their style and art. Anh aims to apply her skills and challenge herself to make a difference in someone's life through her design, interpersonal skills, and storytelling.

Additionally, Anh wants to continue growing her side project, her business. Eventually, she would like for it to grow into its own brand and company, and continue to develop products. To her, even if a product fails, it's important to learn form experience what works and what doesn't. Her ultimate goal for this project is to make people happy and inspired by her art.

Don’t let anyone put you down. Prove the people who don’t believe in you, wrong, for yourself. If someone doesn't believe in you, take it as feedback and improve yourself. Also, on your journey of self-improvement, really be mindful of everyone who has helped you. Always keep them in mind, because you wouldn’t be where you are today without them. Pay it forward and help others who need your help too!

Project wise, if you’re really passionate about something or feel inspired by someone, go for it! Research how people made their projects and ask questions. If you can make a timeline for a feasible product, and you can get it done! Also, don't be afraid to try something big and new. It might feel risky, but you can become a source of inspiration for other people.

-Anh Nguyen