Qian Qian: Drawing from the East
New York-based illustrator and graphic designer Qian Qian has traveled far in a short time — in every possible sense.
“I first heard the term ‘graphic design’ in 2000,” says the self-taught 28-year-old, who grew up in Chengdu, the capitol of China’s Sichuan province. Since then, his distinctive graphic style has appeared in ads and interactive work for such major international clients as Nike, Panasonic, and Motorola.
Qian uses Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and other Mac software to create art that merges Eastern and Western influences from different eras, from classical Chinese painting and 1930s Shanghai advertising to Cultural Revolution aesthetics, pop art, and the Japanese manga-inspired Superflat movement.
“Whatever strikes me visually, I take it in,” says Qian. “So many different things from different countries have influenced me. But I don’t want to just mix things — I want to add my own interpretation.”
Whether he’s working on a design project or an illustration, Qian’s approach encompasses both disciplines. “When I begin a project, I start as a designer,” he explains. “I really pay attention to the construction and composition of things. Later, with illustration, I become more personal and expressive. I prefer things that are really modern, minimal, and clean, like classic Swiss or German graphic design. But at the same time, I like complex, beautiful, illustrated things that are full of great details.”
From Diplomacy to Design
Qian’s journey began in an unlikely place: China Foreign Affairs University, a Beijing school for diplomats. “I didn’t have a clear idea what I wanted to do after high school,” he recalls. “So my parents said, ‘Oh, you can be a diplomat.’ They picked out the school for me. But the only subject I enjoyed was English. I had little interest in things like political science and economics.”
His primary passion in college — playing bass in a band — seemed unlikely to provide a sustainable income, so Qian searched for a career alternative. “I was attracted by web sites,” he says. “It was something new, and something that didn’t seem very intimidating to get into. So I got a computer and started messing around.”
Armed with his first Mac — a secondhand PowerBook G3 — he started teaching himself design. “I asked people, ‘What would be the best computer for this kind of work?’ And they said, ‘Oh, it’s called Apple.’ They don’t call it Mac in China — they just say Apple, because it’s easier. At that time, in 2000, Apple was not at all well known in China, and when I saw the computer, I thought, ‘Yeah, that does look different.’ So I got it and started using it, and just loved it.”
East to West (and Back Again)
Qian began assembling a portfolio and decided to go abroad to earn a Master’s degree in a design-related field. He chose the new media program at Scotland’s University of Edinburgh. “It focused more on media studies than on graphic design,” he says. “It’s in the architecture department, so I was in touch with students and professors in architecture, social sciences, and other disciplines. They seemed to be thinking more broadly than general graphic design teachers. I learned how to see the bigger picture, and to think across borders while I worked on specific skills on my own.”
After graduate school, Qian was back in Beijing on vacation when an encounter with an American design teacher launched his next adventure. “A professor from Missouri State University was doing a workshop at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing,” he recounts. “He liked my work, and said, ‘Oh, you’re doing all this new stuff, and we have an opening for someone who can teach web design.’”
A year later, the offer and the work visa came through, and Qian moved to Springfield, Missouri. “I had no idea how the Midwest looked. It was a huge change!” he remembers. “I’d wanted to go to America, because my father had been to the United States a couple times, and always talked about how good it was. He even regrets that I went to the UK to study rather than the States. So I thought, okay, I’ll take the opportunity and just go.”
Qian spent four years in the Midwest, perfecting his design skills while coaching students on new technology. “A lot of what you need to know is just self-education,” he notes. “If you need to learn Flash, you just go home and learn it. I’d tell students, ‘I can teach you the basics, but later on you have to play on your own.’ It’s the best way to learn, I think.”
Interactive Opportunities
In May 2007, Qian was commissioned to create display materials for the prestigious One Show Interactive Awards, presented each year by the One Club, a nonprofit association in New York that promotes excellence in advertising. This year’s event theme, appropriately, was China.
