Creative Mornings Vancouver - Sophia Hsin Submission
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I am an independent graphic designer, type designer, and lettering artist based in Vancouver. I am fascinated by letters and their place in human communication. When Iâm not enthralled by letters and design, Iâm busy being a mum, playing video games, and reading books (mostly about lettering and type design though).
How do you define creativity and apply it in your career?
Creativity is about considering a problem or task from a unique perspective, which comes from an individualâs personality and life experience. I use creativity as a process to solve problems in the most functional and interesting way that I can think of.
Where do you find your best creative inspiration?
My creative inspiration comes from looking at a balance of things that are both similar and different from what I am working on. I surround myself with creative people from the community by going to speaker events, meeting up with other local designers, and following talented people on Instagram.
Whatâs the one creative advice or tip you wish youâd known as a young person?
Self-initiated projects are never a waste of time. Side projects are an amazing way to stay creatively fresh because of the freedom to explore passions and new skills.
Who would you like to hear speak at CreativeMornings?
I would love to hear from Johnny Earle of Johnny Cupcakes â one of the most creative business owners I can think of.
What keeps you awake at night?
The obvious answer would be my three month old son :P But, I am also often plagued by all the possible changes I can make to the shapes of the letters that I am working on in my typefaces.
Where was the last place you travelled?
I went to Tofino last November and spent a week in a cozy cabin surrounded by endless waves, Tacofino burritos, and forest hikes. I spent a lot of time there working on a self-initiated typeface project. Thereâs nothing like beautiful scenery, cozy chairs, and a passion project to make you feel refreshed!
Super cool artwork for our December theme: Time. What are you doing with your time?
Allen Pike is an app designer and developer. He runs Steamclock Software, a mobile development shop in Vancouver. Steamclock focuses on polish and user experience, and has done work for Fortune 500s and top startups. He has a passion for teaching, having taught at SFU, trained teams at various companies in Vancouver, and given talks on product design and app development in five countries. Prior to founding Steamclock, he was a software engineer at Apple, where he worked on the iWork applications. Allen also organizes local meetups, hosts a game development podcast called Up Up Down Down, and plays on a hockey team comprised entirely of programmers.
How do you define creativity and apply it in your career?
To me, creativity is simply about making something new. Although my background is in Computing Science, itâs always been the creative side of software design and development thatâs motivated me. When we have the boldness to try something new, whether itâs an entirely new approach or a novel spin on something old, is when we do our best work.
Where do you find your best creative inspiration?
Nothing inspires creativity better than needing to solve a difficult problem. While we all fancy ourselves as innately creative, the constraints of a difficult challenge are often needed to really push us out of our comfort zone and force us to try something new.
Whatâs the one creative advice or tip you wish youâd known as a young person?
I wish Iâd realized earlier how much of what we call âskillâ and âtalentâ are simply the result of practice. When I was younger I saw great talent as something one was born with. Iâve since found that that mentality is just an obstacle to trying new things.
Who would you like to hear speak at CreativeMornings?
Alexa Grafera, the very talented icon and emoji designer.
How would you describe what you do in a single sentence to a stranger?
I run a team of people that make great apps.
What practices, rituals or habits contribute to your creative work?
Iâve found it incredibly important to manage where my attention goes. I rely on a task-management tool called OmniFocus to make sure that Iâm paying attention to the important things, Iâm not worrying about the unimportant things, and Iâm delegating everything else to awesome people who are able to get them done.
Interview // Ola Volo Speaks at CreativeMornings | Sad Mag:
Intensely creative illustrator, Ola Volo, speaks at Creative Mornings Vancouver. Her sense of humour and whimsy transcends through all her artwork and she gave a really unique perspective on how working with other artists was both terrifying and inspiring.
Born in Taiwan, and raised in both China and Canada, Sophia Hsin is a photographer and creative based in Vancouver. With a love for design, minimalism and a neverending curiosity to explore - Sophia spends her time running a studio with her Hedgehog, Amelia, and dreams of travelling the world. In the past, Sophia obtained a degree in Medicine and worked in the education field.
How do you define creativity and apply it in your career?
Creativity is following your gut, a lot of practice, values and vision mixed together on a big white canvas. It also means breaking a lot of rules.
Where do you find your best creative inspiration?
The ocean and Chinese martial art movies.
Whatâs the one creative advice or tip you wish youâd known as a young person?
Make mistakes, make lots of them. Be bold and take risks
Who would you like to hear speak at Creative Mornings?
Omer Arbel from Bocci
Whatâs the craziest thing youâve ever done?
Quit a career in Medicine and moved to Vancouver to follow my dreams.
Where was the last place you travelled?
Huangshan, China aka The Avatar Mountains.
âDonât waste your time looking back on what you have lost. Move on, life is not meant to be traveled backwards.â - Unknown
What matters to you?
