Meet Meicheng Chi | Designer & Illustrator

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

Hi Meicheng, why did you pursue a creative career?
Painting allows me to record the soft and moist scenes in my subconscious. In dreams, I can fly over water and land in just a few minutes, with various thoughts overlapping with imaginations, slowly sinking into summer. Emotions and memories can melt onto paper, fly out of the window, enter the river with the moon, reaching infinity. Drawing is like sleep talking, where half-awaken memories are the most vivid. Being a designer allows me to bring the emotional side and rational side of me together to create beautiful visuals and products that tell vivid stories.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Drawing is such an intuitive and expressive behavior that for me it is like talking. There are so many things I want to express but don’t know how to; drawing speaks those words for me. I was exposed to various media and tools, and for the first time, had access to workrooms where I could get dirty, messy, and experiment freely. I also took numerous drawing courses in addition to my Industrial Design focus, allowing myself precious personal time to be unreasonable, connect with my inner self, and express my ideas to others in the most genuine way. Drawing lets me navigate and connect with my emotions. I became more fearless in facing negative emotions because I knew through drawing, they would melt into the air and become color and pencil strokes that I could hug and keep. Being a designer and illustrator allows me to walk between different parts of my world, tell stories through different forms, and bring emotional and functional visuals and products to the world. I love bringing my language to tell a beautiful story that is accurate and fun for specific brands and customers.

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?
Metrograph! It’s my favorite theater that has an amazing curation of films and a cozy film-watching experience. It’s where I escape to, get recharged, and immerse myself in almost every weekend.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My parents and my sister! My parents are both interior designers and artists, and my sister is an art student in high school right now. My mom bought me painting albums of Egon Schiele, Henri Mattise, David Hockney, Botero, Henry Darger, and Edward Hooper…and she bought me DVDs of many amazing cartoons and movies. I still remember watching Spirited Away when I was a kid and got so scared, but I think the exposure to these amazing works became an inspiration for me deep inside. My dad always shares great films and designs with me and always shows so much love and passion for my work. My sister kept creating costumes for herself during special days since she was a kid and created handmade clay sculptures for our birthdays. Her passion for art and the freedom in her works always inspired me.

Website: https://meichengchi.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meicheng_c/