Meet Aster Hung | Illustrator & Designer by day, amateur musician by evenings.

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

Hi Aster, Let’s talk about principles and values – what matters to you most?
To me, being kind and taking responsibility for your own words and actions are the most valuable principles to live and work by. There’s being nice and polite, which most people are good at given we live in a society, but kindness and empathy is a slightly different thing. It’s about respecting other people and caring for other people. There’s so much trying to get ahead by leaving others in the dust or gatekeeping knowledge and experience, and I think, especially in the art community, that kind of thing really doesn’t work! Thankfully most of my career has been filled with kind individuals and mentors who were willing to lend an ear when things were tough or share their work experiences with me; I strive to do the same for others in my community.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
Oh that’s a lot of questions! I’ll do my best here.

I don’t know what specifically sets my art apart from others, especially given my wide range (read inconsistent) style. I’m more of a “the style should fit the project” kind of person. At least that’s what I tell myself so I don’t have to admit I get bored of doing the same thing at an alarming rate. It’s not good for business, if I’m honest, but it certainly is fun to always try new things! And if we’re talking about pride, I am genuinely proud of the range of my work. I hope when people look up my work they’ll always think “Wow! Aster can really draw all kinds of things in all kinds of ways.”

I can’t say getting here has been an easy experience and it never is for anyone working in the creative industry. From the get go, people question what the hell you’re trying to do in life. Enough people have made jokes about every East Asian kid having to be a doctor, lawyer, or engineer so I won’t make that joke, but the experience is real! And there’s no easy path for a creative–the job market is typically oversaturated while the pay isn’t necessarily good. I got extraordinarily lucky in terms of my career path, but even so, endlessly trying to create new ideas and new work while rarely having any sort of job security is exhausting. The most important lessons I’ve learned are about really finding that work life balance. It’s a constantly shifting thing–it’s so important to regularly check in with yourself and think am I headed in the right direction? Do I give myself enough time to rest or explore other interests outside of work? It’s so easy to work yourself into burnout and so hard to recover; you really have to surround yourself with a supportive community and think often about how to live your life with the least regrets.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Oh this is interesting. My best friend and I both grew up right here and I’m pretty sure our favorite activity is hanging out at their place doing not very much at all. One of my favorite things to do is to lie on their floor while we chat, but that doesn’t make for a good interview answer so I’ll try a little harder.

We’d start off in SF since we have a whole week–take a day to walk around the city, visit the De Young museum or SF MOMA. The Asian Art Museum is always a good option too, and there’s no shortage of delicious places to eat in any of these areas. In a perfect world one of my favorite bands is playing either over at the Chase Center or at the Regency Ballroom in the evening so we wrap up our night with that.
From there it’s a whole lot of driving. That’s the thing about California; everything is so spread out you really do kind of have to drive everywhere. Day 2 we drive down the peninsula, skip Palo Alto even though it’s a lovely city with plenty of good restaurants, and end up in Cupertino for a bowl of QQ Noodles followed by some dang good drinks at TP Tea. I’m personally recommending whatever taro drink they have up on the menu. Days 3+4 are down Highway 17 to hike at the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park and a day at the beaches in Santa Cruz. The beaches there are some of my favorite places on earth right up there with Kenting beach in Taiwan. And on that note, we wrap up our week in Monterey further down the coast at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and once again, the beach :]

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Well I guess the first interview question was a nice segue into this! First, a huge shoutout to Kim Sandara, one of my long-time friends. Kim does such incredible work, and constantly works so hard too! Kim’s been endlessly inspiring in how much time, thought, and effort they put into their craft. Sometimes when I find working outside of work to be too exhausting or daunting I’ll see Kim put up new work. It’s always a good wakeup call to not let my life slip by like that, not having made the things I wanted to make. Thanks for recommending me for this interview!
The second shoutout is for my best friend and fellow creative, Kaia Tseng of the Kaiami brand. I wouldn’t have considered the arts as a career at all if it weren’t for Kaia. Thank you for tolerating and encouraging me through my roller coaster of ups and downs.
The third shoutout is for my parents and grandma for dealing with me for the past 25+ years (I’m at that point where my age is a bit of a secret.)

Website: https://asterhung.com/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/asterhung