Meet Nano Wu | Graphic designer

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

Hi Nano, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
My balance definitely changed over time. My previous experience used a serious illness to teach me how to balance. In the past, I rarely paid attention to my life and physical health. Most of the time, I just focused on my studies. Even if I felt tired, I would force myself to continue working. This situation lasted for about two years, causing me to fall seriously ill. Therefore, I spent a year completely stopping all work and studies, backing my hometown and staying with my parents, actively receiving treatment from doctors, and trying my best to restore myself to a healthy state.

This year gave me time to stop, communicate with my parents, and think about many issues on my own. I have found that maintaining a healthy body is a very high priority if I want to achieve my goals. So I started to learn how to take good care of myself, like how to make a meal that satisfies me and observe which taste of food is my favorite, including recording and observing my own sleep, rest habits, etc. After completing these things, I returned to my study state, and I found that I could naturally balance study, work, and life. I think a good lifestyle and status are more important than work.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
There will be many oriental elements in my works. This has a lot to do with my cultural background. I am a person who is interested in ancient Chinese poetry, and these elements often appear in my works. I once designed a music album by Taiwanese singer Jay Chou. This album is a virtual album, and the songs in it are carefully selected and contain music with Eastern elements. When I was designing the album, I replaced one stroke of the Chinese title with an English title. This way, I could show the atmosphere and music style of the album without destroying the readability of both Chinese and English. Before getting such a result, I actually drafted many plans to test their feasibility. I think I can eliminate the unwanted effects through constant experimentation. I think there are actually not many shortcuts in design in many cases. You need to try enough possibilities before you can know what the solution that best fits the concept looks like. In this case, the most valuable thing I learned is that inspiration is not a reward from God, but a qualitative change resulting from your long-term thinking and trying.

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?
I’m currently in Los Angeles, and if my friends come to visit, I think I’ll take them to the Getty Center and other restaurants on my Google list. The Getty Center is a place that embodies the style of Los Angeles. The scenery and artwork inside are worth appreciating. I personally have collected a lot of restaurants that I like and go to frequently. They all have different tastes, including Korean, Italian, and Japanese food. I like a lot of food, and of course, if I have enough time, I will also cook a meal at home to entertain my friends haha.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Of course, there are two people I appreciate very much. One was the doctor who treated me. The doctor and I sometimes talk about philosophical issues. Such as what people live for. The doctor’s answer to me was to eat and sleep well. I didn’t quite understand such an answer at the time. I used to think that people live because they need to leave some traces of themselves in this world through their own efforts. It now appears that there is a causal relationship between these two perspectives. Because you eat and sleep well, you can get the opportunity to work hard and leave a mark on the world.

The other person is an online course teacher I met after graduating from college. It may not be convenient for me to reveal his name, but he taught me very practical design knowledge and skills. And because of his influence, I started to notice details in design. This has improved my design skills a lot and also cultivated my aesthetic sense. Now when I am doing design, I also take the initiative to pay attention to more details. For me, it’s becoming more and more like a little game that I, as a designer, play with other people. If you notice the details in my work, it proves that we resonated in that moment haha.