Q1: From well-known magazines and newspapers to Disney murals, from Swatch watches to illustrations for modern art museums, you’ve collaborated with numerous brands and platforms. When faced with different cultures and brand identities, how do you both convey brand values and retain the aesthetic language of your personal style?
Steven: Usually, a client comes to me because my visual language is already compatible with the brand. My goal then is to communicate the brand’s message as clearly as possible, but within my own conceptual framework and with what feels like the appropriate set of visual decisions: color, line quality, humorous or serious approach, etc.
Q2: Could you share a commercial collaboration case that you are currently most satisfied with, introducing its background, highlights, creative process, and achievements?
Steven: I’ve been creating the advertisements for a vintage menswear marketplace, where my vision and the vision of the client are particularly well-matched. I began as a seller at the market (I collect vintage men’s clothing) and became friends with the market’s organizers. We’ve since collaborated on a series of ads, and are about to embark on the design of some men’s clothing items exclusive to the vintage market they run.
Q3: As a judge for the Golden Pinwheel Young Illustrators Competition, based on your past experience in commercial applications, what key qualities do you believe an excellent commercial application illustration work should possess?
Steven: I think it first has to have a distinctive look and feel, to distinguish it from all of the visual noise in what is a very crowded media landscape. And I think it needs to be true to the artist’s vision, as it will ring false if the artist isn’t able to express themselves in an authentic way.
Q4: How do you understand the relationship between "popular" and "classic" in design, as you have written multiple books on popular culture and design such as "Black and White"?
Steven: In terms of historical popular arts, if they have endured then they are by definition “classic”. I’m especially interested in popular arts that in some way define or reflect a particular time or place, or represent the vision of a subculture.
Q5: Different countries and regions have distinct local cultures. How do you address the visual expression challenges arising from cultural differences? In the context of globalization, how can illustrations have both local characteristics and be understood and accepted by an international audience?
Steven: I do believe that there are some universal concepts shared by diverse cultures. My most recent book for children is The Museum of Nothing. It has been translated into French, German, Italian, Spanish and Korean so far. Each of these cultures has a shared notion of nothing (it’s a very human concern) that may differ in the particulars but is essentially the same in general (nothing is nothing). On the other hand, when I researched my book, Black and White, I was interested to learn that while in the West black is often associated with death, in some Asian countries white plays that role.
Q6: Compared to other illustration works, what are the key differences in the creative process of children's picture books? How do you balance the boundaries of children's comprehension with narrative depth?
Steven: I essentially write the books that my child self wants to read. My visual and verbal style tends to be quite simplified anyway, and I tend to favor humor in my work, both of which characteristics children seem to easily appreciate.
Q7: Young people are currently an important audience for illustration works. In your opinion, what kind of illustration or design artwork is more likely to resonate with them? How can one create such compelling work?
Steven: I think it’s difficult to try to aim work at any particular audience. Certainly, visual styles go in and out of fashion quickly, so trying to keep up with them is bound to fail. I think that intelligent humor and a clear visual approach works well over the long term.
Q8: In your teaching, how do you help students develop into illustrators or artists who possess both professional expertise and commercial viability?
Steven: My goal is to help students find their voice. To identify their unique visual perspective and learn how to express it. It involves recognizing what they’re passionate about and committing to it.
Q9: In today's rapidly changing technological landscape, with the development of AI technology, illustration creation seems to have entered the era of 'equal rights'. What opportunities and challenges do you think the popularization of AI will bring to illustration creation?
Steven: I feel that it presents a danger and an opportunity. The wealth of visual imagery in the world has always being consumed and remixed by artists throughout the centuries. AI is the newest tool for accomplishing that. But like any tool, only respect for the tool and for the properties of the materials can yield original results.
