Life & Work with Dingding Hu

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dingding Hu.

Hi Dingding, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I am an illustrator, writer, and comedian and I have created vibrant and humorous art for global brands such as HBO, Google, Bloomberg, The New York Times, Sephora, and more. And I have won awards from both the Society of Illustrators and American Illustration.

Think “Princess Bubblegum” from Adventure Time, add a bit more spicy and salty, and you got me, a food nerd who also cares to make it fashion! As a kid, watching grandpa cooking while doodling on my notebook was my initial getaway from outside noises; as a grown-up, food and art continue to serve as my unique love language for everyday life! With an MFA degree in illustration I get to build a professional career in commercial art; with my dating life in New York City I get to experience the magic world of global gastronomy. Over the years, I’ve also learned that my sensibility is nothing to be ashamed of but instead my superpower! And as I step into my own unique brilliance, I also discovered my true purpose of being a creative human being, that is to feel all that I can feel and use my artistry and empathy to bring people closer together over visual art, conversations as well as delicious meals!!

I believe in the positive energy that comes from delightful artwork, and the world needs it more than ever.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I was once a workaholic with a successful track record on the outside and a heart that was insecure, anxious, and totally burned out on the inside. I spent my entire 20s looking for love & connection from the external world; however, when my grandpa passed away in 2020, I got totally lost. After a much-needed pause, as I devour all the self-help books that I can find, plus a Tony Robbins event as well as a deep journey through The Artist’s Way, I finally reunited with the creator that was always inside of me! After my grandpa visited me in a dream where he threw me a long table dinner party, I followed the calling and spent two years turning all that love energy into my debut seek and find a book for adults: Delicious Daydreams! My new life mission is to bring people on a seek-and-find journey of their own inner magic, through books, in between jokes and over at dinner tables!

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I create artwork and content with my mixology of ideas, stories and sensuality, which takes you on a journey toward the tropical paradise for your heart. I have been serving sparkling ideas that bring life to the “party” to top-notch publications and global brands for almost a decade, and I’m on a mission to ignite the everyday extraordinary flame inside of everyone.

My grandpa’s cooking has deeply nurtured me as a child, and I have a strong bond with him for his love language through food. My grandpa passed away unexpectedly in Jan 2020, and before I could pick myself up, the global pandemic arrived. I went downward through an emotional spiral, feeling hopeless and completely lost.

Around my birthday in March 2020, I had a dream about grandpa. In the dream, he hosted a massive dinner party for me on an infinite long white table and invited everyone I know. I woke up with my heart filled with love and the joy of food, and I took it as a sign from heaven! I went back to my drawing table the exact day and finished a book pitch that I’ve been postponing for a long time…

My debut book, “Delicious Daydreams: A Seek-and-Find for Foodies” published by Chronicle Books is out on March 21st, 2023.

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I think a big trend is that artists will have more freedom to blend genres and mix media. And because of that, I have turned my illustration world into a full-sensory synesthetic experience inside my virtual delicious wonderland, which is the perfect place to find your own magic in the mundane! And I invite my guest to come get lost through imaginary playgrounds, heading towards a hypnotic journey within, and find their true self through a co-creating process with me and their own mind’s eye.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://dingdinghu.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/dingding_hu