Today we’d like to introduce you to Hayley An.
Hayley, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I am currently working as a motion designer & multimedia artist in Hollywood.
My journey was full of road bumps but definitely a story that I am proud to talk about. It started at the moment that I moved to Los Angeles for the chase of my art dream. I had never imagined what it was like and I still remember the moment that I landed in LAX without knowing anyone from this country, yes, the whole entire country, I crossed the Pacific Ocean, flew 6,248 miles away from home to a completely unknown and uncertainty. I was too scared to speak but mostly was thrilled and ambitious to learn. A few miles away from LAX was the first stop to my journey – Otis College of Art and Design, the art school that I put four years of my dedication to. I majored in digital media with an emphasis on motion design.
In school, I found myself extremely interested in music visuals, fashion stage visuals, and all the experimental cool artsy elements related to music and fashion. The combination of exploring art in motion graphics and music is like an invitation that for people to my inner world by using visual communication, it is secretive, it is sensual, it is private, only people who understand it can decode the meaning behind. That is also the most exciting part to a certain extent. Not long after, it developed into my personal unique style, For better or worse, I struggled with my personal interpretation of motion graphics (the unique style that I attached to) for a long time because my work was not something that the industry wants I assume, It made me face a lot of turn downs in job market after graduation. Aside from that, my international student identity made me fear more of getting turn downs and not getting a job. I remembered the time I was crying on the floor, unemployed for two to three months because of my documents were not ready at the time.
At least I felt it was the most devastating thing for a young graduate, missing a few awesome opportunities including FREEFORM (a Disney owned cable channel that produced one of my favorite shows – Pretty Little Liars). But even though, I was still doing whatever I can to get out of the situation while suffering a lack of confidence and depression, I was emailing and applying for jobs every single day. I didn’t even remember that how did I actually land my current job, I just remember that I had one faith, it was I would take whatever I can and I will work my ass off. And to be perfectly honest, I was also not believing myself that I was worth the rate of the industry standard. Now, I look back on my journey of becoming a motion graphic designer and a multimedia artist – I participated and designed some memorable projects including seeing some of the top musicians (Diddy, Snoop Dogg, 21 SAVAGE, French Montana, etc.) performing and speaking in front of my work. I have earned my own respect and I also know my journey just started and has a long way to go.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I struggled with my personal interpretation of motion graphics (the unique style that I attached to) for a long time because my work was not something that the industry wants I assume, It made me face a lot of turn downs in job market after graduation. Aside from that, my international student identity made me fear more of getting turn downs and not getting a job. I remembered the time I was crying on the floor, unemployed for two to three months because of my documents were not ready at the time. At least I felt it was the most devastating thing for a young graduate, missing a few awesome opportunities including FREEFORM (a Disney owned cable channel that produced one of my favorite shows – Pretty Little Liars). But even though, I was still doing whatever I can to get out of the situation while suffering a lack of confidence and depression, I was emailing and applying for jobs every single day.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I specialized in creative, fun multimedia music-related motion graphics and visuals. I believe visual art is not only a surface level of visual communication but on top of that, it is also a story and an unforgettable experience. I have a strong vision on how to make things unique, different and stand out from the crowd. I have earned recognition along with my project partner, receiving an award from the Global Trend Award. I have also contributed to some well-known events including the revolutionary music event that happened this year – REVOLT Summit.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would definitely should have trusted my instinct more and be more assertive about myself and more proactive about putting myself out there.
Contact Info:
- Website: hayleyadesign.com
- Phone: 3109360729
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: _hayleyan
Image Credit:
hayleyadesign.com
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
