A Portrait of Chaowen Liang
Photo by: Adonis Ovando

This is my story; and why I design.

My name is Chaowen Liang. I was born in Taishan, Guangdong, China. I came to the United States when I was two years old, and lived in Brooklyn, New York until the end of elementary school. Afterwards, my family relocated to Warwick, Rhode Island and that is where my story begins.

My philosophy has always been about doing activities that were engaging and could hold my attention. Anything that I really took a keen interest to; I wanted to be able to do well. Essentially, I always strived for the top, wanting to be the best. Investing as much of my time, effort, and money to achieve this. For me however, the most important thing was to have fun.

This particular aspect became my foundation and outlook on life. If something intrigued me, I would go out of my way to learn and discover everything about it. At the same time, as soon as I lost interest, I would discard it faster than a wet napkin. This was my downfall growing up in the digital age, with new technologies booming each and every day; it was very hard for me to focus my attention to just one thing.

This was never the case with art. As a child, I was always fascinated with the world of pictures. I would only read books that had pictures or an intriguing plot. This would later turn into a love for comic books, graphic novels and a fascination with the western culture.

In turn, this opened the door of graphic design for me at the New England Institute of Technology. Since then, the world of graphic design has been a non-stop game of cat and mouse. I am presented with one problem, and after solving it; I’m presented with another. And with each repetition of this cycle, it lulls me ever close to the world of graphic design. It keeps me wandering, fascinated at what new opportunity will present itself to me next. This is my story, and this is why I continue to design. Join me and let’s create something new together!