{"id":8714,"date":"2010-09-15T10:06:42","date_gmt":"2010-09-15T15:06:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/crowdspring.wpengine.com\/?p=8714"},"modified":"2022-05-09T14:22:05","modified_gmt":"2022-05-09T19:22:05","slug":"12-questions-meet-carmen-tsang-canada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crowdspring.com\/blog\/12-questions-meet-carmen-tsang-canada\/","title":{"rendered":"12 Questions: Meet Carmen Tsang (Canada)"},"content":{"rendered":"

In our <\/em>12 Questions<\/em><\/strong> blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING community. For these interviews, we pick people who add value to our community \u2013 in the blog, in the forums, in the projects. Plainly \u2013 activities that make crowdSPRING a better community. Be professional, treat others with respect, help us build something very special, and we\u2019ll take notice.<\/em><\/p>\n

We\u2019re very proud to feature Carmen Tsang (crowdSPRING username: heyheykermit<\/a>) today. Carmen lives and works in Markham, Ontario,Canada.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

1. Please tell us about yourself.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hey all…it\u2019s really excited to be interviewed by crowdSPRING…and it\u2019s actually my very first blog interview, so really looking forward seeing it go live.\u00a0 Let\u2019s get the ball rolling…<\/p>\n

My name is Carmen Tsang, I was born in Hong Kong and move to Canada for good about 10 \"\"<\/a>years ago after I completed my degree in education. My DECISION to move to a country with a whole new culture and lifestyle was tough (start everything from zero??) but I told myself to give a try while I am still young, so, at that time I bought a one way air ticket, and off I go….til now, 10 years later still residing in Canada.\u00a0 I knew that there\u2019s no harm even I couldn\u2019t make it at that time (just an experience), i still remember my tutor once said, “no matter what you do…aiming for the best, preparing for the worse.”<\/p>\n

Without any local experience my first job in Canada was a home decor assistant, luckily after 2 months, on the day of my first birthday in Canada I got a full time job offer as graphic designer.\u00a0 In 4 years\u2019 time, I gradually worked my way up to the art director level, overseeing the design department and lead a team of 4 designers and freelancers.\u00a0 While everything seems so perfect (stable job & income), me, a workaholic, found myself trapped in the imbalance of work and personal life.\u00a0 I feel torn and I made another \"\"<\/a>DECISION.\u00a0 I quit the full time job, walk out of my comfort zone, and start to work as a full time freelance designer.\u00a0 At that time, I did not think deep on how to set up a design business, no planning, no researching, no risk estimating, no cost-calculating, I just start doing it….<\/p>\n

Although day 1 of my business, I only have one client (yes! ONE!), I gradually build up my clientele for the past 6 years.\u00a0 At this moment, I am happy for what I have attained\u2026enough business to keep myself busy Mon-Fri 9-6.\u00a0 As a full time freelance designer working in home office, I keep myself in a rigid yet flexible work schedule – work diligently during office hours, but try not to work at night or weekends.\u00a0 Now I can spend more quality time with my partner and family to enjoy the every taste of life through traveling, cooking, reading and movies…..<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

2. How did you become interested in design?<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I was young, I never envisioned myself as a lawyer, a judge or big company CEO, and there\u2019s no artistic gene from both side of my parent\u2019s family.\u00a0 I was a pretty independent kid \"\"<\/a>when I was young, and I would find myself watching TV most of the time in my childhood.\u00a0\u00a0 As I was so into TV, I would draw the costume of the people in the ancient TV series and develop story lines for the characters just as you see on a comic book. I think this is the very first trigger of my imagination and creativity. During summer of primary school years, I attended drawing course and I found myself enjoying it very much as it gave me the freedom to express myself rather than being passively taught in routine school lessons.<\/p>\n

In high school, I learned fundamental drawing skills and design theory (lines, shapes, visual balance …etc) in art lessons.\u00a0\u00a0 Teachers will also show us works of famous artist (that\u2019s when I first met Vincent Van Gogh).\u00a0 During high school summers, I also enrolled myself in various drawing classes (pencil, charcoal, all sorts of medium…) and I would visit art galleries in my spare time to see different artists’ works. After I completed my high school studies, one of my classmates asked me to go for a design course interview with her.\u00a0 I knew nothing about furthering my studies at that time, and I had absolutely no idea about the interview, I just brought with me a few drawings and art\"\"<\/a>work from design course and high school.\u00a0 During the admission interview, I was surrounded by 3-4 design professors and they were asking me questions about 3D form?? balance composition??? which I have absolutely no idea how to answer …haha…luckily, they accepted my application.<\/p>\n

The 2 years design diploma really opened up my eyes; it gave me an invaluable opportunity to see and experience what \u201cart and design\u201d really means.\u00a0 All the art history lessons, design theories, artwork critics, tutor and people I met in there help me to build my foundation.\u00a0 I enjoyed projects that explored different medium, I was amazed to see how elements communicate through different forms.\u00a0 After the diploma, I continued onto a 3-year B.A. Graphic Design and Communication Studies.\u00a0 By then, I had a much clearer picture of how I will develop my interest into my future career.<\/p>\n

3. Wh<\/strong>ich of your designs are your favorites and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s really hard to select a favorites design.\u00a0 I see all designs as a process rather than a single end product.\u00a0 I enjoy all design process, no matter it\u2019s a quick-and-easy job or an unlimited-revision-job.\u00a0 If I really have to pick, LXIT logo and Alliance Technology website would be my choices, simply beca\"\"<\/a>use I enjoyed the design process of both projects. The design process for these projects was a self discovery journey, I learnt something new and I pushed my limits to new level.\u00a0 The clients also played a great part in making them enjoyable to work on, they have perfectionists\u2019 standards, good sense of aesthetic appreciation, and a respectful heart to designer.\u00a0 These projects process made myself become more detail-oriented, patient and constantly reminds me of leaving my comfort zone for new possibilities in design solutions.<\/p>\n

4. <\/strong>Who\/what are some of the biggest influences on your design work?<\/strong>
\nAll creative people around the world is my muse.\u00a0 I saw lots of great design works from magazines, books and online (thanks internet!), no matter it\u2019s print ads, logos, websites, illustrations or product design.\u00a0 I think anything, in whatever format they are, communicates well with the audiences, is a piece we should look up to.\u00a0\u00a0 A good design(er), is more than visually appealing, it\u2019s their concept, idea, development, execution, and combination of all of elements.\u00a0 Recently, I especially enjoy doing logo design projects, because it\u2019s a good challenge for me to use minimal, compact elements to execute ideas for one\u2019s branding image.<\/p>\n

5. How do you come up with ideas for concepts after you read a buyer’s creative brief?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I will read the project brief again and again, and narrow it down to keywords.\u00a0 Then I will do my initial brainstorming in rough sketch followed by research online for client\u2019s business \"\"<\/a>background and competitors\u2019 information. Communicate with clients for parts that I don\u2019t understand and request additional files especially their branding guideline if available. Refine sketches and tested on computer with colours, further developed it by detailing individual element.<\/p>\n

There are always more than one project happening in the same day for me and I have every brief in my head, while doing research for project A, something might be useful for any process of project B\/C\/D.\u00a0 I will always keep my eyes, mind and heart open.\u00a0 And most importantly(!!!), whenever stuck or running out of creative juice, do something else….go get mail, talk to your pet, log on facebook, take a 5-10 mins break.\u00a0 You\u2019ll never know what or who will inspire you to get that creative solution when you do these things.<\/p>\n

6. Mac or PC? <\/strong><\/p>\n

I’m a Mac user, not because its look good or its trendy, simply because I have been using it for almost 15 years.\u00a0 I did start as a PC user with the monochrome monitor (gift from my mom), but soon after I began to study design, I bought my first Mac (Power Macintosh 7600?). Currently, I am using iMac as \"\"<\/a>my projects do not involved any 3D render, video and sound editing, so its good enough for me.\u00a0 Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, Flash and Dreamweaver are softwares I use on daily basis.\u00a0 Also, there\u2019s always a pencil and piles of one-sided print recycle paper under my keyboard for brainstorming and sketching.<\/p>\n

7. What is your dream design project?<\/strong>
\nMy dream project is not a single one, but to see a single small design project developed to a series of inter-related campaign.\u00a0 I enjoy seeing myself, my design product and the client inter-play and make meanings out of each other.<\/p>\n

8. How do you promote your work?<\/strong>
\nI don’t normally promote myself, not even on Facebook.\u00a0 But I am active in small business forums and in submitting to design competitions and websites like crowdSPRING to increase exposure. I do have my own website, if you want to see my work, feel free to visit me at www.nutscreative.com<\/p>\n

9. Please describe your typical work day.<\/strong>
\nI wake up around 7:30 during weekdays, enjoy my breakfast and read newspaper, then start \"\"<\/a>working at 9am (freelancer really need some discipline!), reply email, facebook…etc. Normally Monday is the busiest day because I need to plan my week\u2019s schedule and see if there\u2019s any client meeting or project deadline. I will prioritize all projects and follow up on any unfinished jobs from last week.\u00a0 Work industriously throughout the day; lunch at 2p, coffee break at 3p, wrap up jobs at around 5:30p, prepare dinner at 6p. On Fridays, I will try to wrap up all jobs so the next Monday I can start something new. I don’t work during weekends (except rush job) because I really want to get a good balance of life and work (perhaps I should work 3.5 days per week to get a balance…haha). I really feel grateful for my full time freelance status, because I can have vacation anytime (no approval required!) \ud83d\ude00
\n
\n10. What are other ways you use your creativity?<\/strong>
\nDefinitely cooking and baking!! Thanks for my high school cookery lessons, I have a firm foundation in both.\u00a0 I like explore and twist ingredients to do some experimental dish (but I \"\"<\/a>tried to adhere to the basic recipes when I bake, as baking is more like science, and there is formula needed to follow to create a basic genoise)…most of the time results are good but occasional failure became a force for me to experiment further, to keep me going!
\n
\n11. If you weren\u2019t designing, what would you be doing?<\/strong>
\nIf I am not a designer, I would definitely be a chef.\u00a0 Cooking and design shares so many similarities.\u00a0 You apply passionate, creative process to \u201craw materials\u201d, after process, you created a product (a design, a dish) that is synthesis of your technical knowledge, aesthetic sense, presentation skills, little marketing sense, and mostly your creativity.\u00a0 I found the process of both design & cooking very fulfilling, very enjoyable.
\n
\n12. What do you do with your free time?<\/strong>
\nI use my spare time to do lots of things: eating, cooking, reading, watching movies, traveling, paying attention to small things around me.\u00a0 I enjoying try out different restaurants (from $$$$ to $), I wouldn’t just go to fancy restaurants; sometimes I rather enjoy eating in suburban restaurants, because I actually find I get more out of it as I expect nothing from them.<\/p>\n

I also enjoy traveling, no matter it\u2019s a short road trip to Montreal, a 7-days-Europe-trip or a 3-weeks-Asia-trip; I enjoyed every single one of them.\u00a0 Going to anywhere is good, because every trip is a unique experience, just like any design process.<\/p>\n

____________________<\/p>\n

Thanks, Carmen!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING community. For these interviews, we pick people who add value to our community \u2013 in the blog, in the forums, in the projects. Plainly \u2013 activities that make crowdSPRING a better community. Be professional, treat others with respect, help us build something very special, and we\u2019ll take notice. We\u2019re very proud to feature Carmen Tsang (crowdSPRING username: heyheykermit) today. Carmen lives and works in Markham, Ontario,Canada. 1. Please tell us about yourself. Hey all…it\u2019s really excited to be interviewed by crowdSPRING…and it\u2019s actually my very first blog interview, so really looking forward seeing it go live.\u00a0 Let\u2019s get the ball rolling… My name is Carmen Tsang, I was born in Hong Kong and move to Canada for good about 10 years ago after I completed my degree in education. My DECISION to move to a country with a whole new culture and lifestyle was tough (start everything from zero??) but I told myself to give a try while I am still young, so, at that time I bought a one way air ticket, and off I go….til now, 10 years later still residing in Canada.\u00a0 I knew that there\u2019s no harm even I couldn\u2019t make it at that time (just an experience), i still remember my tutor once said, “no matter what you do…aiming for the best, preparing for the worse.” Without any local experience my first job in Canada was a home decor assistant, luckily after 2 months, on the day of my first birthday in Canada I got a full time job offer as graphic designer.\u00a0 In 4 years\u2019 time, I gradually worked my way up to the art director level, overseeing the design department and lead a team of 4 designers and freelancers.\u00a0 While everything seems so perfect (stable job & income), me, a workaholic, found myself trapped in the imbalance of work and personal life.\u00a0 I feel torn and I made another DECISION.\u00a0 I quit the full time job, walk out of my comfort zone, and start to work as a full time freelance designer.\u00a0 At that time, I did not think deep on how to set up a design business, no planning, no researching, no risk estimating, no cost-calculating, I just start doing it…. Although day 1 of my business, I only have one client (yes! ONE!), I gradually build up my clientele for the past 6 years.\u00a0 At this moment, I am happy for what I have attained\u2026enough business to keep myself busy Mon-Fri 9-6.\u00a0 As a full time freelance designer working in home office, I keep myself in a rigid yet flexible work schedule – work diligently during office hours, but try not to work at night or weekends.\u00a0 Now I can spend more quality time with my partner and family to enjoy the every taste of life through traveling, cooking, reading and movies…..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":8716,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3158],"tags":[3183],"class_list":["post-8714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other","tag-interviews"],"yoast_head":"\n12 Questions: Meet Carmen Tsang (Canada) - crowdspring Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"12 Questions: Meet Carmen Tsang (Canada) - crowdspring Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING community. 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For these interviews, we pick people who add value to our community \u2013 in the blog, in the forums, in the projects. Plainly \u2013 activities that make crowdSPRING a better community. Be professional, treat others with respect, help us build something very special, and we\u2019ll take notice. We\u2019re very proud to feature Carmen Tsang (crowdSPRING username: heyheykermit) today. Carmen lives and works in Markham, Ontario,Canada. 1. Please tell us about yourself. Hey all…it\u2019s really excited to be interviewed by crowdSPRING…and it\u2019s actually my very first blog interview, so really looking forward seeing it go live.\u00a0 Let\u2019s get the ball rolling… My name is Carmen Tsang, I was born in Hong Kong and move to Canada for good about 10 years ago after I completed my degree in education. My DECISION to move to a country with a whole new culture and lifestyle was tough (start everything from zero??) but I told myself to give a try while I am still young, so, at that time I bought a one way air ticket, and off I go….til now, 10 years later still residing in Canada.\u00a0 I knew that there\u2019s no harm even I couldn\u2019t make it at that time (just an experience), i still remember my tutor once said, “no matter what you do…aiming for the best, preparing for the worse.” Without any local experience my first job in Canada was a home decor assistant, luckily after 2 months, on the day of my first birthday in Canada I got a full time job offer as graphic designer.\u00a0 In 4 years\u2019 time, I gradually worked my way up to the art director level, overseeing the design department and lead a team of 4 designers and freelancers.\u00a0 While everything seems so perfect (stable job & income), me, a workaholic, found myself trapped in the imbalance of work and personal life.\u00a0 I feel torn and I made another DECISION.\u00a0 I quit the full time job, walk out of my comfort zone, and start to work as a full time freelance designer.\u00a0 At that time, I did not think deep on how to set up a design business, no planning, no researching, no risk estimating, no cost-calculating, I just start doing it…. Although day 1 of my business, I only have one client (yes! ONE!), I gradually build up my clientele for the past 6 years.\u00a0 At this moment, I am happy for what I have attained\u2026enough business to keep myself busy Mon-Fri 9-6.\u00a0 As a full time freelance designer working in home office, I keep myself in a rigid yet flexible work schedule – work diligently during office hours, but try not to work at night or weekends.\u00a0 Now I can spend more quality time with my partner and family to enjoy the every taste of life through traveling, cooking, reading and movies…..","og_url":"https:\/\/www.crowdspring.com\/blog\/12-questions-meet-carmen-tsang-canada\/","og_site_name":"crowdspring Blog","article_published_time":"2010-09-15T15:06:42+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-05-09T19:22:05+00:00","og_image":[{"width":500,"height":500,"url":"https:\/\/images.crowdspring.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/27132546\/heyheykermitimage.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Audree Rowe","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Audree Rowe","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.crowdspring.com\/blog\/12-questions-meet-carmen-tsang-canada\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.crowdspring.com\/blog\/12-questions-meet-carmen-tsang-canada\/"},"author":{"name":"Audree Rowe","@id":"https:\/\/www.crowdspring.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e760b1bf80312ccf92579407a3f18193"},"headline":"12 Questions: Meet Carmen Tsang (Canada)","datePublished":"2010-09-15T15:06:42+00:00","dateModified":"2022-05-09T19:22:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.crowdspring.com\/blog\/12-questions-meet-carmen-tsang-canada\/"},"wordCount":2029,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.crowdspring.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.crowdspring.com\/blog\/12-questions-meet-carmen-tsang-canada\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/images.crowdspring.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/27132546\/heyheykermitimage.jpg","keywords":["Interviews"],"articleSection":["Other"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.crowdspring.com\/blog\/12-questions-meet-carmen-tsang-canada\/","url":"https:\/\/www.crowdspring.com\/blog\/12-questions-meet-carmen-tsang-canada\/","name":"12 Questions: Meet Carmen Tsang (Canada) - 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