My Linh Mac

Specialized in Packaging Design.

My Linh Mac

About My Linh Mac

My Linh Mac is an award-winning graphic designer who specializes in creating brand identity, and strategy development through original visual concepts across numerous platforms, including digital, print, and social media. With over 7 years of expertise, Mac has worked with many brands including SCOPE, Darryll Schiff Fine Art, Tigerkubz, Amazon Kindle, and SHEIN -the biggest online clothing retailer in the world. Mac's artistic creations can be found in galleries, institutional art museums, art hotels, and numerous private collections all over the United States and in over 9 other countries. Mac currently serves as a jury member for more than 8 international Art & Design Awards across the globe, including the Creative Communication Award (C2A) in LA, the Communicator Award, W3 Award, and Davey Award presented by the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts (AIVA) in New York City, and more. To learn more about her current participation in the World Guinness Record Exhibition- BE ** PART organized by the Atelier Montez Gallery in Rome, Italy, visit her website: www.mylinhmac.com

  • Winner of the A' Design Award.
  • Specialized in Packaging Design.
  • Original Design.
  • Creative, Diligent and Innovative.
  • All Designs
  • Packaging
Co Ba Coffee Packaging Design

Co Ba Coffee Packaging Design

Packaging Design

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Interview with My Linh Mac

Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?
I was fortunate to find my calling and passion for the art at a very young age and have my family's support to pursue art education in different countries such as Singapore, South Australia and Midwest USA. Until when I attended university, I was inspired and warmly welcomed to the design community and found my new passion for design. It was challenging to balance both professional fields at first and still now but at the same time, it feels rewarding to be where I am at today.
Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
NA, I represent myself for this competition but it one of my ambitious career goals to run my own reasonable- size design company in the near future.
What is "design" for you?
To me, design is a language of its own, this language ‘translates and transform’ creative ideas to reality.
What kinds of works do you like designing most?
Branding and packaging design are my main interest and focus, but I am open-minded about trying new design media/platforms.
What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
I found myself drawn into design that has personality besides high quality presentation and functionalities.
What was the first thing you designed for a company?
NA, I worked with private clients and educational institutions so far.
What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
It’s a tricky question, I value both traditional aspect of hand-made and the latest technology has to offer.
When do you feel the most creative?
Open space studio during daytime with a lot of natural lighting, I really enjoy positive energy from spaces like local coffee shops too.
Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
All the details that regard functionalities, storytelling components and personality/characters.
What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
It’s a big mix of all emotions and excitement stood out the most, I'm doing what make me happy afterall.
What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
I feel accomplished, joy and grateful when my creative receives positive recognition.
What makes a design successful?
In my humble opinion: Functionalities, Storytelling components and Personality/characters.
From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
It’s varied from project to project, some projects have more or less creative freedom. With projects that give me more creative freedom, I personally prefer to invested more time on strategizing how to deliver more positive messages (more in humanity aspect rather than political aspects) through my designs.
How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
Constantly evolving with many surprise elements inspired by cultural diversity.
When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
My last exhibition was in Chicago and Mission Viejo California earlier this Spring and my next exhibition will be at Czong Institute of Contemporary Art Museum in Gimpo-South Korea this Fall.
Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
My inspirations come from many places, countries I traveled to, cultural values and other creatives individuals/experts that I looked up to from around the world.
How would you describe your design style? What made you explore more this style and what are the main characteristics of your style? What's your approach to design?
I would word my design style as ‘catchy, refreshing, sophisticate and conceptually artistic’
Where do you live? Do you feel the cultural heritage of your country affects your designs? What are the pros and cons during designing as a result of living in your country?
I currently based in Chicago- USA, before that, I grew up in Australia, Singapore and Vietnam. There are pros and cons for growing up in 3 different continents of course, they enrich my knowledge and experience with other cultures. Unfortunately, at the same, being abroad for so long somehow ‘thin out’ my bond with my true root and heritage as Vietnamese, but then because of that it make me treasure my childhood memories and my family in Vietnam more.
Can you talk a little about your design process?
I can sum it up that it's a long process which involve resilient, patience with brainstorming, testing, trials, evaluation, adjustment, problem solving to get your works reaching its best stage/form.
Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
Stay organize, stay consistent on learning new things with open mind.
From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
Coming from creative background as artist, there are less room for creative freedom with being a designer, but I don't see it as a negative thing at all.
Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
I work with 9 different adobe software and Maya AutoDesk, I aim to learn more software outside of the adobe suite to expand my horizon.
Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
My tips are: 1) Pre-plan a schedule and give yourself deadlines for each design/production stages to stay on track. 2) Allow yourself as much time possible to review, revise your design at it final stages. 3) If possible, allow yourself to have a few daybreaks between final editing, this way, you can review your works in a fresher set of minds. 4) It is always helpful to have constructive criticism 5) Communication is key.
How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
It is depending on the project size, members involved and requirements, small projects usually take me 1-3 weeks to complete with client’s approval, while big branding projects can take up to 6 months.
What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
“What can we do to take it to the next level?” is my favorite question.
What was your most important job experience?
On site observation and getting advices from the experts helped me grow tragically
What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
I enjoy work that have fun/playful theme and concepts that provide rooms for creative freedom.
What are your future plans? What is next for you?
I have many plans and international collaborations is the most immediate one right now.
Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
I am currently working on a branding project for a start-up art gallery in Chicago.

Designer of the Day Interview with My Linh Mac

Could you please tell us about your experience as a designer, artist, architect or creator?
I have been an artist my whole life and a visual designer for almost 7 years now. I received my art education from places all over the world, I have a bachelor degree in Fine Art and Digital Media from Valparaiso University and a master degree on Art Education from one of the best art school in the world- School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
How did you become a designer?
I was fortunate to find my calling and passion for the art at a very young age and have my family's support to pursue art education in different countries such as Singapore, South Australia and the United State. Until when I attended university, I was inspired and warmly welcomed to the design community and found my new passion for design. It was challenging to balance both professional fields at first and still now but at the same time, it feels rewarding to be where I am at today.
What are your priorities, technique and style when designing?
My 3 main principles of design are aesthetic, functionality and characteristic. It's quite similar with my artist principle as a artist but with more creative freedom. I usually started with sketches, the majority of the process was rely adobe software. I occasionally use 3D render software in between mock up to have the best presentation for the final designs.
Which emotions do you feel when designing?
For me, the first steps are usually the most challenging part, once you grasp the idea, things get more interesting and fun from there. I took pleasure from stretching all possibilities with the designs elements within certain design concepts.
What particular aspects of your background shaped you as a designer?
Yes, my background as an artist has major influence on my creative practice as designer. My other non-creative skills such as event planner, teaching and learning different languages and world traveling also shape me as visual designer as well.
What is your growth path? What are your future plans? What is your dream design project?
My future plan is to start up my design firm that contribute to the local communities such as promoting environmental sustainability while continued teaching art and design classes at college levels. My on-going plan is to become a well-established artist with institutional exhibitions around the world.
What are your advices to designers who are at the beginning of their career?
I want to share some useful design tips for young designers out there. My tips are: 1) Pre-plan a schedule and give yourself deadlines for each design/production stages to stay on track. 2) Allow yourself as much time possible to review, revise your design at it final stages. 3) If possible, allow yourself to have a few daybreaks between final editing, this way, you can review your works in a fresher set of minds. 4) It is always helpful to have constructive criticism 5) Communication is key. It takes time and efforts to establish self-discipline and pick up ethical habits such as time management but in the long run, you would have more time and room to improve, explore more possibilities of your craftsmanship rather than wasting time fixing errors that could have been easily avoid.
You are truly successful as a designer, what do you suggest to fellow designers, artists and architects?
To my fellow designers out there, no matter what your experience level are, your mistakes are your best teacher, be sure to make the best out of these blessing in disguise. Most important, stay consistent with learning new things with positive attitudes and open-mind.
What is your day to day look like?
I usually plan ahead, for each weeks, set 2 to 3 big goals and many mini goals for each days as steps to achieve those big goals by the end of the week. My work hours and paces are different everyday but I make sure to make time to de-process and relax by exercises, this help not only with physical wellness but also give designer to have a clearer view after taking a few steps back to see the bigger picture. On slow days, I invest more time to research on ideas and making sure I spent my time efficiently.
Who is your favourite designer?
Marta Veludo, Ben Grandgenett, Jessica Walsh and Lauren Hom are my recent top favorite. I did not get a chance to meet them yet.
Would you tell us a bit about your lifestyle and culture?
I currently based in Chicago- United State, before that, I grew up in Australia, Singapore and Vietnam. There are pros and cons for growing up in 3 different continents of course, they enrich my knowledge and experience with other cultures. Unfortunately, at the same, being abroad for so long somehow ‘thin out’ my bond with my true root and heritage as Vietnamese.
Would you tell us more about your work culture and business philosophy?
I work solo and occasionally as a team. My ideal designer partner is someone who are opening minded and transparent. I know that having a partner could be challenging sometime when it comes to creative differences and communication but when designers with positive attitude and share the same value of delivering high-quality of bodyworks, partnerships are window of opportunity for peer learning and personal growth for any creative individuals.
What are your philanthropic contributions to society as a designer, artist and architect?
In my humble opinion, my contribution to the design world are though my role as art educator. By inspiring and showing the future designer the humanitarian projects, I think we can better the world as a community in a long run.
What positive experiences you had when you attend the A’ Design Award?
It really a great learning experience for me, it opened my mind and inspire me to push myself even further as a designer. Secondly, as one of the winners of this year, I am very grateful for the institutional/professional recognition, it the best kind of motivation that any designer could ever ask for. I am thrilled about being on your featured designers.

Extended Interview with My Linh Mac

Could you please tell us about your experience as a designer, artist, architect or creator?
I was fortunate to find my calling and passion for the art at a very young age and have my family's support to pursue art education in different countries such as Singapore, South Australia and the United State. I have a bachelor’s degree in art from Valparaiso University and a master’s degree in art education at School of Art Institute of Chicago. I can summarize that I have been an artist my whole life with over 7 years of experience as designer.
How did you become a designer?
Until when I attended university, I was inspired and warmly welcomed to the design community in the United States and found my new passion for design. It was challenging to balance both professional fields as artist and designer but at the same time, very rewarding to be where I am at today.
What is your growth path? What are your future plans? What is your dream design project?
Great learning mentality and self-discipline, knowing your voice, positive attitude and open minded.
What are your advices to designers who are at the beginning of their career?
There are many components that make a good design. In my humble opinion, aesthetic, functionalities, storytelling components, personality/characters are the keys.
You are truly successful as a designer, what do you suggest to fellow designers, artists and architects?
[Refer to previous answer] To me, design is a language of its own, this language ‘translates’ creative ideas to reality, hence, good design delivers the message/translate ideas more vividly.
What is your day to day look like?
I am particularly interest in branding design campaign that support start-up business and established business that related to the art, as well as projects that promote and raise awareness about environmental sustainability.
How do you keep up with latest design trends? To what extent do design trends matter?
My dream project would be collaborating with big name companies. I think any designers out there can related to this.
How do you know if a product or project is well designed? How do you define good design?
Stay organize, stay consistent on learning new things with open mind.
How do you decide if your design is ready?
Marta Veludo, Ben Grandgenett, Jessica Walsh and Lauren Hom are the first few names pop up first, there are so many talented designers that I admire as well.
What is your biggest design work?
[Refer to previous answer] I like how their works are simple, yet sophisticated, playful and catchy.
Who is your favourite designer?
[Too broad to answer] I think designing packaging for Japanese cosmetic brand is my best work by far.
Would you tell us a bit about your lifestyle and culture?
In my opinion, no matter of what professional level you are at, time management and communication are ‘easy to say than do’ skills and tasks to tackle. It takes time and efforts to improve these self-disciplinary areas, once you establish good self-discipline, you have more time and room to improve, explore more possibilities of your craftsmanship rather than wasting time fixing errors that could have been easily avoid by good habits.
Would you tell us more about your work culture and business philosophy?
Anything that involve creativity and inspiring others. My wilder thought would be a fitness instructor and business owner.
What are your philanthropic contributions to society as a designer, artist and architect?
To me, design is a language of its own, this language ‘translates and transform’ creative ideas to reality.
What positive experiences you had when you attend the A’ Design Award?
My family, adviser and colleagues play major roles in my success as my emotional support.

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