{"id":687,"date":"2017-01-11T15:09:25","date_gmt":"2017-01-11T15:09:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/career.adobeawards.com\/?p=687"},"modified":"2017-02-28T13:26:46","modified_gmt":"2017-02-28T13:26:46","slug":"conversation-with-adaa-finalist-martin-hoang","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/career.adobeawards.com\/?p=687","title":{"rendered":"Conversation with ADAA Finalist Martin Hoang: Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ADAA-Teaser-Martin-Hoang\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

ADAA 2016 Commercial Photography Finalist Martin Hoang<\/em><\/a> stopped by Adobe\u2019s San Francisco offices to catch up about his recent graduation from Cal State University East Bay, beginning his job search, and the role the ADAA and his trip to Adobe MAX have played in launching his career. <\/em><\/p>\n


\n\"Martin-Hoang-Interview\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ADOBE:<\/strong> You just graduated \u2014 congratulations! Tell us about finishing school.<\/p>\n

MARTIN HOANG:<\/strong> Well, after I came back from the ADAA ceremony and Adobe MAX<\/a> , I went straight back to finishing my final project for my BFA. It was hectic, but I was fired up; I had five weeks to get it done. It was a big project \u2014 an entire packaging concept for a fictitious wine company inspired by Homer\u2019s Odyssey, called \u201cSojourn.\u201d<\/p>\n

I took the characteristics of Odysseus, described in the book as the perfect man, and applied these to the perfect wine series instead. The whole concept is very rustic in feel. I even did a photo advertising campaign for it.<\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> You\u2019re blending a lot of media and techniques in \u201cSojourn\u201d; you\u2019re sandblasting, carving boxes by hand, you\u2019re bringing in your photography skills\u2026 Tell us more about what\u2019s behind a project this big.<\/p>\n

MH:<\/strong> Sojourn really played on several disciplines that I consider my strengths. It was a way to showcase my talent in a big way, within a single portfolio piece. Usually when you get hired to do client work, you\u2019re more restricted to what the client wants. I really wanted to complete a personal project like this that highlighted my interests and what I personally enjoy. On top of all that, seeing it come to life was awesome.<\/p>\n

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

Browse the project on Behance<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> Passion projects are so important in landing your dream job. We consistently encourage students through the ADAA to find a way to do the work they want<\/em> to get hired for, even if they aren\u2019t getting paid for it yet. It sounds like you\u2019ve already figured that out.<\/p>\n

MH:<\/strong> I had been freelancing a lot these past few years, but the longer I freelanced, the more I realized I wasn\u2019t giving myself enough space and time to develop my own style and explore my own passions. I was getting burned out creatively, so I focused harder on my BFA and used my schoolwork to explore and exercise my creativity. I took a trip to Europe last year with my family, and met my French uncles that had a passion for wine. I learned quite a bit through them and from there this project just took off. I\u2019ve been working on it basically ever since that trip.<\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> It\u2019s impressive. And you say you\u2019re not a drinker, but you really nailed \u201cwine\u201d!<\/p>\n

MH:<\/strong> I\u2019ve been getting that quite a lot recently. It was just pure inspiration. I\u2019ve always been intrigued by wine bottles and their beautiful forms.<\/p>\n

One thing I found interesting is how wine packaging rarely pushes the boundary of the bottle, and I wanted to do something that would do just that.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s this big movement going back to handcrafted goods, and I wanted to push my own boundaries to learn these techniques. I learned how to use a table saw, a sandblaster, belt sander \u2014 basically every tool in the shop.<\/p>\n

Design also has become so digital that a lot of students and designers forget where it came from. Taking it back to the days where you had to do everything physical was both refreshing and eye opening at the same time. It made me understand the value of the tools Adobe has created.<\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> Let\u2019s talk about Adobe MAX. You made the trip this year as an ADAA Finalist. How did that prepare you for this exciting time and everything that happens next?<\/p>\n

MH:<\/strong> MAX was probably the coolest experience I\u2019ve ever had in my life. There were 10,000+ amazing creatives in one place. Probably the highlight for me was actually meeting my idol, [photographer] Joel Grimes<\/a>, who I\u2019ve looked up to forever. I was positively starstruck. I ran into Aaron Draplin<\/a> and the folks from DKNG Studios<\/a>\u2026 It was just amazing. I never imagined being at Adobe MAX. Ever.<\/p>\n

Seeing how big the creative community really is \u2014 that was powerful. That really made an impact on me. It\u2019s scary and awesome at the same time. Definitely inspiring.<\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> We have to know \u2014 what did you say to Joel Grimes when you met him?<\/p>\n

MH:<\/strong> I was babbling like an idiot. He was setting up for a workshop and, luckily, he saw I was a fanboy and made it easy for me to talk to him. He actually had me sit in while he did his lighting set up. I ended up modeling<\/em> for him at the beginning of his workshop! It was so unreal. I got to show him my work. To get validation from my idol \u2014 I mean, it doesn\u2019t get better than that.<\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> Okay, so, you made the ADAA Finals<\/a>, you met your idol, you aced your final project, your BFA is in the bag. You had a pretty good year. What happens now?<\/p>\n

MH:<\/strong> I\u2019m getting my resume and portfolio in shape. I\u2019m thinking hard about what goes into my portfolio. At MAX, I heard a lot from industry professionals and especially during Adobe Career Bootcamp<\/a> about what makes a great portfolio. I feel like I have a better and clearer sense now on what professionals expect of me.<\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> It\u2019s hard to be your own editor; we all struggle with that. But limiting yourself in your portfolio allows your story to shine. How\u2019s your story taking shape so far?<\/p>\n

MH:<\/strong> I\u2019ve been asking a lot of people what they think of my \u201cstory\u201d, and I\u2019ve been going to a lot of portfolio reviews. I recently had one with an alumni of my school who worked as a texture artist at Dreamworks on the movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He told me my work has an unusual balance of polished minimalism and grit to it. I\u2019ve been thinking a lot about that and it\u2019s an interesting paradox. I\u2019m still trying to develop my own story and style, and this paradox might just be it.<\/p>\n

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

Browse the project on Behance
\n<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> Are you nervous at all, as you head out into the \u201creal world\u201d?<\/p>\n

MH:<\/strong> I\u2019m just nervous about getting my foot in the door somewhere. I\u2019ve been freelancing, and working for myself, but really understanding what companies want and expect from a recent grad like me \u2014 that\u2019s what I get nervous about. There are just so many answers; there\u2019s no single route to getting there.<\/p>\n

I guess if it answers your question, I\u2019m not nervous about the work, but the journey of getting there. At this point I know I have to work just as hard as or even harder to get where I want to be. I\u2019ve always had to.<\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> You have so many talents \u2014 what\u2019s your \u201cdream job\u201d?<\/p>\n

MH:<\/strong> I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve figured it out yet. I think it\u2019s just something I can wake up to every morning, and be happy to do it.<\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> Okay \u2014 last question: how will you know when you\u2019ve \u201cmade it\u201d?<\/p>\n

MH:<\/strong> For me, when you get published, that\u2019s how you know. It\u2019s a very good sign. People keep saying print is going away, but for artists I think it only makes it more valuable.<\/p>\n

I want to see my work be featured in print; I want multiple copies, one that I can touch, one that I can hang on the wall\u2026 It\u2019s an award in itself. Being in print is an automatic trophy in my book because it means thousands of people are going to see it.<\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> Sounds like you\u2019re on your way.<\/p>\n

MH:<\/strong> I really hope so!<\/p>\n

\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022<\/p>\n

There\u2019s more, read the next chapter<\/a><\/p>\n

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

ADAA 2016 Commercial Photography Finalist Martin Hoang stopped by Adobe\u2019s San Francisco offices to catch up about his recent graduation from Cal State University East Bay, beginning his job search, and the role the ADAA and his trip to Adobe MAX have played in launching his career.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":697,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[30,41,40,32,43,42],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/career.adobeawards.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/career.adobeawards.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/career.adobeawards.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/career.adobeawards.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/career.adobeawards.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=687"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/career.adobeawards.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":717,"href":"https:\/\/career.adobeawards.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687\/revisions\/717"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/career.adobeawards.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/career.adobeawards.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/career.adobeawards.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/career.adobeawards.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}