Dolly Vu
Graphic Designer
Homepage: http://dollyvu.blogspot.com/
Feature By: Jonathan Earley
MP3:
Bold and playful is how her style has been described. Dolly Vu is a freelance graphic designer in Minneapolis or the "graphic design Mecca of the Midwest" as she coins it. While she loves her current dwelling among some of the countries best graphic design firms, she still feels a tugging at her heart to return to her roots in Columbus and make it a better place.
C-buz: What makes the music and art scene so awesome [in Minneapolis]?
Dolly Vu: The venues are awesome.
CB: Do you think it's possible for Columbus to have an art scene anywhere close to [Minneapolis]?
DV: Since Columbus is small in comparison to Minneapolis, and with the economy ... people are trying to find ways to survive. So, if there's an attraction here, people will move here, and even in Minneapolis, people talk about Columbus because of the architecture. I'm surprised people even know this place exists. When I was living here, I took this place for granted a lot, and now that I've come back, I just have a greater appreciation for it - for what the city has to offer.
CB: What are the things you took for granted about Columbus that you now appreciate?
DV: Just how nice the city is. The Irwin family contributing some much, in terms of the architecture, and the arts. If you look back at the history of it, they did so much, and I didn't realize that. Then, I go to other smaller cities, and they don't have anything. There's nothing going on with them.
I kind of felt like, ever since I was living here, I want to make this place better. And I moved away, I kept thinking "what if I move back home?" I want a good design firm here, separate from the Republic, not Tony London. Tony London is amazing, but [I want] something different.
CB: Describe your work, and what's your inspiration, and what kind of vibe you're trying to emote.
DV: I like minimal, kind of simplistic designs. I get a lot of my inspiration from Paul Ran and Saul Bass as well. Paul Ran did the Cummins logo and the Tipton Lakes logo. So, he had a lot of influence here too, which ... peeks my interest in graphic design. It's awesome, I live in a city that Paul Ran did designs for.
As far as my work for other people, I apply my own personality to it, but it's not like it's the same for every project. So, I'm kind of picky when it comes to that, where it has to make sense [and] be meaningful in some way.
Other people describe my work as "bold" and "playful".
CB: Describe your project, Develop (DVLP)
It started out as a senior project. Initially I started off just wanting to make pillows and stuff, and then my professor was like "No, you have to do something more meaningful." So, since Minneapolis is such a "green" city, I just thought "why not make a sustainability program for teenagers. The whole thing revolved around consumerism, and how teenagers are really vulnerable to advertising, but they can't because of the economy, since a lot of people have been fired. So, they have to find alternatives to get what they want or need.
[Minneapolis'] goal is to be and feel more authentic, so by making things themselves, it feels better. It's just a feel-good activity.
“I always get a really good feeling when I make things myself.”
This project is a guide book for teens with 10 projects in the book, and lists places where they can learn to screen print or to sew.
CB: Any advice for designers in Columbus?
DV: Go out, go to other schools if you want, but come back. Give something back to the community that you grew up in.