Artist and journalist Le Tien Vuong: Perhaps it was the design that chose me.

- Dear artist Le Tien Vuong, after nearly 40 years of working in graphic design, what makes you still keep the passion for your profession so persistent?

- Besides painting, design is not just a job, it is my passion that is not easy to put into words, it is not an exaggeration to say that design chose me.

Previously, when I was studying painting, the border war broke out. I joined the army and was assigned to work as a cultural soldier in the Propaganda Department of Division 10. Here, the unit leaders always “ordered” me to draw posters about unit movements, draw monumental paintings about the history and traditions of the division, draw propaganda and decorative paintings… Everything was hand-drawn, many large paintings took up the entire gable of the house. Artist Le Tam (currently at the People’s Police Newspaper) and I together placed barrels and ladders to sketch and color with long bamboo sticks tied to brushes…

When I was discharged from the army and returned to work at the Hanoi Food Factory, I was again ordered to design packaging for each candy package, each cake box... Reality brought me into simple graphic art, from the biggest to the smallest.

Later, after graduating from the Graphic Design Department of the University of Industrial Fine Arts, I took the entrance exam to become a graphic designer for the Young Pioneer Newspaper. Here, I really embarked on the path of a professional graphic designer, having to read and study a lot on my own. I participated in short-term training courses of the Vietnam Journalists Association on creating style and style in press and publishing design taught by experts from Sweden, France, etc. I have a fully equipped design room at home to carry out all kinds of complete design contracts, from simple to complex.

I always consider each design as an opportunity to convey the message, passion, difference, uniqueness of beauty, usefulness to customers, readers, viewers. It can be called "a profession with a silent mission".

The feeling when I see a newspaper or book cover I designed is appreciated by readers, or a logo I drew becomes a brand symbol, is indescribable and irreplaceable. Although technology has changed a lot, I still keep the excitement every time I start a new design. The feeling of "breathing life and immersing myself" into each line, each block, each color, so that they can speak a thousand words, that is what keeps me in the design profession forever.

- As the Head of the Graphics Association 2, Vietnam Fine Arts Association, on the occasion of the exhibition "Cover design art - Vietnamese books, newspapers and magazines 2025", could you please share the role of cover design in a printed publication?

- A successful cover design is not simply beautiful, but must be good, unique, attractive, express the spirit of the work, and be suitable for the target readers. Many people do not understand and may take this "visual packaging" part lightly, but I think the opposite: Cover design is the soul of the publication.

At this exhibition, besides the selected book, newspaper and magazine cover designs of many generations of designers, there are also portraits, names and addresses of them. Many artists will be present throughout the exhibition to participate in exchanges and discussions about their profession, many good and interesting stories about the profession will be exchanged frankly and attractively. This is an opportunity for readers and students from all over to come and exchange and learn.

- Having drawn illustrations, comics, designed book covers, newspapers, political posters..., how do you feel about the transformation of Vietnamese design over time?

- It is a long, multi-layered, multi-layered journey like an endurance relay race with many twists and turns, many ups and downs but always moving forward. During the subsidy period, design tended to be propaganda, concise, succinct, minimalist, with few colors, but with deep ideas. When the country innovated, digital media was born, design began to expand towards the market, aesthetics, multi-effect, multi-layer and promotion increased.

In recent years, thanks to technology and cultural exchange, Vietnamese design has gradually regained its identity, harmonizing tradition and modernity. I see that many young people today are very talented, creative, and bold, and they will be the generation that quickly integrates into the graphic design industry in the region and the world. A few things to note for young people are to maintain the "cultural roots, national soul" in visual thinking, language, and visual structure, and not just follow techniques, "follow trends", lack identity and become "similar" to foreign designs.

- What do you expect from this exhibition, as well as the future of Vietnamese graphic design?

- I hope the exhibition will be a place to honor the value of the design profession - especially cover design and publications, which have long been behind the halo of authors. As for the future, I believe in the young generation. They have talent, have tools, they just need to be given the opportunity and the right direction. Design is not just the profession of drawing, designing - but the profession of thinking, of storytelling, of visual discourse. And I hope that Vietnam will have more and more stories told completely, starting with a beautiful cover.

Thank you for your heartfelt sharing!

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/hoa-si-nha-bao-le-tien-vuong-co-le-chinh-thiet-ke-da-chon-toi-705628.html