Multi-talented artist Diem Quynh: From the streets of Vietnam to the New York subway

When starting to make a videoAny Other Way,Multidisciplinary artist and designer Diem Quynh has only one goal: to tell a cultural story through images, bringing the Vietnamese spirit into the midst of New York life.

The result is a work that combines graphic language, animation and music - both magical and thought-provoking - and was honored with a Gold Award.Indigo Designin the categoryMixed Media/Motion Images).

Vietnamese Soul in the Heart of New York

Artist Diem Quynh’s idea comes from the East-West fusion, an element that has shaped most of her works. Inspired by familiar street food stalls in Hanoi, Diem Quynh imagines the scene appearing in a New York subway station. This strange combination evokes the feeling of “not completely belonging to any place” - a common feeling of many immigrant artists - but at the same time is a “love letter to New York, the city that harmonizes all differences”, as she shared.

Behind the magic is a meticulous amount of manual work: 118 typography segments were hand-photographed from New York street signs, processed, and animated to simulate the rhythm of a typewriter. "In an age where AI makes everything faster, I wanted this product to retain a handmade feel because culture is born from human hands," Diem Quynh said.

The art of enhancing brand value

Currently based in New York, Diem Quynh is a brand identity and advertising campaign designer for many large clients. Along with commercial projects, she still persists in personal creations associated with culture. For Diem Quynh, art and branding are not opposites but complement each other.

"On my first day of school, my professor said that graphic designers are not artists. When I entered the corporate world, I understood that was true: commercial design requires clarity, compliance and consistency. But if you understand the business goals, designers can still turn beauty into an effective brand storytelling tool," Diem Quynh shared.

Projects she has worked on, such as rebranding Hudson Square, a creative neighborhood in Manhattan, and rebranding the Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium with the Wildlife Conservation Society, demonstrate her ability to combine art and communication strategy. In Hudson Square, her witty posters have transformed a little-known neighborhood into a source of pride for the young creative community.

Multi-talented, multi-disciplinary and always returning to culture

For Diem Quynh, the artistic journey always goes hand in hand with a sense of social responsibility. Her projects, whether commercial or personal, all have one thing in common: bringing culture into design to create emotional connections.

“The designer doesn't always have a voice, but when I see in a brand the traces of a creative hand, mind, heart, past and love – I know the art is still there,” she says.

From the streets of Hanoi to the New York subway, from international brand projects to award-winning personal videos, Diem Quynh demonstrates the power of combination: artistic beauty, artisanal precision and brand vision. It is also the journey for the name Diem Quynh Tran to be mentioned as a multidisciplinary artist, an "art engineer" bringing Vietnamese soul to the world.