Who is the first Vietnamese designer nominated for the prestigious Grammy award?

(Dan Tri) - Duy Dao does not hide the fact that he is a "family heir" as his grandfather and father are both famous artists. He also admits that he is not the best at anything in his family.

Recently, the album Gieo by the band Ngọt was unexpectedly named in the nomination list for the most prestigious music award on the planet - Grammy 2024. The nomination in the category of "Best Boxset or Special Limited Edition Package" was awarded to creative director and designer Duy Dao - who directed the art and design for the album. He is the first Vietnamese person to receive this honor.

Duy Dao and his album "Gieo" were nominated for the 2024 Grammy Awards.

Emotional before hearing the news

Sharing with Dan Tri reporter, Duy Dao said that he is often in a state of being on the verge of emotion. Therefore, even though it was midnight when he heard the news of his Grammy nomination, he still had to run a few laps in the room to celebrate. "At that time, my grandmother, mother and wife were sitting next to me watching. My father didn't know so he went to bed early, when my mother announced it, she was quite happy. I picked up the phone and called everyone in the band and the project's design and production team to share the "sweetness" right then," the designer said. However, Duy revealed that he was emotional from the morning of the day he waited for the results, even though he had not heard the news yet. The young man just sat alone in the room, staring at the wall with tears in his eyes.

Recalling the opportunity to collaborate with the group Ngọt, Duy said that he, Thang and Nam Anh - the founding members of the band - grew up on the same street. However, it was more than 20 years before the three had the chance to meet. The first time, Duy accidentally helped Ngọt design the title for the music video May khi . After that, Nam Anh introduced Duy to the band members to make the album Gieo. Right from the moment he heard the first recordings that Ngọt sent him for inspiration, Duy Dao was moved. The album was born during the time when the band temporarily stopped working and society was gradually returning to the "new normal" state after Covid-19. Therefore, Duy came up with the idea of ​​having a colorful and energetic festival sealed in a "time capsule". The name Gieo was also given by Duy himself, originating from the idea that all creations are the result of an accumulation process, like the life cycle of a seed. These seeds are metaphorically planted in a special box, with many messages for the future.

Duy Dao and Ngọt carry out a passionate project for the band's product.

For Duy Dao, it's not the moment when the team's achievements are recognized, but the moments that make him happiest are when he and his team research, discuss, convince people to believe in something that doesn't exist yet, and explain ideas that no one has ever done before. "I'm lucky because there are so many good ideas and thoughts in the team. So many times, I just play the role of connecting everything to form a better common idea," he said. There are also many interesting memories that Duy always smiles when he remembers the process of creating Gieo. That was when he and the team leader of Ngọt... played rock-paper-scissors to choose a final date to complete the design. Or the time to finalize the group photo shoot, it was so difficult to choose a date when 3/4 of the members had a high fever. The photo shoot still went on as planned, but there were also "storms" because after taking a few shots, someone "lost power". When the entire team's efforts are rewarded after so much dedication, Duy said, he will celebrate many times. "I will celebrate with my family, parents, wife, cat and everyone in the project as well as friends, it will probably take a whole month," the young man said with a smile.

Proud to work for Vietnamese, for Vietnamese

Before being nominated for a Grammy , Duy Dao was the leader behind the design of Vinamilk 's new identity after nearly 5 decades, which "caused a fever" in July. The logo was changed from an emblem to a wordmark, with the line "EST 1976" below the word "Vinamilk" in white standing out on a blue background. This design even covered social networks as soon as it was launched, creating a trend among young people. This is a project that Duy took on when he returned to Vietnam after 10 years of living and working in the US. The work is the result of 12 months of design with 55 experts from more than 10 countries, including many Vietnamese, with Duy playing the role of creative director and main designer, also acting as a bridge between the Vietnamese and international teams.

"I really appreciate having invited many international colleagues to work for me. We have supported each other to bring new energy to one of the biggest brands in Vietnam to become better and better, not inferior to international brands in both image and quality," Duy shared. What makes him more proud is working for Vietnamese people, working with Vietnamese people and bringing unique values ​​to Vietnamese people, for Vietnamese people.

"Not the best at anything at home"

Duy Dao does not hide the fact that he is a "family heir". However, Duy said that, although he calls himself "a designer and art director", he is not the best at those jobs in his family. "The person who is better is my grandfather - People's Artist Dao Duc - the first and excellent art director/designer of the Vietnam Film Studio. I am also a bit of an artist, but I am not the most "artistic" person in the family. My father - famous painter Dao Hai Phong - will always be more "artistic", he shared. Duy only admits that he is lucky to have inherited many values ​​and is trying to preserve the family traditions, to be like his grandfather and father, helping to develop and pass on the culture and creativity of the Vietnamese people. That is also the motivation for Duy, after 10 years of living and working in the US, to return to Vietnam to open a creative studio with standards and intelligence comparable to the best teams/groups in the world .

With Studio DUY, Duy Dao aims to carry out projects that elevate Vietnamese values ​​to the international level.

Sharing about his creative work, Duy said that each day of his life takes place in a very different way, but the biggest thing in common is the abstraction of time. "Some days, I do nothing, just sit and think. There are also days, I work all night long hoping to find something that moves me in the designs. I can always consider it work because for me, sitting around thinking is also work," he said. In Duy's perspective, inspiration always goes hand in hand with human dreams and the flow of life. Therefore, inspiration for his work is often found in places where there are human dreams and the colors of life.

In my career, in addition to high standards, I believe that having a good life experience is very important to approach people around. Life always tells good stories for interesting people to tell those stories to their audiences.

Duy Dao - Creative Director, Designer

Looking at Duy Dao's achievements, we can be confident that Vietnamese designers and creators can absolutely reach the world. Duy himself also believes in that. "If some people are jealous of the next generation being better than the previous generation, I personally hope that more people are better than me so that we can develop together. The important thing is that when the flag is in someone's hand, that person must wave it immediately so that they won't regret it later. Therefore, everyone should try to be someone who has the opportunity to wave the flag, no matter what they do, not just in the creative field," he advised. Duy Dao remembers Professor Clive Piercy - the famous designer who was nominated for a Grammy for designing for Elton John - who was also his teacher and the other students in the hall, saying in the first day of class: "This world has too many designers. This world will still exist well if you don't do design. But what is lacking are good designers. And your job is to try to do the best you can". That is what Duy always aims for: To become a good designer. "Good" in his understanding through his teacher's teachings means being good both in terms of work and as a person.

Outstanding achievements of Duy Dao (Dao Duc Duy, born 1995, Hanoi): - Graduated with honors from Art Center College of Design (California, USA) - top 10 design schools in the world. - Founder of Studio DUY. - First Vietnamese person nominated for a Grammy award. - Worked with many famous global brands such as: Google, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Oppo, Apple Music, Logitech, Spotify, The Broad Contemporary Museum (USA), Los Angeles Metropolitan Museum of Art (USA) and Vinamilk (Vietnam)... - Works and projects received many prestigious international awards in the field of design: 3 times won the Art Director Club award, 2 times won the International Design Award , 4 times won the Type Director Club award, 2 times won the Adobe Achievement Award ... and were published in many prestigious publications and events , exhibited in 16 countries around the world. - Invited to present and speak at leading conferences and educational institutions around the world including: American Institute of Graphic Arts Design Week, Hoffmitz Milken Center for Typography and many prestigious universities in the US and Vietnam.

Photo: NVCC

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