His list of clients is as impressive as the works of art he has created for them – Liverpool Football Club, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League, Red Bull Racing, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and Bayern Munich.
“I started designing when I was 14 years old, and I posted my works on social media. I love sports, so I did a lot of sports-based designs,” Chuan told FMT.
When building his portfolio in the early days, Chuan would design for free on condition that his clients promoted his work. His strategy worked as he gradually began amassing more followers on social media.
“When I began, I didn’t know anything about marketing. So, I observed how others did it and tried it for myself. At the same time, I also focused on improving my craft.”
Social media also became an avenue for Chuan to meet other designers from around the world.
“We started supporting each other on our individual journeys and eventually formed a community,” he shared, of the artists whose ages range from 13 to 40.
Eventually, a piece of advice given by a friend in this community last year – to set up an account on LinkedIn – proved to be the most valuable for Chuan.
“I subsequently received a lot of enquiries through this channel and things started progressing from there. It’s amazing,”
When asked about the mounting interest in digital art, Chuan explained that social media has been a big influence in this respect. He also explained that many companies use digital art to enhance their social media accounts.
For the uninitiated, digital art is basically art that is produced by using software, computers, or other electronic devices. In Chuan’s case, he uses Photoshop, Illustrator, and Procreate for his work.
So, how did Chuan end up securing these notable clients?
He explained it all began when he posted his artistic rendition of Japanese professional tennis player Naomi Osaka.
“The post garnered 2,000 likes on LinkedIn and immediately after that, a lot of big companies started approaching me,” he recalled.
At the same time, the design was also featured on the main page of Behance, an online platform to showcase and discover creative work, a big achievement in itself for Chuan.
“It all just skyrocketed from there,” he shared, adding that his first notable client was UEFA Champions League.
Today, he has clients from all over the world including the US, Europe, and the Middle East. This also includes professional American football team Kansas City Chief, gaming company 2K and English language daily Arab News.
The creative process
According to Chuan, his sources of inspiration include Pinterest, a photo-sharing and publishing website, as well as films and TV shows.
“I especially love science fiction movies,” he shared, citing “Blade Runner” as being truly inspirational.
“The hardest part is to think of an idea to start with and to create a composition that works. I always spend the most time here,” he shared candidly.
Looking back on his journey, he said, “I started this because I wanted to follow my passion. I was very, very lucky, and I hope that this momentum will continue,”
“In the next three years, I hope to build a digital agency. Having more team members will allow me to delve into more things,” he shared, adding that he also wishes to break into the China market someday.
“I want to constantly try something new as I am young and can take the risk,” he added. He is also planning on pursuing a degree in either graphic design or e-commerce.
View more of Nicholas Chuan’s work on Instagram.