Interview
Ming Cheng
Ming Cheng is a New York–based graphic designer whose work moves between visual design, theatre, and emotional storytelling. As a designer originally from China, she explores the relationship between form, language, and human experience. Her professional background includes working with The New York Times, American Ballet Theatre, and the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, where she developed visual systems and campaigns that bring together clarity and rhythm. Ming’s work has been recognized internationally, including her achievements in the New York Product Design Award and the Indigo Design Award, which highlight emerging voices in global contemporary art and design.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I started to expose myself to the design world in New York, but my journey into the art world began much earlier through a deep fascination with storytelling. I have always been drawn to the quiet moments in theatre, literature, and daily life, where emotion hides beneath stillness. Design became the language through which I could translate those observations into visual form.”
What inspires you?
“I am inspired by the spaces between the rhythm of my life. Much of my work begins with observation, such as how light moves through a room or how a pause in music or conversation can create emotion. Theatre, literature, and jazz have all shaped the way I think about time and tension in visual composition.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“My work reflects on how people move through spaces, both physical and internal, and how design can hold traces of memory and human presence. I am drawn to moments that are often overlooked: a pause in conversation, the texture of a wall, the quiet rhythm of a city at night. These details reveal how emotion lives in ordinary life. Through my practice, I create a space where viewers can slow down and feel a sense of honesty and connection. The underlying message in my work is a search for truth and empathy. I believe design can be both functional and poetic, capable of expressing what cannot be easily said in words.”
How would you describe your work?
“My work is a study of emotion through design. It often combines clarity with softness, using typography, image, and space to create visual experiences. I see design as a way to translate the unseen parts of life into form, to give shape to what is often felt but not spoken. My work does not aim to shout but to linger, inviting the viewer to look a little longer and feel a quiet sense of recognition.”
Which artists influence you most?
“I have always been deeply influenced by Paula Scher. Her work taught me how design can be both disciplined and emotional, how typography can carry rhythm, and how visual systems can express personality and voice. I admire the way she turns structure into something human and expressive. Beyond her work, I am inspired by artists and designers who blur the line between clarity and feeling, those who use design as a form of storytelling rather than decoration. Paula Scher’s approach reminds me that design is a tool to communicate with others, sometimes influence their aesthetic in a good way.”
“My work is a study of emotion through design. It often combines clarity with softness, using typography, image, and space to create visual experiences.”
What is your creative process like?
“My creative process often starts from understanding the project’s narrative, what emotion or tension lies behind the artworks, and how design can extend that atmosphere into the visual system. For example, when I was designing the exhibition for the New York Public Library for Performing Arts, I began with research and conversations with curators or artists to define the tone and audience. From there, I explore type, color, and layout as tools to visualize the exhibition’s rhythm and space. Once the direction feels right, I start building a flexible identity system that can adapt across scales, from wall texts and vinyls to invites and digital assets. I focus on how typography interacts with physical space and how print materials can echo the exhibition’s emotional weight.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“I see the artist’s role as a communicator. Artists translate what cannot be directly spoken into forms that people can feel and understand. Whether through design, performance, or visual art, the work becomes a medium to connect emotions, ideas, and different ways of seeing the world. As society changes, I believe this role will only grow more important. In a world overwhelmed by information, artists help filter noise into meaning. They create spaces for reflection, empathy, and dialogue, allowing people to see themselves and others with more clarity.”
