🎉 Meet An Chen’s Creative World: Vintage Vibes Meet Modern Graphic Design 🎨
Step into the visual universe of An Chen, a Taiwanese illustrator based in London, whose art uniquely blends nostalgia and contemporary flair. Drawing deep inspiration from 1950–60s matchbox designs, typography, and graphic shape language, An’s bold vector illustrations feel refreshingly retro and vibrantly modern all at once.
🖌️ Maker Name
An Chen – Illustrator, shape-lover, and modern vintage storyteller.
🎨 Creative Medium
An combines vector illustration (Adobe Illustrator) with monoprint textures via Photoshop, using handmade masks and vintage-inspired brushes to give her work that nostalgic grain.
🌟 Artistic Style & Genre
- Clean, angular forms that reinterpret organic subjects
- Strong influences of mid-century matchbox art and British modernist linocuts
- Dynamic and energetic use of color contrasted with grainy, tonal textures
- Typographic awareness: bracket serif and italic forms appear in her shapes
🖼️ Products & Professional Projects
- Editorial illustration for clients including The Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Apple, Gucci, and Harvard Business Review
- Personal projects: self-published zines, pop-up books, and still-life series inspired by nature and typography anchenillustration.com
📖 Maker Story
After earning her MA in Children’s Book Illustration from Cambridge School of Art in 2019, An transitioned from graphic design to illustration—a decision sparked by the joy of playing with shapes and exploring narrative visually. Her early projects, like designing exhibition maps, gave her a new sense of creative flow.
🏆 Achievements & Recognition
An’s work has been recognized across prestigious platforms:
- World Illustration Awards 2022 (shortlist)
- Society of Illustrators features
- Awards from American Illustration, Communication Arts, Creative Quarterly, and more anchenillustration.com
💪 Challenges & Creative Growth
An learned that waiting for perfection prevented creative momentum. Today she embraces imperfections and iteration, allowing her style to evolve organically. Her graphic design foundation gives her a thoughtful approach to every project. grandmatter.com
🔮 Future Plans
- Expand into textile patterns, merchandise, and packaging illustration
- Explore children's books and immersive narrative work
- Merge Eastern visual traditions with modern graphic storytelling Rapp|Art
💡 Advice for Fellow Creators
“Don’t wait for perfection—share your work already. Connect, submit, reach out. Every step leads to growth.”
🌐 Connect with An Chen
- Instagram: @anchenillustration
- Website Portfolio: anchenillustration.com
- Represented by Grand Matter Agency (London/New York) grandmatter.com
✨ Final Thoughts
An Chen’s illustrations are a collision of elegance and impulse: bold, textured, playful, and timeless. She shows us how vintage aesthetics and modern design can coexist beautifully—inviting us to appreciate art that feels familiar yet excitingly new. Explore her portfolio and let her creations inspire your own visual language.
📌 Suggested Hashtags
#AnChenIllustration #VectorArt #MatchboxAesthetic #ModernRetro #EditorialArt #GeometricIllustration #WomenIllustrators #CreativeProcess #TypographyArt #ArtAwards