By Elaine He
Chester Ni, Visual Director and Webmaster of Collingwood Arts Mag, is exceptional at designing. Chester’s development as an artist was greatly influenced by his family. As a young teenager with influence from his father’s interest in software engineering and technology, Chester began experimenting with web development and design. He found that web design allowed him to pursue opportunities to learn and use photography, graphic design, typography, and so much more at the same time.
As Chester gradually built up his skill base, he began putting himself online and connecting to real clients and real organizations. Over the years, he worked with friends to build online portfolios, with professional e-sports organizations to create promotional branding materials, and with non-profits to build websites and business cards to raise awareness of their causes. Best yet, Chester got the opportunity to be webmaster for the Collingwood Arts Mag website, which you’re visiting right now :)
Chester Ni, Visual Director and Webmaster of Collingwood Arts Mag, is exceptional at designing. Chester’s development as an artist was greatly influenced by his family. As a young teenager with influence from his father’s interest in software engineering and technology, Chester began experimenting with web development and design. He found that web design allowed him to pursue opportunities to learn and use photography, graphic design, typography, and so much more at the same time.
As Chester gradually built up his skill base, he began putting himself online and connecting to real clients and real organizations. Over the years, he worked with friends to build online portfolios, with professional e-sports organizations to create promotional branding materials, and with non-profits to build websites and business cards to raise awareness of their causes. Best yet, Chester got the opportunity to be webmaster for the Collingwood Arts Mag website, which you’re visiting right now :)
When being asked about his philosophy on art, Chester responds with: “In my opinion, art is the pinnacle of human individual expression. At the end of the day, beyond school, work, and social life, I see art as one of the highest forms of humanity. With that being said, art is definitely very important to me. Whether you enjoy singing in the shower, carving pumpkins, or filming movies, I believe art is one of the best ways for us to express our feelings. My best advice for other artists is this: sometimes it may seem like there is always someone better than you at what you do best, but don’t let that defeat you. Use it as motivation to never stop improving.”
Chester’s favourite medium is anything that he can work with on a computer. Nowadays, laptops have become both powerful and portable. Chester finds that being able to take spontaneous walks to Starbucks or to Ambleside beach or being able to take a bus downtown allows him to get into many different states of mind, which in turn enables more creativity. While design may not require the same type of creativity as say painting or crafts, it does require the ability to find new approaches, experiment with different techniques, and look at things from multiple angles. Being able to work on a laptop means that Chester can have the freedom to bring art with him wherever he goes.
Chester’s favourite style of design is minimalism: “I believe in balance, I believe in removing everything that does not add any value, and I believe in keeping everything organized and logical. As such, I have found that minimalism provides the best platform for me to express myself and work on projects.”
Over the years, Chester has worked with dozens of different clients on a wide range of projects. He is constantly trying to improve, and he always aim to make his latest project his best project yet. Some of his best design work is on his website at chesterni.com, and one of his favourite overall projects is ilhansaferali.com, which is a portfolio and personal website he made for his rising musician friend. As a mostly digital and online artist, Chester have not put much work in shows or exhibits. However, he has had a few photography projects on display at school. Other than that, a lot of Chester’s work exists online on various websites from Behance to DeviantArt to Twitter.
After high school, Chester plans on attending university. At the moment, it seems most likely that he will be pursuing software engineering or web development. However, Chester will definitely stay active as a student of design, and he may eventually pursue a career in a related field. In the long term, Chester hopes to build something with a lasting impact — perhaps a design firm, a fashion line, or even a music label.