Vy Truong '17
Hometown: Houston, Texas
Major: Interior Architecture
Graduation Year: 2017
Business: Very Handsome Studio
Title: Co-Founder / Creative Director
Why did you choose the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design, and what drew you to design?
Finding my way to the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design is an amusing story, full of perfect timing. With my mother being a Real Estate agent, I had always envisioned myself as an Interior Designer. Unfortunately, after touring and applying to the Boston College and other architecture programs, I decided that staying in town and going to the University of Houston would be the best option due to financial and scholarship reasons. The Interior Design program had recently discontinued at the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS), so I dejectedly started my academic career in the arts. Ironically, through my sketching class, I was able to meet a fellow architecture student who insisted I visit his studio since I “was so interested in design.” After visiting the school and seeing all of the work on display, I fell in love. I learned the College had a newly-established Interior Architecture program, and I immediately applied the following semester. As they say, the rest is history.
What was one of your favorite memories from your time on campus? Was there a particular professor that influenced your education?
Every memory I had on campus and within the Hines College was meaningful and life-changing. Many of my closest friends and my life partner all stemmed from my time at the College. I would not have asked for it any other way. Competition among the most talented people fueled my journey to success. Professor Sharon Chapman helped drill in my dedicated work ethic, and Professor Josh Robbins encouraged my most creative risks.
What has been your career path since graduation? Where are you currently working, and in what capacity?
While establishing Very Handsome Studio and rapidly growing our clientele with my business partner, Han Dang, I am juggling an amazing opportunity at Gin Design Group and contracting part-time with Local Architects. Through Gin Design Group, I was able to create a published project, Ginger Kale. I plan to take everything I have learned and harness it to continue building and molding Very Handsome Studio. Although I currently have myself stretched relatively thin with work, we are hopeful this new endeavor will eventually pay off with fantastic work that makes us proud.
What does a typical day look like in your job? Do you have a particular design or business philosophy?
Five core values surround our design philosophy: creativity, enjoyment, spontaneity, balance, and effortlessness. We try our best to carry these values throughout our projects for both ourselves and our clients. We want the final product to be something the entire team is proud of.
My typical day is a full eight hours at my day jobs, conceptualizing and modeling new restaurants and bars, selecting finishes, drawing plans and sections, attending back-to-back meetings, reviewing CA work, and building business networking. Then I spend another six hours afterward working and building Very Handsome Studio work. Despite the long hours, we have always designed together with happiness, and I hope to continue this happy tradition until we open our first tangible office.
What is one accomplishment of your career of which you are particularly proud? How do you feel that the Hines College prepared you for this?
So far, my proudest accomplishment is designing and spearheading a restaurant interior project, Ginger Kale, from start to finish in thirty days and having it published in the Interior Design Magazine. Another accomplishment I am proud of is starting and growing my own design firm with the yin to my yang, Han Dang. I have never found anyone more compatible to work with, and I am so honored she is willing to share this journey with me. We met each other at the College of Architecture and Design while being creatively beaten into shape. I am grateful for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity which brought us together and taught us how to cultivate our hopes and dreams.
What is a valuable lesson you learned during your time at the Hines College?
Inspiration is everywhere; you just have to look hard enough.
What is a piece of advice you would give to current Architecture and Design students?
Learn Revit! Learn to read plans! Listen carefully in Tech class! Sleep more!!! If you have the opportunity, take the time to intern at a firm. Invaluable business and production readiness are learned through witnessing daily design life.
School is magical. It is wonderful and tough, but it is not always 100% realistic. The culture shock of transitioning into the workforce can be very disheartening. The sooner you can prepare yourself, the better you can overcome this hurdle and thrive in your field.
Han Dang '18
Hometown: Vietnam
Major: Interior Architecture
Graduation Year: May 2018
Business: Very Handsome Studio
Title: Co-Founder / Creative Director
Why did you choose the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design, and what drew you to design?
My love for architecture and design has only grown since eighth Grade. I used to collect many design magazines and books, and then I would cut out the designs that I liked. My old bedroom back in Vietnam had one wall full of magazine photos and art collages.
When I came to the United States for college, I knew I had to enroll in an architecture school. After living in several states, I settled in Houston, where I found the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design.
What was one of your favorite memories from your time on campus? Was there a particular professor that influenced your education?
My favorite memory from my time at the Hines College was the study abroad program in Central Europe. The trip taught me so much about design and gave me an appreciation for architecture and art around the world. Through the trip, I also met many great friends whom I remain close to this day.
Professor Saleh Kalantari is one of the professors that impacted my view about interior architecture research and study. I had two final semesters with him and also worked as an assistant for his Augmented Design Lab. He inspired me to conduct detailed research on different interior architecture topics, augmented reality designs, and various means and methods to solve design problems.
What has been your career path since graduation? Where are you currently working, and in what capacity?
I interned for nine months at a small residential firm and then later interned at Stantec for three months after graduation. I have been a full-time interior designer at Stantec since 2018. The office I work for focuses primarily on institution projects, workplace commercials, and a little healthcare work.
In 2020, my business partner, Vy Truong, and I founded Very Handsome Studio, where we hope to provide interior design and styling services for residential and small business commercial projects. We officially launched the business in January 2021.
What does a typical day look like in your job? Do you have a particular design or business philosophy?
My typical day at work encompasses so many different things: design research; putting together visualization boards and presenting design ideas to clients; coordinating with other disciplines like architecture, structure, and MEP for design development and construction documents; meeting vendors to learn more about different materials; and site visits.
As for Very Handsome Studio’s design and business philosophy, we mainly want to have fun with design and have our clients enjoy the design process with us. A design process can be overwhelming to a person not architecturally trained. We can help by walking the client through the design process and creating an exceptional space satisfying the client’s need and exceeding their expectations.
What is one accomplishment of your career of which you are particularly proud? How do you feel that the Hines College prepared you for this?
I used to work at an architecture firm. It was challenging to define an interior designer role where the design was mainly established and decided by the architect. With a curious mind and eagerness to learn, I shadowed architects and helped them put together many interior spatial proposals. After a couple of projects, I worked with the architect and led the interior design for PreK and K-12 schools around Texas.
What I like most about the interior architecture program at the Hines College is that it offers both architecture and interior architecture design philosophy and theory. Architecture and interior space should speak the same language and deliver a cohesive story throughout. When I look at a design problem now, I have to analyze it through micro and macro scales to propose appropriate design solutions.
What is a valuable lesson you learned during your time at the Hines College?
One of the most valuable lessons I learned during school is to ask “why” often. This question not only helps me during the design practice but also applies to my personal life. I have become more logical and assertive when making work and life decisions.
What is a piece of advice you would give to current Architecture and Design students?
My advice to all young design students is to intern as much as possible and be exposed to more real work environments while in school. Work in the industry is different from school, so you will be better off right after graduation if you can get yourself more prepared.
I would also advise students to minor in business or take some courses at the UH Bauer College of Business. Throughout my years in the workforce, I have discovered the importance of selling your work. There are many great designers out there, but there are not many designers able to sell their work. I would also recommend taking some basic management and marketing courses at Bauer as well.
Explore Very Handsome Studio
You can find more out more about Very Handsome Studio online at www.veryhandsomestudio.com or on Instagram @veryhandsome.studio.
