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Meet

DIANA HONG-ELSEY

 

What exactly does the Vice President, Global Creative Director at Tom Ford Beauty do? It’s not a simple question to answer, but Diana Hong-Elsey, the woman who currently holds that title, leant us some of her time to help us understand. Here, the creative director and brand strategist marinates on the mentally and physically debilitating quest for success and perfection, while acknowledging how to-do lists can simultaneously (and frustratingly) be helpful and exacerbate shame. The New Yorker and Capricorn also has some shrewd words for “having the guts to acknowledge you need help” and knowing when it’s time to move on, professionally and personally. There’s a tonne of Black Lives Matter resources, music recommendations and notes on serendipity, too.

 

Enjoy! xx 

 

I’m Diana Hong-Elsey, a creative director and brand strategist. I’m Vice President, Global Creative Director at Tom Ford Beauty. The beauty brand is led by Mr. Ford in partnership with the Estée Lauder Group. My role is to help bring his vision to life for cosmetics, skincare and fragrance through all creative disciplines. Prior to Tom Ford, I was at MAC Cosmetics and Tiffany & Co., leading their digital creative teams, and prior to my brand side roles, I spent most of my career working at various creative agencies.

 

I was born in Seoul, Korea, but came to the states when I was six. I was always outgoing and confident as a kid, so I learned English and made friends fairly quickly. Most of my childhood was spent in the suburbs of Washington, DC. From there, I studied at University of Maryland, College Park, a large

university notable for their programmes in business, architecture and computer science.

 

When I entered college, I had no idea what I wanted to do, so going to a large school gave me options. Ultimately, I ended up focusing on Art History, Fine Arts and Design. For a moment I thought I’d like to become a curator at a prominent arts institution, like MOMA in NYC, but I abandoned that for a career

in graphic design. I’ve been a New Yorker for 22 years now and split my time between NYC and upstate NY with my husband Tom and our pup Harvey. 

What does an average day look like for you?

Since mid-March, we’ve been fortunate enough to live, work and isolate ourselves in our upstate NY home. And since March, I’ve been consistently waking up pre-alarm, right around 6:30 am, which is kind of annoying because I can’t seem to get myself to bed before midnight and I’ve started to really enjoy sleeping. For years, I only needed four to five hours of sleep, but now seven to eight hours feels more my speed. Once I’m awake, I scan the news, Instagram, Twitter, repost a few things, then walk our dog for one to two miles before the work day starts. 

 

We’ve been virtual since mid-March, so like most people [who] WFH, the day is full of back to back Zoom calls. I oversee a few 3D creative disciplines such as package design, visual merchandising, store design and event design, so sometimes there are packages to open and physical materials to review. I try to unplug once the day ends, but there are definitely blurry lines these days on when the work day begins and ends.

What turning point in your career do you consider your “big break”?

Moving to NYC was my big break. My life and career just opened up the moment I got here. I had a couple of friends from the DC area who were students at NYU and Columbia, but I ended up going out by myself a lot and made new friends that ultimately helped me expand my world. It’s funny thinking about myself, as a young Asian girl in my 20s and how I had the guts to go out to bars, clubs, and parties on my own and openly meet new people,

but I guess NYC felt safe and inviting to me at that time.

 

One of my first jobs in NYC was working at a place called Bau-Da Design Lab. It was a tiny studio, just three of us, but all of our clients were in the music industry, from the Beastie Boys, to Marilyn Manson to Blue Note Records. It was an amazing gig. I was a junior designer, but there were only three of us, so

I was able to participate and given opportunities I probably wouldn’t have had, like picking up Mixmaster Mike to take him to a recording session. I’ve been obsessed with dance music since I was young, so when I got to NYC, I was going to a lot of drum & bass parties. That’s when I made a new friend at a bar in the East Village because he was wearing the same pair of Nikes that I had just bought on a road trip to Chicago. At the time, he was working at a digital agency called Oven, who needed designers.

At Oven, one of my first clients ended up being Tiffany & Co. 

 

What advice do you have for striking a work/life balance?

What is work/life balance really, haha? Kidding aside, that hasn't been a significant focus for me until recently and understanding why it’s important has been a work in progress. I have never been one to be the last to respond to an email or text, I think it’s just something that has been a part of me to get things done efficiently and effectively, I guess it’s the Capricorn in me.

 

I will say, it’s important to take a step back, take all your meal breaks, vacations and experience as much as you can outside of the workplace. What you’re taking in from the outside is what inspires what you’re doing inside the workplace.


What anxieties, if any, do you hold about your life/career? And how do you deal with them? 

I worry I’ll get bored, stuck and not in a state of learning anymore. That’s when my anxieties kick in and probably when I know it’s time to move on. Knowing this has allowed me to always keep moving forward and know when it’s time to change it up, in both my life and career. I subscribe to doing as much as I can, physically and mentally, until I can’t. For instance, I will dance, snowboard and walk for miles until my legs completely give up!

How has the current COVID-19 situation affected your industry, and your work personally? How have you dealt with it?

There’s been some heavy pivots. The beauty, design, retail industry has had to adapt quickly during COVID, rethinking how and where we communicate, focusing on digital channels more, creating more virtual experiences for all aspects of the business. 

 

Collaborating as a team virtually has in a lot of ways

benefited us, but virtual meetings can get tedious, so I’ve been trying to find ways to make my team statuses more fun. At the beginning we themed our meetings; come as a work of art, your favourite album cover, drag, monochromatic colour…people got creative.

 

Personally, It’s been an emotional time for us, living in America under this administration for the last four years, dealing with their “handling” of the pandemic, and their disgraceful reaction to the Black Lives Matter movement…it’s been a lot. Luckily, I have a great family and close group of friends. My husband Tom, and Harvey our pup, have been the best isolation partners. It’s allowed us to spend more quality time together, action and

participate in things we care about, map out our dreams, and slowly plan what’s next for us.

 

I know it’s been tough for some of our friends, and I know a handful of people who were laid off right when everything started to shut down in March, so I’m extremely thankful for the good things in my life.

 

What does productivity look like to you, and what tips do you have for managing your time?

So much of what I do requires swift decision making, but if I’m able to apply creative thinking, getting to an outcome and find alternate ways of solving things, it feels a lot more productive and rewarding.

 

Surprisingly, working from home has allowed me to manage my time a lot better. I’ve always relied on a calendar to help me visually organise my work day and inserting blocks of time for doing actual work between meetings is essential. I’m still working on managing my personal time better, as I always like to pack in as much as possible in any given day, but generally one or two things end up falling off the personal list of things I’d like to do.

How do you deal with procrastination?

The to-do list sometimes helps, but I think that exacerbates the shame that I have about what I have yet to accomplish. I think I’ve gotten better about it over the years and just accept that sometimes I won’t get to it and just move on.

 

What do you consider your biggest failure? And how did you persevere and grow from the experience?

It helps to perceive things in my life that haven’t gone my way as lessons learned. Perfection and success is ok to strive for but it can be debilitating mentally and physically if that is all you’re striving for. Being open-minded about your abilities, finding areas that require growth and working on them, plus having the guts to acknowledge you need help keeps me moving forward.

 

When working on a new project how do you overcome self-doubt and fear?

It’s really similar to snowboarding, in that no matter what, you will creatively get down that hill one way or another! I embrace my doubts and fears and learn as much as possible to quickly tackle the project. In my current position, there are areas I own such as store design and package design that have not previously been a key focus in my career. I embraced the challenge and have accomplished a lot in the last two years, and continue to learn and develop my expertise. For me, all the areas I’m responsible for as a creative director, it’s all about an experience you’re trying to develop. Whether it’s a digital campaign, a fragrance bottle or a new store experience, you have to trust yourself and know you’re smart and creative enough to get to something amazing.

Do you have any rituals that help with your work or mental health?

Living in the countryside since March has been beneficial to my mental health. I’m incredibly lucky to be surrounded by trees, nature and fresh air, which allows my down time to be still and calm. I also walk a lot. Most days, we end up walking somewhere between three to six miles, which has become my main form of meditation, therapy and exercise. Dancing has also been a consistent therapeutic outlet since I was a child, and I love my isolation dance parties with my husband Tom and our dog Harvey…and yes, our dog loves to dance too!

Can you recommend any resources that have helped you in your career?

Role models, whether they are directly in your life or not, have helped me along the way. Growing up, I was inspired by a lot of amazing women, just to name a few…Wonder Woman (who I named myself after, once I became a citizen in the US), Kim Gordon from Sonic Youth, my mum. These days its leaders like

Michelle Obama and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

 

Both my parents worked really hard, but I believe I borrowed a lot of my mum’s personality, work ethic and ability to multi-task. My mum worked 14-hour days and always came home to make a homemade dinner for her family.

 

What’s the best and worst advice you’ve ever been given?

The best recent advice is to take breaks and turn on the do not disturb feature on my phone. I honestly can’t recall any bad advice given, pretty sure if any bad advice was shared, I just ignored it.

Are there any misconceptions about what you do that you’d like to dispel or clarify?

Being a creative director is a lot more complicated than one would imagine. Yes, it’s incredibly fun and rewarding, but once you step beyond the designer and art director role, your responsibilities and accountabilities shift dramatically. Since working as a creative director, my elastic brain has really evolved and I recognise how I approach my work differently than I did 10 years ago. The business analyst and people manager side of things in particular become more important. Your role in the growth and development of your team is crucial, ensuring they are extending their capabilities and learning to think and work

more holistically.

How do you navigate social media, any rules or guidelines you set for yourself?

I’ve always embraced social media from its inception, starting with Friendster, Myspace, Vine…RIP. My two go-to platforms now are Instagram and Twitter. I love that both platforms have become incredible places for people to raise awareness around topics that matter. And for me those topics have centered

around Black Lives Matter, women’s rights, and the numerous anti-American injustices that the current administration continue to push. I generally prefer to create content on Instagram and use Twitter for news headlines and a little conversation. 

 

I like TikTok but I just don’t have the time to make that kind of content, so I just go there for a quick laugh. I recently deleted my Facebook account, which felt GOOD. I tend know when I’ve had too much social media and put the phone down to do something more IRL and physical.

List five things keeping you inspired and sane right now. 

Who do you nominate for the next interview?

I’d like to nominate my friend Luísa Matsushita. Luísa is a Brazilian/Japanese visual artist and lead singer of the band CSS. I nominate Luísa because her life and career path is vastly different from mine. For instance, she has spent the last few years abandoning a life in the city and focusing on building and living a more self-sufficient, environment conscious life. Her story will be incredibly inspiring.

 

Much love, 
Lilith and Arabella

L+A xx

 
 

Nominated:

LuĂ­sa Matsushita

⏤

Visual artist and musician

 

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