About
An art director with +10 years of experience.
Nguyen Hong Doan Trang graduated with a bachelor's degree in graphic design from the University of Architecture, Ho Chi Minh City, and hold a MA in Arts and Cultural Leadership from LASALLE Singapore, where she was awarded the SEAsia Scholars Award.
She has experience serving as an art team leader at multinational companies and collaborating with a wide range of domestic and international brands.
She is developing an AI-driven workflow optimisation system aimed at saving time and boosting productivity for graphic designers.
Legal But Unequal: Who really controls the rights of Vietnamese comic artists
This study examines how Vietnamese comics creators retain copyright and earn income from their works.
It analyses the specific case of CeeCee and her comic series BeeZ, drawing on two actual copyright agreements and direct interviews with artists, businesses and a legal expert.
The findings show that the path from creating a comic to adapting it into other formats remains highly challenging. Although social media allows artists to reach readers easily, it generates little direct income, forcing them to rely on the few intermediary companies in the market to develop their works and earn a living.
However, creators consistently enter negotiations from a position of weakness due to financial pressure arising from precarious work and self-support needs. They also lack market information and legal knowledge, while businesses possess greater financial resources and legal departments.
Notably, although the law provides a relatively comprehensive framework for intellectual property rights, the institutional system has yet to address this power imbalance. As a result, a contract may comply fully with the law while placing all disadvantages on the comic creators.
To address this situation, the study recommends recognising comics as a valuable source of intellectual property within the creative industries.
Beyond strengthening creators’ copyright knowledge and market information access, representative organisations or artists’ unions are needed to protect their interests.
Finally, policies should provide practical support to reduce the occupational risks and financial pressures faced by creative workers. These measures aim to create a sustainable ecosystem for the domestic comics and help the CCI sector achieve the goals set out in the Strategy for the Development of Vietnam’s Cultural Industries (Prime Minister 2025).
Professional practice
My professional practice spans art direction, visual communication and AI-assisted creative systems, supported by 10 years of experience across branding, digital content, entertainment and integrated campaigns.
I am particularly interested in how AI can be integrated into creative workflows to support ideation, production and scalable design systems while maintaining strong human creative direction.
Alongside my design practice, my current research explores the cultural and creative industries in Vietnam, with a focus on comics, intellectual property, authors’ rights and the working conditions of independent creators.
I am now increasingly moving towards education and knowledge sharing, and am taking on a teaching role at the University of Architecture Ho Chi Minh City (UAH). Through teaching, I hope to share both practical industry experience and research-informed knowledge with younger artists and designers, helping them develop stronger creative, professional and critical skills.
My practice therefore increasingly connects industry, research and education, with the aim of contributing to a more sustainable and informed creative ecosystem in Vietnam.
Mohika Shankar
Loh Wei Zong
Una Lam Ut I
Rachel Lee
