Julia Huang
Julia Huang is the founder and CEO of Intertrend, an Asian American communications agency. She is also the founder of Imprint Venture Lab, a venture capital incubator, a board member of KCRW and director of POW! WOW! Long Beach. As part of Intertrend, Julia has helped spearhead a wide variety of art, design and technology-focused exhibitions such as Architecture for Dogs, The Art of Bloom, Unexpected Connections and Couriers of Hope.
Julia was introduced by Eugene Kan.
If you could recommend 3 books to anyone, what would they be?
Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics by Richard Thaler
The academic value of reading this book, written by a Nobel Prize winner, on the history of behavioral economics goes without saying. The book reminds me constantly that humans are prone to making the wrong (financial) choices even when presented with valuable data to avoid precisely that. I read it because it's funny and fascinating. I recommend this book to anyone who ends up scratching their heads witnessing irrational behavior – which is probably just about everyone.
Designing Design by Kenya Hara
Initially, I waxed quite lengthy poetic regarding this book that I love so much. In the end, I will just say: it will change your perception of design.
Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong
I should say this book gave me a sense of relief more so than joy. It was as though Cathy Park Hong sat me down and told me it was ok to have this collective feeling of pain, anger, helplessness, distress, and fear, yet at the same time feel optimistic.
What are you reading now?
I mastered the art of Tsundoku. There are dozens and dozens of books strewn around everywhere I am at any given time. Some are new, and some are books that I like to re-read (or not read) repeatedly. Currently, a few of the books on the floor next to where I sit are: English and Japanese editions of Murakami Haruki's 一人称単数 / First Person Singular; The Committed by Viet Thanh Nguyen; Last Boat Out of Shanghai by Helen Zia; The Age of Entitlement by Christopher Caldwell; Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu , Kissa by Kissa by Craig Mod, Dreyer's English by Benjamin Dreyer, and all 23 volumes of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.
Whose reading list are you most curious about?
"I have a few voracious readers as friends. I am constantly curious about what they are reading.”
— Julia Huang
