Growing up in southern New Jersey, Diane Hang Nguyen’s path to design was anything but linear. She started out studying pre-med at Middlebury College in Vermont, but soon discovered her passion for hospitality while being part of a student club that weekly transformed a dining hall into a restaurant.
From there, her journey led her to Cornell University’s Nolan School of Hotel Administration, then the Pratt Institute for interior design. A series of pivotal roles followed, including stints at Tihany Design and Rockwell Group.
Today, as vice president of design at Lucid/Highgate, she channels her background into a multifaceted approach to creating beautiful spaces.
What were you like as a kid?
Diane Hang Nguyen: I was determined, persistent, no-nonsense yet playful. I marched to the beat of my own drum. I often did my own thing. I’m not rebellious, but I don’t like to follow other people’s rules for me. I was also caring, loyal, and focused.
Dark hues define the lobby at the Goodrich-designed Romer Hell’s Kitchen
When did you know you wanted to work in hospitality?
DHN: I’ve always had a love for food. From a young age, I’d cook with my mom, aunts, and grandmom. At Middlebury, I was part of a club that would take over a dining hall every Friday night, turning it into a three-course restaurant serving fellow students. I had more interest (and fun) in that club than my pre-med studies. When I realized I wanted to switch majors, I applied to the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and Cornell’s hotel school. I was accepted to both and decided to attend Cornell knowing I could continue to work in the kitchen.
What did you do after graduation?
DHN: I first moved to Hawaii to work at the Westin Maui Resort & Spa Ka’anapali. Then, I moved to Los Angeles to work in F&B operations for Patina Restaurant Group. I worked in a beautiful space, but the bar was designed inefficiently. That’s when I recognized I wanted to create spaces for people that were not only beautiful, exciting, and different but also aligned with operations.
UCLA had an extension program, and I took classes at night while working fulltime. I was able to get internships at HBA and Gensler, and than a fulltime job with Kneedler Fauchère under Rocky La Fleur. But I knew I needed to be immersed in a program to understand the foundation of design. I moved to New York in 2009 to get my master’s in interior design from the Pratt Institute. I was fortunate to join Tihany Design upon graduating. I wanted to be at a firm where my hands were in everything.
How did you end up at Highgate?
DHN: After Tihany, I worked at Rockwell Group. I loved my time there because it broadened my horizons of understanding what we typify as hospitality. But I had a desire to shape the conversation around the whole project. Highgate is a bit of a unicorn in our industry as we can be owners, operators, and developers. The first project I worked on was the Kimpton Hotel Theta in Times Square, followed by Romer Hell’s Kitchen. They have the same owner and opened within three weeks of each other. It felt like we birthed twins.
A triptych of paintings backs the front desk at the Kimpton Hotel Theta, designed by Crème
Favorite part of the process?
DHN: Nothing replaces being in the built environment. I love watching guests come into the space and use it as we designed as well as use it differently than we envisioned it.
Do you collect anything?
DHN: I was born in the year of the pig in the Chinese zodiac, and I started collecting pig-related items. As a result, people started gifting me more pig things. I didn’t want to become a crazy pig lady, so I had to stop. I also like to collect mementos from each project like the logo pin the hotel team wears on their uniforms.
Bursts of green and yellow pop against wood tones at the Cardinal restaurant by Atelier Wren, located in Hotel Saint in London
Guilty pleasure?
DHN: Smutty romance novels. I read them constantly. That and any movie with Jason Statham.
What do you love about your job?
DHN: Design is not my first love, hospitality is. I still love to design, but I want to be part of the bigger conversation of creating experiences. I have to know how things operate, how to be profitable, and how to create a beautiful space. I’ve come full circle; I feel like this is what I should be doing.
