About

Base Saigon
is where Vietnamese brands learn to travel
Founded as Rice by Chí-An De Leo and Joshua Breidenbach in Ho Chi Minh City in 2011, before the market was ready and before the rules were written, Base Saigon was built on the belief that design and storytelling can help Vietnamese brands define themselves and move through the world. Today, in a country accelerating in real time and anchoring the network in Asia, the studio — based in a modernist 1960s house in central Saigon — positions local brands globally and global brands locally with cultural precision. Base Saigon shapes brands including Marou Chocolate, Pizza 4P’s, UNICEF Vietnam, Uniqlo, Uber and Baemin, and, beyond client work, its team of thirty creatives invests in design education, local events and publishing. Not as a side project, but as a responsibility.
Meet the basers
Possessing a truly global perspective, Chi-An brings a rich multicultural background: fluency in four languages and experience living across five countries. He launched his career in advertising before founding Rice (now BaseSGN) in 2011. Today, as Partner & CEO at BaseSGN, he spearheads business growth and development, applying the same strategic thinking honed through his passion for chess. Beyond his corporate endeavors, Chi-An is an avid sports enthusiast, particularly passionate about motorsports, a passion that led him to establish Vietnam's first multi-level indoor racing track.

Mark is a graphic designer based in Ho Chi Minh City, originally from Toronto. Shy, humble, and competitive growing up, he started out sketching superheroes in middle school – an early spark that showed him he could make a living doing what he loved. With over a decade of global experience, Mark joined BaseSGN as a Design Director, specializing in crafting brand identities, packaging, and communication design that feel both strategic and evocative.
What excites Mark most is creating moments of happiness, whether fleeting or lasting. Outside of work, he’s passionate about sports (except the ones he already found out he's not good at) and recently, pilates. To him, culture is the softer side of humanity – our shared emotions, expressions, and achievements that connect us across people and places.

Joshua uses design to make meaning move. He believes bold, unifying ideas can bridge cultures, spark connection, and drive positive change.
He’s drawn to work that lives in the middle – between art and strategy, intuition and intent – where pop meets purpose. His process is shaped by cultural diversity, collaboration, and a deep love of discovery. To him, storytelling and world-building aren’t trends; they’re tools for shaping tomorrow.
An entrepreneur at heart, Joshua co-founded Rice with Chí-An in 2011: building lasting relationships with brands he believes in, helping them grow across cultures and make ideas travel. That spirit now lives on as BaseSGN, where Joshua leads as Partner & Executive Creative Director. He leads with curiosity and care, challenging what’s expected to build what lasts: creative, connected, and made for better futures.

Before technology found him, Hậu’s world was only around the central of Vietnam, a place distant from modern tech, until his first smartphone opened a new world: jailbreaks, custom fonts, and, yes, a moment when Comic Sans felt “cool.” It was a time of Frutiger Aero and hyper-personalized digital aesthetics, when people approached technology with curiosity and a need to make it theirs.
That early intimacy with design shaped Hậu’s belief that aesthetics are inseparable from personal voice. Tumblr soon pulled him deeper and confirmed his path toward graphic design. Since then, he’s worked across industries – from record labels to tech companies to casinos – always chasing unexpected connections. Today, at BaseSGN Hậu builds and shapes his own visual worlds as a way to explore what it means to be human – still guided by the same instinct to notice and question that first drew him in.

Mỹ-Tiên grew up in Hồ Chí Minh City a place that never stands still. Quiet and observant, she found comfort in words and numbers filling notebooks with careful notes that mirrored how she made sense of the world. That instinct for structure led her to accounting.
At BaseSGN, she brings more than financial clarity – she brings calm, care, and a quiet superpower: noticing what others overlook and turning it into something useful. She was drawn to BaseSGN for its openness – the space to learn from many voices – and stays for the people: genuine, supportive, and always reminding her she’s not in it alone.
Outside the spreadsheets, you’ll find her behind a camera. Still observing, still capturing the world with quiet attention.

Rooted in Quảng Nam (now Đà Nẵng City), Tram graduated from the University of Finance and Accountancy and has built her career in taxes, banking, and auditing before joining BaseSGN.
As General Accountant, she manages accounting data and prepares financial reports, helping to keep BaseSGN’s operations clear and on track. Tram values the responsibility of seeing the whole accounting process through and takes pride in work that supports the studio’s future planning.
Outside of work, she enjoys reading, cooking, traveling, and spending time with family and friends. Cooking, in particular, brings her joy and a sense of balance in her daily life.

Trúc is a humble graphic designer based in vibrant Ho Chi Minh City, originally from Long Xuyên. Since her university days, she’s been drawn to culture fascinated by heritage, stories, and the emotions they carry. Through design, she strives to honour those stories, weaving thoughtful narratives into every project.
At BaseSGN, she brings sensitivity, sincerity, and a quiet determination to get to the heart of things. Though a little shy and easily scared, Trúc never lets fear stop her from asking questions or learning something new. To her, knowledge is a landscape of high mountains and deep ponds – challenging, but endlessly worth exploring.
She’s also a proud dog mom, doing everything she can to keep her furry babies happy.

Ange Linh’s path to filmmaking began with design. Growing up in France, she was drawn first to the world of graphic design, she soon discovered her love for images in motion – the way rhythm, cuts, and movement could shape emotion. That passion led her to Gobelins in Paris, where she specialized in Motion Design, and later to French production agencies and the Kourtrajmé school, where she refined her skills in editing and directing. Each step deepened her eye for storytelling, and the belief that visuals can carry both beauty and meaning.
In 2023, she moved to Vietnam to reconnect with her roots and expand her creative horizons. As Head of Film and Motion at BaseSGN, she brings together everything she’s learned – her design sensibility, her motion craft, her filmmaker’s curiosity – to create videos that resonate across cultures. Off set, she’s always observing, always collecting fragments of life and turning them into stories, because for her, film is as much about capturing moments as it is about making them last.

Came from the bustling capital of Vietnam, Duy then studied at the University of Applied Arts and Sciences in Hannover, Germany, and later moved to Ho Chi Minh City in 2023 to join Rice (now BaseSGN) as a senior designer.
Growing up, he was always asking “why” – questioning both the world around him and within himself. He learned early on to approach life with empathy and purpose. Proudly queer, Duy sees identity as something fluid – like culture itself – always evolving and best preserved through transformation. At BaseSGN, he thrives on the variety of projects, the joy of collaboration, and the unexpected outcomes that emerge when people create together.
Outside of design, Duy loves doing podcasts or showing off his unusual talent: clapping with one hand.

Thủy’s childhood took her across Vietnam, teaching her the art of adapting and the joy of connecting with people from all walks of life. Thoughtful by nature, she discovered early on a passion for building spaces where people can grow, belong, and thrive together.
As HR Admin Manager at BaseSGN, she does more than manage processes – she orchestrates the human side of work. Balancing structure with empathy, she finds common ground and turns everyday moments into opportunities for the team to shine.
Curious and restless, Thủy is just as likely to be trekking, dancing, or freediving as she is guiding a team at work. Whatever the context, she brings the same spirit of discovery: helping shape an environment where creativity and people can flourish.

Personal growth has always been at the heart of everything Jessie does – a value instilled early and carried through every step since.
She joined the studio in 2021 as Store Manager and has since grown into her current role as Operations Manager at BaseSGN. Working across teams, Jessie strengthens internal systems and fine-tunes the everyday structures that keep the studio running smoothly.
Outside the studio, she finds balance in quieter joys: drawing, crocheting, and simply enjoying time to herself. An introvert at heart, Jessie embraces stillness the same way she approaches growth: with patience, curiosity, and care.

Khanh Nguyen is a strategist at BaseSGN, shaped by a life lived between coasts in the U.S. After graduating from Emerson College in Boston, she moved to Los Angeles, where she worked across the film industry – from writers’ rooms to experiential activations. What began as a love of cinema grew into a fascination with narrative itself: how stories move people, and how brands can, too.
At BaseSGN, Khanh’s path evolved from project management to strategy: a shift born from curiosity and a desire to understand what drives clients forward. Today, she combines analytical rigor with cultural sensitivity to help brands articulate not just what they do, but why it matters.
Outside the studio, she’s an avid observer of film and food, sharing thoughtful reviews on Letterboxd and Beli. Her latest mission: making Beli "fetch" in Saigon.

Minh-Anh Nguyen is a Vietnamese-American designer guided by observation and curiosity. Born in Seattle but shaped by New York – where she arrived with no plans or connections – she learned to navigate the unfamiliar through attention, intuition, and an eye for what often goes unnoticed.
After nearly five years designing data-driven graphics at Bloomberg Businessweek, her urge to see from new angles led her to Vietnam in 2024, where she joined Rice – now BaseSGN – as a Senior Designer. Her work helps brands articulate who they are and build worlds that feel honest and alive.
Outside design, Minh-Anh has danced since childhood. These days, she practices street dance and occasionally organizes community events – spaces where movement, music, and connection meet.

Thương began her career as a printing technology engineer – a start that gave her both a sharp technical mind and a maker’s instinct.
She’s the proud introvert who channels her inner extrovert to connect with suppliers, collaborate with designers, and keep projects moving with curiosity (and, yes, a liiiiiiittle bit of OCD).
When it comes to structural and product design, Thương blends creativity with precision, always pushing to make things smarter, sharper, better. Years of experimentation have filled her toolbox with techniques and tricks she uses not to say “no,” but to find the one way to say “how.”

Tiến is a German-Vietnamese graphic designer who spent most of his life in Berlin before relocating to Ho Chi Minh City. As the child of hardworking immigrants, he naturally followed the dream every Vietnamese parent has for their kid: becoming a creative.
He first studied art history and worked as an artist liaison and communications manager in some of Germany’s leading galleries – until he got restless and pivoted into design. For over a decade, he helped create visual identities and campaigns for museums, theaters, and cultural institutions, always with a love for print, editorial, and spatial work grounded in typographic experimentation. In his role as Design Director at BaseSGN, Tien focuses on leading and mentoring the design team and the wider studio.
Always curious for the “other,” Tien loves to reference niche pop culture, geek out over indie video games, and go on questionable culinary adventures.

Y-Vân brings an international perspective to BaseSGN, shaped by years of working across Europe before relocating to Ho Chi Minh City. She sees her background not as baggage but as a tool: something that helps her move fluidly between cultures, projects, and people.
As a Project Manager, she balances expectations, manages timelines, and fosters the kind of open dialogue where client goals and team expertise meet seamlessly. Her approach is dynamic, her commitment steady, and her craft always rooted in respect – for the work, the team, and the people she collaborates with.
A believer in growth without limits, Y-Vân constantly seeks challenges that push her beyond her comfort zone. Travel is one of her greatest sources of fuel: it feeds her curiosity, broadens her perspective, and deepens her understanding of people and cultures.

Hồng’s early years were in Northern Vietnam, but Ho Chi Minh City has been home since she was three. Numbers have been her language for more than twenty years, across industries and boardrooms, until she landed at BaseSGN at the tail end of the pandemic – right in the middle of change, chaos, and possibility.
As Head of Finance & Accounting, she does more than balance budgets. She builds trust, clears the fog, and makes collaboration feel less like a headache and more like progress. Her calm presence is the kind that steadies a room, even when the spreadsheets don’t.
Outside the office, Hồng switches gears: gardening gloves, handmade projects, or testing new recipes on her family (willingly or not). She’s proof that finance doesn’t have to be dry. It can be thoughtful, human, and even a little bit fun.

With a background spanning advertising, motion design, and arts & crafts, Hiếu Võ draws from a diverse set of experiences to bring fresh perspectives to his work.
As a senior designer at BaseSGN, he blends his fascination with new technologies and his knack for storytelling to create visuals that not only turn heads but also carry weight. He has a habit of digging into the narratives behind images, making sure his designs feel purposeful and memorable.
Outside of work, you’ll likely find him over a chessboard – still plotting moves, just in a quieter arena.

Seb grew up in Antwerp. A city where heritage meets creative energy. Restless and curious, he was the kind of kid who built, drew, and dismantled things just to see how they worked. That instinct to explore and understand still drives him today.
As a managing director at BaseSGN, Seb helps shape an environment where creativity and collaboration thrive. He works in the space between structure and freedom, turning clarity into possibility. For him, design is a way to connect: between people, ideas, and the systems that hold them together.
Outside the studio, Seb stays in motion. He races, tinkers with engines, and experiments with new ideas alongside his daughter – always chasing the details that make things move.

For over a decade, Anna has been the steady hand behind Rice’s production driven by precision, care, and a belief that ideas deserve to be made real. From a single chocolate wrapper to a national uniform system, she treats every project with the same respect: make it well, or don’t make it at all.
Her instinct for making runs deep. Her father built, crafted, and created – always turning ideas into something tangible. Growing up in that spirit of creation shaped how Anna sees production: not as logistics, but as the moment vision takes form.
As Production Director at BaseSGN, she’s brought to life everything from monumental art installations to exquisitely printed packaging to multi-day conferences. Calm in her leadership, sharp in her eye, she connects people, timelines, and ideas – so what leaves the studio doesn’t just work, it resonates.

Known affectionately as “Thương Admin”, Thương is a Studio Assistant with endless enthusiasm for helping out. She thrives on making sure things run smoothly and is often the first to step in when someone needs a hand.
Along the way, she’s developed a quirky talent for finding things – though not always on the first try. Lost, misplaced, or simply hard to track down, Thương is the one who won’t stop until it’s solved (just like the everyday puzzles at the studio).
That mix of reliability, humor, and care makes her the kind of teammate everyone is glad to have around.

The thing about Khổng Linh is that you can tell her literally anything and she will turn wide-eyed with excitement. With a background in communications and an almost unhealthy obsession with making sense of the world, naturally, Khổng Linh found her way into strategy. Before landing as Brand Strategist at BaseSGN, Khổng dabbled in all sorts of things: writing for queer organizations, podcasting on both sides of the mic, debating (and organizing it), and essay writing (somehow got published, too).
Her favorite film duo is Whiplash x Sound of Metal, which she thinks speaks volumes about the kind of person that she is. Khổng Linh is also a part-time baker and an avid cat lover.

As an Account Manager at BaseSGN, Vy helps brands find clarity in the beautiful chaos of creative work. Over the past eight years, she’s learned that great partnerships are a lot like good puff pastry, built with patience, layers, and just enough pressure to rise.
Before joining Base, she managed strategic retainers at leading creative agencies, translating complex briefs into ideas that make both clients and creatives proud.
Outside the studio, Vy splits her time between baking and running: two pursuits that balance precision with endurance. It’s the same mix she brings to her work: steady, thoughtful, and quietly unstoppable.





