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Interview with Hyeonil Jeong |
Home > Designer Interviews > Hyeonil Jeong |
Editor Frank Scott (FS) from DesignPRWire has interviewed designer Hyeonil Jeong (HJ) for A’ Design Award and Competition. You can access the full profile of Hyeonil Jeong by clicking here.
FS: Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?
HJ: I studied Human Environmental design in Korea and worked as 3d cad/rendering artist in an interior design company. After the years of work in a cubicle, I got sick of the 'computer only' work process and got more into making a tangible piece out of my idea. So I decided to study industrial design and came to New York to take product design major in Parsons the New School for Design.
FS: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
HJ: I am not working as a company / company, for the time being. I have a full-time designer job during the business hour and invest my evening and weekend time on my own freelance projects or the other side works. That's the reason why I named my instagram account not as a design studio but 'Hyeonil Jeong Design Garage'
FS: What is "design" for you?
HJ: Design is the strongest method of communication to interact with the others. To me, design is like a doorway to the world.
FS: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
HJ: I love designing furniture the most. That's the category represents the relation of the human body and the object.
FS: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
HJ: I like the furniture designs of 'Nendo.' To choose my favorite one out of their amazing pieces I would pick the 'Cabbage Chair' (2008).
FS: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
HJ: I designed a piggy bank with the posture of a pregnant woman for a New York-based company Le Mouton Noir. It was a fun project and everything came out successful in the end.
FS: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
HJ: I personally choose molded plywood as my favorite material and technic.
FS: When do you feel the most creative?
HJ: There are moments of hitting up design ideas during the spare time even without pen and paper with me. Sometimes I need to document them using the voice recording feature on my phone.
FS: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
HJ: I always spend most of my energy making a 'proper big picture.' I just found that I can never make a set of coherent decisions without a well-defined background idea.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
HJ: Design process makes me feel like building a small world in a little corner of space.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
HJ: When I was young I just was very excited to see the first sample piece out of the production line. These days, I feel a bit nervous to face the marketing/sale challenge at the same time.
FS: What makes a design successful?
HJ: Good understanding of the target audience and their needs. That actually is more than 90% of product design.
FS: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
HJ: Level and quality of communication. I usually think mostly about how well does the project communicates the idea to the audience.
FS: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
HJ: As a member of in the society, we need to speak out about the positive results possibly caused by design practices. Despite its possibility, a design still not considered very well as a solution to the social and environmental problems.
FS: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
HJ: I think the border between designer and user will get weaker and weaker. Thanks to the advanced interactive digital environment, the user group will affect the design process with their active and strong feedback.
FS: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
HJ: I was in Wanted Design 2015 with my prototype in New York. Currently, I have an idea for my solo exhibition in Seoul in the next couple of years.
FS: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
HJ: It is not about a specific object or space but I would say that every moment I feel something is wrong, I came up to a design idea.
FS: How would you describe your design style? What made you explore more this style and what are the main characteristics of your style? What's your approach to design?
HJ: I usually focus more on the big picture rather than the detail. For this reason, I tend to concentrate on finding out the best structure and mechanism and try to show it off in the as intuitive way as possible.
FS: Where do you live? Do you feel the cultural heritage of your country affects your designs? What are the pros and cons during designing as a result of living in your country?
HJ: I was born and raised in South Korea for 30 years and currently live in New York. The cultural and economic development of South Korea in the last few decades taught me many things about the progress of culture and society. Now working and living in New York, I can get unlimited inspiration from many different racial groups with their endless stories. Cultural richness and diversity is the most powerful reason to live and work in this city. The downside is the toughness of survival due to the competitive environment.
FS: How do you work with companies?
HJ: Of course, I work with companies in the business based relationship. However, I try my best to be a friend with them at the end of the project not only for the expansion of my professional network but also for learning and getting some inspiration.
FS: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
HJ: Avoid sticking to the detail too much. You will realize that, in the most of the projects in the real world, designers cannot adust every single detail. Let's say, you will hardly have a chance to design a device with custom-made screws for the specific device you are working for but usually will be requested to use the standard screws instead. What you can do is design a good piece not depend only on the details of screws. That's why I highlight the big picture the more than the detail in my process.
FS: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
HJ: Pros, I feel creative enough when I am thinking about my next project. Cons, I just realize I cannot be creative enough to bring it into the real world.
FS: What is your "golden rule" in design?
HJ: Calculate and organize the schedule tightly and double the expected timeline before diving into the project.
FS: What skills are most important for a designer?
HJ: Looking around, Chatting around and taking note.
FS: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
HJ: It depends on the project. Usually, it takes as much as defined on the term on the paper. If it is a six months project, I spend six months of time to try, fail and learn again and again.
FS: Who are some of your clients?
HJ: I have designed for the American retail stores such as Bed Bath & Beyond, Homegoods, Burlington and higher-end brands including Two's Company, Tozai and Cosmopolitan Magazine. Among them, Gantri, the San Francisco based start-up which is specialized in 3d print table lamp was the most impressive one of the recent clients.
FS: Thank you for providing us with this opportunity to interview you.
A’ Design Award and Competitions grants rights to press members and bloggers to use parts of this interview. This interview is provided as it is; DesignPRWire and A' Design Award and Competitions cannot be held responsible for the answers given by participating designers.
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