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Interview with Siu Man Chan |
Home > Designer Interviews > Siu Man Chan |
Editor Frank Scott (FS) from DesignPRWire has interviewed designer Siu Man Chan (SMC) for A’ Design Award and Competition. You can access the full profile of Siu Man Chan 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?
SMC: Drawing has always been one of my passion and talent since I was a child. I thought I was going to be an artist but then I went into University to study architecture. I need to do something I like and that also pays the bill. During my time at architecture school, although I loved working with spatial design and the built environment I never felt like I am really an 'architect' architect. This is reflected early on in my post-graduate career, where I began to move into the field of masterplanning and urban design.
FS: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
SMC: Urbitect Works is a design platform/ studio where I would like to put some of my theories and philosophy about design into practice. The word "Urbitect" is merging the two words "Urban' & "Architect" together. I guess this reflects some of the feelings I developed during Architecture School. I think Urbitect Works is still undergoing certain evolution and transformation as I continue to aim to refine my approach in design. I am also hoping Urbitects Works will continue to grow as more designer with similar thoughts would like to collaborate.
FS: What is "design" for you?
SMC: Design are many questions with many answers. It is this process of finding the right question and finding the a suitable answer which is fascinating for me and for I guess for many designers. It can be very personal and emotional when designers are engaged in this process. Now on top of that, designers are faced with challenge of time, resources, team work and client expectations.
FS: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
SMC: I do love looking at masterplans which are more integrated within the natural topography and vegetation. I like to study how the edge of the architecture may interact with the landscape. I love looking at how external space can interact with interior space or creating semi-open spaces. The type of spaces you go to to find peace, harmony & quiet.
FS: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
SMC: One of my most favorite Architect from a different era is Frank Lloyd Wright. Out of his works, my favorite are the Falling waters and the Robie House. I am also a big fan of Rem Koolhas, OMA and Bjarke Ingels, both of them showed the world how design can be approached in a completely different way.
FS: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
SMC: I did a design of a special built-in wall mail-box for a small house in Brisbane, Australia while working as a student architect for Williamson Architects.
FS: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
SMC: My favorite material is timber and brick, they gives feeling of warmth and comfort.
FS: When do you feel the most creative?
SMC: I feel most creative after a few drinks happy with my friends and very late nights coming up with ideas for a design project working with close colleagues.
FS: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
SMC: I think in the classic saying of design " form" and "function". Now for me in the design thought process, one of them engages the "emotional" side and the other engages the "logical" side. I guess when focusing on emotional side of design makes me very happy when I am drunk on dopamine. However, emotions can be biases and clouds judgement of rationale. Therefore, for each project I now apply a systematic approach to engaging different side of the design process.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
SMC: I can feel a full spectrum of emotions during the design stages. I can feel excited, frustrated, anger, sad, happy, anxious and uncertain.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
SMC: I feel relaxed, calm and peaceful when I see my designs are realized. Because I know the client is happy, the project is completed and the emotional days are over for this particular project.
FS: What makes a design successful?
SMC: I think a successful design is more about the people, stakeholders, end-users,etc involved in the project and having a positive experience with the people and the project. I think that positive experience firstly comes deeply from the training and mastering both "rationale" and "poetics" of the design as a designer. Secondly, conveying a convincing story in design it is also very crucial to creating this positive experience shared by the people of the project. Finally, whether the design actually can be implemented as per the original story.
FS: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
SMC: Firstly I would look at whether the story & concept has strong relationship with both the social, economic & environmental context. Then I would study to see whether the design has been successfully implemented as per the original story.
FS: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
SMC: I think designers are responsible for helping society in placing different values into physical and visual form. We are also responsible for pushing ideas and design which is positive to both the society and the environment. I think one of our greatest gift to the world is the ability to imagine.
FS: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
SMC: i think the design field has gone through an era of experimenting and playfulness and sometimes wastefulness since the industrial revolution. As resources in the planet are becoming less abundance yet the population continues to grow, we are already seeing a lot of "shared" entities and enterprises. I think the future design field needs to become more about precision, smart and effective. There are already startups and businesses looking into the possibility of design, parametric and artificial Intelligences.
FS: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
SMC: The last time I had one of my projects held at an exhibition hall was in 2016, when one of my first urban design and masterplanning project received a design award from the Hong Kong Institute of Landscape Architects.
FS: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
SMC: I think the world is full of perception and imagination. Movies and anime which are filled with emotions are very good source of inspiration. Designs, artwork and graphics from other designers or architects also serve has inspiration.
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?
SMC: I am not sure if I have a particular style I can describe, however I have a particular set of logic to help me derive the design style. The set of logic which involves understanding the social-economic context of the project, cultural background of the location and also understanding client's system of value.
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?
SMC: I grew up and studied architecture in Brisbane, Australia. Brisbane is a place with strong respect for people, communities and the natural environment. When I graduate, I went back to Hong Kong the place where I was born and started working as an graduate architect. Hong Kong is a place where capitalists, business & economic are highly valued.
FS: How do you work with companies?
SMC: For every project, I would step into the shoes of the client and try to see things from their view. Once I understand their perspective, I could begin to communicate my ideas and suggestions using their words and jargon. I think design ideas and concepts are rejected most of the time due to lack of understanding and sometimes misinterpretation.
FS: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
SMC: I think it is important to find a designer who would listen and understand you and your values. He comes back with a design based on his beliefs but married to your values. I think problems and issues arise when values and beliefs system are different between the company and the designer and both parties are not trying to understand each other.
FS: Can you talk a little about your design process?
SMC: I start the design process with a story about the past, the present and what it could be in the future. The story of what we think the future may happen what our proposal may or may not be affected by these trends. Especially as urban designers or master planners, we look further into the future for up to 10 to 15 years. We also look at the spaces, ideas and designs which have been successful in the past and has never changed. Then we combine the future story with the practical past and we start sketching it out and testing it on plan and 3D massing. The more time you spent or the more iterations you do on the design, the more you understand about the project and the more you realizes.
FS: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
SMC: I don't really have much design items at home, My IMAC, my magnetic levitational earth, my parents bicycle theme item collections, my matchbox car shelf collection &wooden bench dining table
FS: Can you describe a day in your life?
SMC: Typical 9-6 office work life
FS: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
SMC: My advice for young designers would be they need to think and look at things more than design. I encourage them to look at design from a business, market and value standpoint.This is the same precision I think the design industry is hurdling towards.
FS: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
SMC: I would say being a designer is one of the best way to manifest creativity in the business world.
FS: What is your "golden rule" in design?
SMC: There is no golden rule in design. But I do not believe in master apprentice relationship in design practice. However I do believe in the dynamic design process between a mature designers with sensitivity and young designers with a mind full of possibility. One finding the right questions and the other one finding the possible answers.
FS: What skills are most important for a designer?
SMC: Critical Thinking, persistence and communication
FS: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
SMC: I do a lot of sketches with ink pen, colour markers, I use AutoCad, Sketchup, Rhino, Photoshop, Illustrator and Indesign
FS: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
SMC: I think design is not a simple straight-forward but can be broken into simple task with smaller time steps and put back together again into a larger picture.
FS: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
SMC: There is no definite time for designing, but there is a definite time for presentation and manufacture/ fabrication.
FS: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
SMC: What kind of project are you working on?
FS: What was your most important job experience?
SMC: In 2009, when I worked on a major commercial project in China during it's construction stage.
FS: Who are some of your clients?
SMC: Family, Friends and Colleagues.
FS: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
SMC: I enjoyed sketching and 3D modelling.
FS: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
SMC: I would like to continue to run my own design studio full-time.
FS: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
SMC: I think design teamwork is most important to the success of all of the projects I worked on. When working on a design, each team member should work on the design from different scales, approaches and angles.
FS: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
SMC: Not at this moment.
FS: How can people contact you?
SMC: Email me at simonchan@urbitect.org and my number is +852 6922 6389
FS: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
SMC: I think that covers everything.
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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