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Interview with Junghee Lee |
Home > Designer Interviews > Junghee Lee |
Editor Frank Scott (FS) from DesignPRWire has interviewed designer Junghee Lee (JL) for A’ Design Award and Competition. You can access the full profile of Junghee Lee 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?
JL: Ever since my early teens, hip-hop music, B-movies, and street culture have been the foundation of my design background.
FS: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
JL: 2m2 Architects aims to present new cultural and social possibilities in the conventional and traditional Korean architectural scene. They are interested in various fields beyond architecture, such as design, music, video, and street culture, and they collaborate on projects with these diverse areas.
FS: What is "design" for you?
JL: HIPHOP
FS: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
JL: house, furniture, music, t-shirts
FS: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
JL: My favorite project is my first one, 'Daebong-dong Commercial.' It's because it was the project where I most deliciously combined materials like concrete, wood, glass, and metal.
FS: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
JL: house
FS: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
JL: concrete, steel, wood, glass
FS: When do you feel the most creative?
JL: I feel most creative when I bring my imagined ideas to life exactly as I envisioned them.
FS: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
JL: I intentionally try to avoid existing ideas as much as possible. There is no point in following others.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
JL: It always seems different each time. Some days I feel very excited and joyful, while on other days, my thoughts come to a halt and it's painful.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
JL: I couldn't be happier. I feel joyful, fulfilled, and extremely happy.
FS: What makes a design successful?
JL: The effort to resolve the details thoroughly without stopping midway is what makes a design successful.
FS: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
JL: he most important things are how complete and detailed the design is and whether it brings something new that didn't exist before.
FS: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
JL: Is there really a responsibility? Designers don't necessarily have to present something new to the public. They just need to continue designing without compromising.
FS: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
JL: It's a meaningless question.
FS: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
JL: My last exhibition was in Seoul last year. For my next exhibition, I want to try it in a very rough environment at a construction site.
FS: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
JL: My design inspiration will continue to come from music, movies, and street culture in the future.
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?
JL: HIPHOP
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?
JL: I live in Seoul, South Korea. Seoul is an incredibly vibrant city, with new things constantly emerging and disappearing at a rapid pace. I recommend that designers from around the world live in Seoul at least once.
FS: How do you work with companies?
JL: Architects are among the people who collaborate the most. Collaboration is always enjoyable and generates new ideas.
FS: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
JL: It is difficult to propose to a company first. If you develop your own style, the company will contact you first for collaboration.
FS: Can you talk a little about your design process?
JL: I simply take out and use the thoughts I've stored in my mind one by one.
FS: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
JL: turntable, desk, speaker, book, dvd
FS: Can you describe a day in your life?
JL: It's very simple. Reading books, watching movies, taking walks, listening to music, and designing—this is my daily routine.
FS: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
JL: Listen to music, watch movies, and exercise.
FS: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
JL: The positive aspect is the happiness you feel when a design comes to life. The negative aspect is the constant pressure to create something new.
FS: What is your "golden rule" in design?
JL: The intuitive feeling is the most important.
FS: What skills are most important for a designer?
JL: Persistent and continuous work.
FS: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
JL: Pencil, notebook, and computer.
FS: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
JL: I use eight hours every day regularly.
FS: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
JL: The actual time spent on pure design is quite short. However, the follow-up work to implement it takes 2-3 months.
FS: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
JL: How on earth did you come up with this?
FS: What was your most important job experience?
JL: Building a structure on your own.
FS: Who are some of your clients?
JL: Individual and company.
FS: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
JL: Trying and doing things you haven't done before.
FS: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
JL: I want to keep doing this work I love sustainably for a long time.
FS: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
JL: I do all the design work by myself.
FS: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
JL: I am working on architecture combined with music and AI.
FS: How can people contact you?
JL: email
FS: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
JL: I have nothing more to say.
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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