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Interview with Shanshan Huang |
Home > Designer Interviews > Shanshan Huang |
Editor Frank Scott (FS) from DesignPRWire has interviewed designer Shanshan Huang (SH) for A’ Design Award and Competition. You can access the full profile of Shanshan Huang 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?
SH: Since my childhood, I have been fascinated by art design and painting. I drew on tables, walls and the sides of drawers, all over our apartment. From doodling to basic painting training, it seems that there is no second ideal career other than being a designer in my mind.
FS: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
SH: In the fifth year of my jewelry design career, I decided to start a design studio and build my own brand. Our original intention was to truly understand the needs of the prospective customers and to reject ugly mass production, which in our mind lacked individuality and was a waste of nature's precious materials.
FS: What is "design" for you?
SH: Design for me is sacred, although also much fun. Certainly it’s not something just to play with. To create something from nothing that does not exist on Earth is in itself a bit of a god's job. Therefore, it is necessary to have full faith to create and truly meet the needs of the art., There can be no slack.
FS: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
SH: While I find fun in every kind of design work, the most interesting is to explore the use of visual symbol language from the ancient civilization art, find the meaning behind them, and give them new use value. To present the theme of the design that represents different cultures is what I take great delight in。
FS: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
SH: My most favorite design may always exist in my future.There is always room for improvement.
FS: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
SH: It's a diamond suit from the Virginia sun symbol for the first company I worked for.In retrospect, I think the design was not mature enough, but I was very satisfied at that time.
FS: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
SH: I think the best materials and technologies are the ones that can best meet the needs.So they're all my favorites,depends on different occasions.For example, if we need a variety of colors, I will consider enamel or titanium.
FS: When do you feel the most creative?
SH: I often have a lot of new ideas when I'm in bed and get ready to sleep. Unfortunately, it often leads to insomnia. and I'm quite creative when I'm driving too.
FS: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
SH: The first consideration is proportion, and then gradually the center of gravity, layering and surface texture. The last is the use experience.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
SH: Calm
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
SH: Critical. I would examine the piece closely and make sure that my original intention is truly realized and if there exists anything that needs improvement.
FS: What makes a design successful?
SH: It must be beautiful, easy to use and popular.
FS: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
SH: Whether the design concept is well represented.
FS: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
SH: No matter in terms of materials or aesthetics, the designer's role should be to make the world a little better, rather than to produce things that are ugly.
FS: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
SH: Basically, there are two trends, either the demand finds the designer, or the designer finds the demand themselves. As the demand changes, the designer needs to learn new things constantly. With people's demand for "dematerialization" gradually evolving, perhaps most of the design in the future will face the aesthetic needs of the virtual world, and no longer need to be turned into real objects.
FS: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
SH: In 2017, we held a static exhibition for the 4th anniversary of brand establishment in Paris, France. I hope the next large exhibition of personal works can be held in Beijing or Shanghai in China.
FS: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
SH: I'd like to say it's life. But in fact, my life is very peaceful and there is no spark. I cultivate creativity by meditating and observing my own mental world. A lot of inspiration comes from reading ，travelling and watching works of art, including exhibitions, movies, dances, etc.
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?
SH: Art Deco style and modern style. Because my college major was fashion design, I pay more attention to whether jewelry design is suitable for clothing matching. The main feature of my style is that it is neither too complicated nor too concise, with moderate elegance and details, which belongs to competent feminization. My design method is to make every detail through rigorous calculation of the proportion of the main stone size and matching structure, the overall size of the work and so on.
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?
SH: I live in Beijing, China's thousands of years of culture is indeed a rich heritage, and it is the treasure house of our designers' inspiration. To do design in China, the most important thing to face is that the market has not paid enough attention to and understood the value of design, but the good thing is that in the first and second tier cities with higher education level, people are becoming more and more willing to pay for design.
FS: How do you work with companies?
SH: My work with my own company is to establish a healthy communication system. The design cooperation with other companies also requires effective communication. Honesty in communication is the basis for creating good products.
FS: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
SH: Deep understanding of their own needs, effective communication with designers, absolute trust in professionalism, exert little or no interference, focus on finding the best solution Being familiar with materials, technology and implementation methods are useful indicators for a good designer, while empathy, being good at understanding the needs of service objects, and having a deep understanding of the cultural heritage are also necessary indicators for a good designer.
FS: Can you talk a little about your design process?
SH: I need to understand the reason why this jewelry was born, the problem it needs to solve, and then think about this original problem again and again, and then start drawing. Because most of our work is design customization. After defining the use requirements, I usually set up three completely different aesthetic directions to test the acceptance of our clients. At the same time, different budget intervals are also provided for these three variations.
FS: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
SH: A balcony with French windows, beige gauze curtains extending to the ground, grey and blue silk bedding, two bookshelves with iron and solid wood panels, and a movable side table.
FS: Can you describe a day in your life?
SH: I may start watching some documentaries while having breakfast. After that, light the essential oil lamp, put on the music, and do some dancing activities in the room. After that, I come to my desk and list the items to be completed for the day. I usually start from the administrative matters of the company, and then use the bulk of the time to design and draw. I regularly practice Jeet kune do in a boxing center to keep fit. As I stare at the screen for a long time, I deliberately leave the electronic products with the screen outside the bedroom before going to bed, and read paper books for a while before go to sleep.
FS: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
SH: Design work requires patience. When the client puts forward too much demand, it will inevitably be irritable. You need to find your own suitable way to coordinate the mind and the body. And understand that we should be grateful when clients come to ask for something, because it means that we can get to the point directly without much guessing.
FS: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
SH: Sometimes I am too conservative. I need to remind myself to keep a fresh mind and face the great changes in society with an open and positive attitude. But I am very patient. I have the perseverance to adhere to my goals in design career, as long as everything is clearly identified.
FS: What is your "golden rule" in design?
SH: Proportion, proportion, proportion.
FS: What skills are most important for a designer?
SH: Expression ability. It means that one is good at expressing feelings and emotions in drawings and the creation of shapes, and at the same time is able to describe clearly in language.
FS: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
SH: Jewelry drawing board of various shapes. In terms of electronic drawing, I like to use AI and PS, and procreate is commonly used on iPad.
FS: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
SH: I never stop thinking. Before I really start painting, I already know it in my mind. My childhood basic training in drawing and painting has given me the ability to draw quickly. Thanks for the time spent on continuous practice and learning.
FS: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
SH: There is no fixed length of time., Customized design and development for customers tend to be faster, and pieces developed by myself will be slower. I need time to settle down and clarify the requirements of my own product development.
FS: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
SH: Do you really need it？
FS: What was your most important job experience?
SH: I worked as an assistant to a famous jewelry designer for four years. , I gained much knowledge about jewelry design during that time.
FS: Who are some of your clients?
SH: In China, we mainly serve the elites of society. People with higher education background and working in big companies are our target client groups. They have higher demand for personalized and emotional jewelry, and they can also know their own needs more clearly. As for enterprises, we have cooperated with the Forbidden City Museum, Bank of China and other institutions with profound culture to produce cultural products.
FS: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
SH: I like exquisite, easy to wear, with a certain sense of existence of design works. If an ornament can be multi-functional, it will be even better.
FS: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
SH: We are planning a new product line for accessories besides jewelry.. It is hoped that more young consumers can enjoy the combination of traditional culture and new fashion at a lower price. It would be better if they could have more opportunities to deeply understand traditional culture.
FS: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
SH: Yes, we have a very small team. We have worked together for a long time and are familiar with each other.
FS: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
SH: I have a piece that I'm planning to call on people to be "anti-war.". But I'm still hesitating about its form, and I'm not sure whether I can present my ideas clearly.
FS: How can people contact you?
SH: Our home page is www.subrosajewelry.com It's easy to browse, or one can write to me directly cameo@subrosajewelry.com.
FS: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
SH: My other ideal is to combine pure art painting language with jewelry design, so that jewelry can always be displayed in the home environment in the form of a work of art. Last year, we cooperated with China's intangible cultural heritage's gold lacquer inlay process to produce a combined art suit of jewelry and tabletop insertion screen decoration, which is a set of works that I prefer at present. Search for supercameo on YouTube to see videos of the work.
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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