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Interview with Zoey Lin |
Home > Designer Interviews > Zoey Lin |
Editor Frank Scott (FS) from DesignPRWire has interviewed designer Zoey Lin (ZL) for A’ Design Award and Competition. You can access the full profile of Zoey Lin 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?
ZL: Originally from Taiwan, I began as a fine artist investigating realism in painting and drawing. My work has evolved into multimedia works examining the existence of matter and the tension between the perceived “surface layer” and an imagined “flowing underlying layer.” I examine this tension in diverse subject matter utilizing collaged physical everyday objects and organic textures. Six years ago, observing and shooting mold growing on a wall day by day, I observed the decaying process via time, environment, and human factors. Wall mold grows, decomposes and proliferates in a similar way to more highly evolved creatures. By analyzing the conditions and the motion and comparing it to biological evolution, “Step by Step” (Stop motion, 2012) became the pilot animated film for three animation installation pieces in 2013-2014: “Semi-liquid Space”, “Breeding Ground” and “Fish-Bird Community”. These three pieces contained imaginative organic design that evolved in three different manners: living characteristics, sociological metaphor, and exploration of techniques intended to visualize the growth of the mold. I am interested in the duality of what you see versus what lies underneath.
FS: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
ZL: I haven’t had my own company or design studio. But I do have plan for initiating my own brand and studio soon. It’s first going to be a brand/studio that can work closely with other fashion or accessories brands for creating contents like assemblage artwork, animation, mixed-media, interactive works, etc. by utilizing their products. And for later phase, I do wish to expand my brand into the scope that can produce and design transdisciplinary projects.
FS: What is "design" for you?
ZL: For me design is transferring imagination and inspiration into reality or visual experience. In other words, it’s a process of sculpting ideas which requires to put multiple layers of ideation together and later trim them down to accomplish the best interpretation.
FS: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
ZL: Site-specific installation, multimedia installation, mixed-media artworks, collage art, craft, transdisciplinary experiences
FS: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
ZL: My favorite design is a film and graffiti art called “MUTO” by Italian street artist BLU. I first saw his work when I was in college which inspired me a lot. In his work, I can see the circulation of composition and decomposition which is extremely organic and imaginative not to mention audience can witness the passage of time frame by frame during the whole progress. Besides, his work has “site-specific” component in it, which he utilizes buildings, spaces, items on the ground, etc. to create plots and transitions seamlessly.
FS: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
ZL: 2010- 2011 Chief Designer | Zhong Zheng Senior High School, Responsible for the exhibition, poster, special issues, peripheral products, etc. for The project of Vibrating Bridge Cultural and Historical Preservation Plan.
FS: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
ZL: My favorite material is found objects like jewelries, hardware, shells, etc. Things with intricate details and organic features are big plus for me and can catch my eyes easily. I usually start my projects with materials inspired me and define concepts with further researches. After that, I will decide what kind of platform or technology I should use. Generally, I love platform which can let audience to explore, uncover, touch and interact.
FS: When do you feel the most creative?
ZL: I feel the most creative after I swim in the morning.
FS: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
ZL: The level of integration between visual outlook and philosophical idea behind it.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
ZL: I feel alive, passionate and optimistic. It’s very surreal but I do feel all my senses work so much better than normal and my body temperature will be higher than normal. And the weirdest thing is that I don’t feel hanger at all :)
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
ZL: I feel more connected to this world. And this emotion can echo a term: “Technique, is something that people can find their position in the universe” by Levi Strauss.
FS: What makes a design successful?
ZL: For me, the most important key factor to make a design successful is how much originality I can pull out from myself and transform into a form for others to experience.
FS: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
ZL: originality, visual outlook and social function
FS: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
ZL: Think big and break the boundaries of different disciplines with vision, originality and knowledge.
FS: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
ZL: It seems that more and more multitaskers in the design field and transdisciplinary design and art is going to be the future.
FS: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
ZL: My last exhibition was at Los Angeles Center for Digital Art (LACDA) from March 14 to April 06, 2019 and that’s my first solo exhibition which showcased two of my multimedia installation projects: “Relation Ship” and “Mental Black Hole”. And I want to have my next solo exhibition in 2020.
FS: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
ZL: My design inspiration mostly from material itself and texture of the material. Besides that, I love to feed my creativity by studying marine biological forms and scientific illustration of microorganism under electron microscope. Especially illustration works by Ernst Haeckel, it’s great source and reference for me to think about how nature and everything formed.
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?
ZL: I would describe my design style as organic, surreal and full of intricate details. My approach to design is usually starts with some found materials, concepts and philosophical ideas behind.
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?
ZL: I am originally from Taiwan, a country surrounded by ocean. My childhood memories contain many sea lifeforms and so I deeply inspired by the sound of the ocean and the touch of sea and creatures. People can easily find my works full of textures and have quality of flowing water and liquidity for both visual and audio. Since climate in Taiwan is extremely humid and warm, things are easily decayed or changed if you don’t preserve it properly and intentionally. In other words, this factor makes things hard to keep in “perfect condition”. Things will change with the passage of time. However, this “cons” give me a lot of inspiration on creating works in dynamics and motions.
FS: How do you work with companies?
ZL: It depends. Some projects require to be on site so that it’s easier to have access towards equipment, stage and every other thing especially film or animation production which is under the camera. But if projects like graphic design or prototype, I work remotely by uploading files to dropbox or google drive and communicating with customers through Skype or e-mail.
FS: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
ZL: My suggestions to companies for working with a designer is establishing a reasonable production schedule, one that is organized and builds trust among designers. And the way to select a good designer is by taking a close look at their resume and past and existing designs.
FS: Can you talk a little about your design process?
ZL: My design process normally starts with something “tangible” like found objects or drawings. Meanwhile, I do a lot of research into philosophical concepts to assist me in evolving and expanding my ideas to support the context of the work. As soon as my concept and experiment phase takes shape, and once I have a primary direction established, I move towards more technical issues, then I will set a clear production schedule for fulfilling the project.
FS: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
ZL: My five favorite design items at home are: 1 - Riedel Twenty Twelve Red and Black Dragon Crystal Wine Decanter 2 – Diamantini & Domeniconi black cotton cloth clock 3 – Peugeot salt and pepper mill 4 – Bodum Pavina 8.5-Ounce Double-Wall Thermo Timber / DOF Glass 5 – MUJI black 0.38 clip-on gel pen
FS: Can you describe a day in your life?
ZL: Generally my day pattern is like following: 7am swim, 8am breakfast, 8:30am walk dogs, 9am working time, 1pm lunch, 2pm working time, 5pm walk dogs, 6pm working time, 9pm dinner, 10pm shower, 11pm TV time, 12am bed time
FS: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
ZL: When you are doing something you passionate about it sometimes means suffering. And you also need to do something you don’t feel comfortable with sometimes to make things happened. The most important thing is always tackling big problem first and digging into the small details
FS: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
ZL: The best thing about being a designer is you can learn how to make decision fast and precisely and work creatively. But you have certain degree of pressure for accommodating and digesting different perspectives, information, voices and feedbacks from users and viewers. And you always have to find a balance for it.
FS: What is your "golden rule" in design?
ZL: 70% great idea and set solid goal to make it happen + 30% unexpected magic
FS: What skills are most important for a designer?
ZL: Time management, problem-solving ability, passion, patient, communication ability.
FS: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
ZL: Since it’s a multimedia installation projects there are different of materials and tools used to accomplish this piece such as Dragonframe Stop-Motion software, Adobe Suite, Cricut, Agisoft Photogammetry Software, Maya, Redshift, Oculus Rift, Oculus Go, 2K Projection System, etc. As for the books and sources of inspiration come from different field in philosophy, science, medicine, etc.
FS: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
ZL: I normally will have three types of schedules. First, I’ll have a month-based production schedule which serve as big main direction. And later, I’ll break down into weekly units to achieve each months’ goal. I utilize Excel to design above two types schedule. However, there are always some changes and variable factors and so I use google calendar to arrange my daily.
FS: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
ZL: Most of my multimedia installation projects take 1-2 years to accomplish. And the individual artworks or objects vary from 1 week to 1 month.
FS: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
ZL: What’s the inspiration for you to create your works?
FS: What was your most important job experience?
ZL: My most important job experience is working on the stop-motion film “MAD GOD” directed by Phil Tippett which give me a chance to work closely with this legendary filmmaker and vfx wizard. I help with some experimental shooting and compositing which serve as pre-viz and experiment in the film production which been developing for more than three decades.
FS: Who are some of your clients?
ZL: My clients so far are animation studios and schools
FS: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
ZL: I enjoy work that can make people think deeper, surprise audience with the concept behind and stunning visual representation. In other words, work has high quality of social, interactive and visual functions inspire me the most.
FS: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
ZL: My dream for future is to eventually have my own brand and studio. My short-term goal for next is to find sponsorship from fashion or accessories brands and companies. I wish to cooperate with them by repurposing their products into assemblage artworks and animation to create interesting art and visual experiences for viewers and customers.
FS: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
ZL: I mostly develop idea and finish design by myself. But for the project stop-motion vr multimedia installation project- “Relation Ship” I worked with two other artists – Kun Xia (vr visual effect creative director) and Ping Sheng Wu (composer and sound designer) to achieve it.
FS: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
ZL: I help and freelance on two work-in-progress projects lately. One is the stop-motion film project-“MAD GOD” directed by Phil Tippett which give me a chance to work closely with this legendary filmmaker and vfx wizard. I help with some experimental shooting and compositing which serve as pre-viz and experiment in the film production which been developing for more than three decades. The other is the interactive project led by artist Juri Hwang. She has this idea and been developing research aspect of this multisensory sound repairing interactive device for children- “Sound Toy for EJ” for many years. And I am responsible as creative director for visual design and character development. Besides, I work as art and film teacher and creative director at Oasis Trilingual Community School. Students develop their own script and turn into short film, which is very original, creative, wild and at the same time very challenging. It’s an amazing experience for me to work with kids and dig into all kinds of possibilities in visual, props and costumes design.
FS: How can people contact you?
ZL: EMAIL: zoey.linwanchen@gmail.com WEBSITE: www.linwanchen.com FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000304664750 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/zooeylinwanchen/?hl=en
FS: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
ZL: n/a
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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