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Interview with Christia Cheuk-Ying Fung |
Home > Designer Interviews > Christia Cheuk-Ying Fung |
Editor Frank Scott (FS) from DesignPRWire has interviewed designer Christia Cheuk-Ying Fung (CCF) for A’ Design Award and Competition. You can access the full profile of Christia Cheuk-Ying Fung 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?
CCF: Back in the day, I would doodle a bunch when there was nothing else to do. It was one of a few hobbies that helped kill a lot of time and fight boredom. Before design, I was in college for electrical engineering, but I lost interest in it, and was fortunate to be accepted into York University/Sheridan Joint Program in Design once I received my engineering diploma. Nowadays, I am lucky enough to turn those doodles into designs for campaigns, packaging, websites, etc.
FS: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
CCF: My company is a self-run studio that allows me to experiment with both print and digital work. As a multidisciplinary designer, I like to tackle new challenges and create interesting solutions.
FS: What is "design" for you?
CCF: Design is an outlet used to help communicate a message to the masses, and creates solutions to everyday problems.
FS: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
CCF: I enjoy branding the most, since I'm creating something from nothing. I find making a visualization of a form from a few descriptive words from a client rewarding.
FS: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
CCF: The design of the xenormorph by H.R. Giger from the 'Alien' movie franchise directed by Ridley Scott is my favorite design. It's the most memorable character of all horror movies and there's something unique about how Giger incorporates both mechanical and organic properties to create the creature.
FS: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
CCF: I made business cards for a snow shovelling/painting/grass cutting service my friends and I started while in high school. We didn't want to work for other companies, so we decided to create a company to do all the things people don't want to do themselves.
FS: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
CCF: My favorite material to work with is paper, since there you can do so much with that material.
FS: When do you feel the most creative?
CCF: I feel most creative when I'm trying to sleep because I have the weirdest dreams.
FS: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
CCF: I focus on the concept the most. The idea is the most important part of communicating, and if the concept is weak, the design will be weak as well.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
CCF: I usually feel under pressure when I'm designing, since the deadlines are usually tight.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
CCF: Relieved.
FS: What makes a design successful?
CCF: The design is successful when people get the message you're trying to communicate.
FS: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
CCF: The use case of the design and if the design is able to create a solution to the use case.
FS: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
CCF: To communicate a message to the masses without confusing them.
FS: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
CCF: The design field is going to become more prominent in the digital side, as next generations are more in tune with that.
FS: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
CCF: My inspirations come from just simply walking around outside and taking a minute to relax.
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?
CCF: I try to keep my designs minimal, since I find it more effective to keep things simple. My approach is to remove anything unnecessary.
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?
CCF: I'm from Canada, the pros of being Canadian is that Canada is a cultural mosaic, so it is made up of a bunch of different people with different cultural backgrounds. From that, you learn something new about a culture just by talking to someone.
FS: How do you work with companies?
CCF: I sometimes work in house with companies and sometimes remotely at home. Either way, I make sure I talk to them, so they know where a design is going and the direction it is taking form in.
FS: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
CCF: I would say that communication is key to working and selecting a good designer. Making sure that both sides know what each other is thinking of is always helpful.
FS: Can you talk a little about your design process?
CCF: I usually jot a bunch of notes down as a form of putting some ideas on paper. Sometimes I doodle little sketches instead of notes, depending on what makes sense for that particular project. From there, I will create tighter concept sketches and send those to client. From there we discuss about the feedback the client may have and I would create computer comps. After that, it's just a bunch of back and fourth until the idea is realized.
FS: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
CCF: The work desk, the lounge chair, the coffee table, the Kaws figurine and the portable vacuum.
FS: Can you describe a day in your life?
CCF: On regular work days, it's pretty boring: eat, work, work some more, sleep.
FS: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
CCF: Take risks in your design. Always provide at least one option of something you would want to push the client to go towards that you want to do most.
FS: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
CCF: Positive: You get to make something different everydayNegative: You have to think of new ideas everyday
FS: What is your "golden rule" in design?
CCF: Keep it clean and simple
FS: What skills are most important for a designer?
CCF: Ability to adapt
FS: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
CCF: Sketchbook, Adobe software, Sketch, Dribbble for inspiration
FS: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
CCF: I'm pretty bad when it comes to time management, since I forget to stop and eat something
FS: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
CCF: It varies depending on what you're making
FS: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
CCF: What do you do in your job? I don't get it.
FS: What was your most important job experience?
CCF: Interning at Concrete Design Communications during the summer, which allowed me to see how a design studio runs on a day to day basis. Also, just learning a bunch of stuff from the designers that worked there.
FS: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
CCF: I enjoy all sorts of design work, from branding to packaging to web. They all have their own challenges that make it interesting.
FS: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
CCF: Try something I've haven't done yet.
FS: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
CCF: I work collaboratively with the client, since there is a lot of back and fourth about ideas and concepts during our meetings.
FS: How can people contact you?
CCF: They can reach me via email or phone. Preferably email.
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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