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Interview with Chao Hsin Liu |
Home > Designer Interviews > Chao Hsin Liu |
Editor Frank Scott (FS) from DesignPRWire has interviewed designer Chao Hsin Liu (CHL) for A’ Design Award and Competition. You can access the full profile of Chao Hsin Liu 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?
CHL: I majored in industrial and product design in college. I remembered it was that time I saw iPhone's advertisement on TV, but I was attracted by the Apple logo actually. I grew up in a countryside. I've never seen a logo that simple, decent, and aesthetical. All the shop signboards on my home town street were ugly. I knew their intention was trying to make it colorized and attractive, but they messed up. Since then, I am always attracted by aesthetical things, and those things come from designers. I had known I would become a designer since I was in junior high school. I know I will find a place in design field.
FS: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
CHL: I work for GreaterGoods, a named branding company on Amazon. We design and sell products like kitchenware, scales, fitness , and medical products. We always get good reviews from our customers. We are trying to make good products that everyone can afford and enjoy with them.
FS: What is "design" for you?
CHL: Design is an expression. It not only represents your thought but communication with people that they can feel it. Design is your thought process even if your logic is different from others, it still has no right or wrong answers. Design is aesthetical. Classic-looking product normally lasts longer than any other mediocre one on the market. People feels delightful even just looking at it.
FS: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
CHL: I like doing infographic and designing eye ware. I like doing infographic because I am good at doing it. I can simplify tons of information into a graphic, and it always make my friends and customers impressed. Besides of that, I like designing eye ware because I am nearsighted, but I seldom found satisfying glasses that trigger me falling into the deep of impulse buying.
FS: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
CHL: The most favourite design I guess it is the women's sanitary pad. It saves every woman in the world. What makes it a better pad or tampon is not only selecting which material is the most comfortable, but also need to consider which material performs better absorption rate. The shape matters as well. It should catch every drop of the blood when we roll over in bed. If it does not, it breaks us down because we have to clean our bed. Thus, sanitary pad is one of the very functional design product in this world.
FS: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
CHL: Silicone food bag. It is still in development stage, but it will be on the market in the near future. We have found our own way to improve the current defective products on the market. We have our own patented zipper design.
FS: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
CHL: Behance. It gathers good designers on that platform, and seeing others' fantastic works there.
FS: When do you feel the most creative?
CHL: I guess there is no certain when. Sometimes I got inspired while I was walking on the street, seeing someone's outfit that could be my colour combination on my graphic, or seeing a nice building that could be the looking on my product. As a result, I think feeling creative to me is by chances and luck, even a glimpse.
FS: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
CHL: If it is on product design, I will say the ergonomics. If it is on graphic design, I will focus on the way how I translate the message into graphic. For instance, when I made logo design, I think about the connection between the company image and the logo itself. How I can enforce the connection and make it as simple a message for everyone can read. That everyone can find the logo is meaningful and find it interesting like finding Easter egg.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
CHL: I see many images going through my mind instead, and my brain is heating up, processing all those images or ideas, trying to sift or filter which is the best solution for a project. Mostly, I feel like I am on emotional roller coaster. Sometimes I thought it was a good direction especially on product design, but then I found it was not doable, and my mood went down.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
CHL: Relieved, and also feel excited to see my design on the market.
FS: What makes a design successful?
CHL: The quality, price and advertisement. Good quality is how designer deals with the details on the product, and considering material, even the weight is a point to consider. Sometimes you feel the quality from the weight. Good price is not about setting the selling price as low as possible. It should be a reasonable price, should consider the target customer and market, making the price meet the product. Advertisement for design is the most important part to me. If no one buys your idea, you are just having fun.
FS: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
CHL: I will look at its basic function since a product hits on the market. It should do its job well like a chef knife should be easy to hold and the blade should be sharp and sturdy to slice or chop your food.
FS: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
CHL: We can not create or invent new material, but we can make a right decision of which material being used. Besides, we can reduce the waste of product as least as possible. We can make our product last its lifespan longer by choosing what material is sturdy, which component is more durable, and what appearance that people would keep it in their house like a heirloom and cherish it as careful as possible.
FS: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
CHL: I think it is getting diversified these years. Designers begin to think in different ways like bold, colorful, organic, and biological. Since Dieter Rams brought up his design principles, the minimalism was trendy for years once a while. However, in recent years, people are paying more and more attention on environmental issue. It is on a right way although it is a bit late to grasp the magnitude of the problem. What designers should do is choosing the right material, considering how much it will affect our environment. What I imagine of future design is like using less material on product and combine the biological structure. Like bio-design had been used on architecture these years. Building is just like a bigger product. What we could try is applying bio-design concept on product design, so the product could be less-material used, lighter, but stronger in structure.
FS: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
CHL: It was my graduation exhibition held by my home college in school. It should be held in Taipei World Trade Centre like every year, but due to the pandemic. It was cancelled. I am quite sure there will be another exhibition, but will see.
FS: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
CHL: It comes from my daily life. Like one of my projects is designing the shopping cart. That was because one day, I went to Costco. It was a crowded weekend. The shopping cart filled the aisle and makes it difficult to walk through. I pictured what if emergency happened, how people are going to run? Could we make shopping cart smaller but still have big capacity? The image was hovering in my mind. Then, I went home, looking up on Internet to see if there is already a good shopping cart design on the market. I often looked up some websites like Behance, Yanko, and Pinterest since there are many designers posting their amazing idea on there.
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?
CHL: I am still exploring my design style. I think I am still too young to have one. Even I find my own style in the future, I guess I won't stick with it. I was pursuing minimalistic style before, but I found that would limit your imagination and creativity. I started trying organic and smooth shape like Italian design, and colourful, clean, functionality without sacrificing beauty like Scandinavian design. As for me, different project has different approach. If it is a simple project like plant pot, I will not just make it functional since everyone else is doing that. I will think in emotional way, considering the scenario where it should be put in. What are the surroundings and how they are going to affect the plant pot looking? I will not just think about a point. I'll think about the whole line, even the space.
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?
CHL: I used to live in Taiwan. Now I am having a job in China, so I moved here. Actually I do not feel my culture affecting my design approach much. The Design field in Taiwan is evolving, but it does not have a clear vision, style, or trend. However, it is a good for every designer to find their own path. We do not have to stick with a style or culture in our design. Like Japanese designer mostly has their minimalistic style. You can tell it is Japanese design at the first glance from the appearance or layout. However, I think it is also a downside since culture sets a frame over there, I think as a Taiwanese designer, a big advantage is that we do not have to follow anyone else's principles. We follow our own thru, and I do believe these diversified and creative minds will form Taiwanese design in the future.
FS: How do you work with companies?
CHL: I am working for an American foreign company. Sometimes, I still have few cases in my spare time. Some companies came to me to do logo, graphic design, or rendering through my social media.
FS: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
CHL: I'll say designer can not read your mind thoroughly, so before discussing with a designer. You better have clear vision or thought, even describe your feeling detailed is good. A good designer is not just good at using programme or sketching. Those are basic tools and knowledge for a designer. A good designer needs a open mind and be willing to listen to other team members because every designer has blind spots. Above all, a good designer have to have a logical thought process.
FS: Can you talk a little about your design process?
CHL: First of all, I'll set a target market, then find the target customer, so that I can narrow down the conditions. Second, I look up on Internet to see if there is any good idea that others came up with, thinking about how I can improve that or a better way to solve the problem. Normally at this step. I already have a clear direction. Third, talk to engineers or factories or other designers to see the feasibility of the concept. Fourth, if everything goes well, go create different forms or styles of the product.
FS: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
CHL: Hay's paper-styled mug, Always' sanitary pad, Lululemon's yoga roller, Global's chef knife, and IKEA's SLIBB hanger.
FS: Can you describe a day in your life?
CHL: I wake up at 8 a.m., doing meditation to refresh my mind. I eat quick breakfast, then going to work. After work, I do yoga to relax my mind. Sometime I read self-help or investing book before bed. On the weekend, I usually practice and improve my programme skills.
FS: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
CHL: Always be open-minded learning new things. Like Steve Jobs said," Stay hungry, stay foolish." Three percent talent, ninety-six by effort. The rest left to luck.
FS: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
CHL: Design is a wonderfully creative field to explore. You will really enjoy of who you are if you really like design. You can show and concrete your talent through your works. However, edits can become overwhelming without good boundaries. Everyone thinks design is easy. You may lose your passion through process.
FS: What is your "golden rule" in design?
CHL: Be open-minded to learn new things. Do not just live in my own world. That creates blind spots on my design.
FS: What skills are most important for a designer?
CHL: A logical and open mind. Those programme skills are just designers' basic tools and knowledge.
FS: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
CHL: I usually use Rhino for modelling. Keyshot for render. Photoshop for post production. For sources of inspiration, branD magazine from Hong Kong is a good sources.
FS: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
CHL: I normally work from 9-17. After work, I go home and take a rest. Design is my job, but it needs to be separated from my life. I feel I am not that productive if spending whole day on design, so I spend time at least one hour a day on meditation, yoga, and cooking after work hours. Those things are what I love to do. Besides, I spend half hour a day reading books before bed to expanding my knowledge.
FS: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
CHL: It takes one and a half month at the soonest for a simple product. More complex product takes half year or a year.
FS: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
CHL: What is difference between design and art? I always say there is no much difference. I know some people say" Design always needs functionality." However, that is hard to define the work "functionality" since art arises people's attention is also a function, so how do we define the difference between art and design? There is a blurred boundary between them.
FS: What was your most important job experience?
CHL: It is my current job as a product designer. Fortunately, my current company has varieties of product lines. Every designer in my company has to handle the project by themselves which means designers not only have to deal with factory but also have enough knowledge for every project. We have kitchenware, cookware, electronic, and medical products. We went to local suppliers to know how these products been made and produced. We are not just designing same product category. We can have lots of experience on different product line. That is my most important experience to me in my age.
FS: Who are some of your clients?
CHL: They are online tutor, and construction companies.
FS: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
CHL: I like designing eye ware although my company does not have that kind of project for me. I design eye ware after getting off work. It is because I am near-sighted, but I barely found any nice glasses that really catch my eye. I would like to design my own styled glasses that really fit me.
FS: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
CHL: I will have my own brand for designer glasses, but for now, I still want to work as a product designer since I want to gain more experience and knowledge in this industry, knowing more production process, obtaining knowledge on materials. These experiences will help my creativity afterwards.
FS: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
CHL: I work as a team. My company values the cooperation with team members. Also, I believe every designer has their own blind spot, so communicate with my team is quite important for developing design.
FS: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
CHL: I am designing silicone food bags. It seems to be a simple product; however, it is not. It has to have leak proof function which many silicone food bags on market do not reach the goal since it usually has technical issue. It is not only about how to build a good and perfect 3D model, but also the both ends of the zipper are the hardest part to design. You have to consider if it is moldable, and think about how that will seal well. It is really a big step if my current design is successful. We are still testing it, and we are getting close to production, so I am looking forward to seeing my product hit on the market.
FS: How can people contact you?
CHL: Instagram: @chao_designer. Behance: https://www.behance.net/chaos_chao Email: liuhsin05@gmail.com
FS: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
CHL: I am feeling good. Thanks!
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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