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Interview with Deyin Zhang |
Home > Designer Interviews > Deyin Zhang |
Editor Frank Scott (FS) from DesignPRWire has interviewed designer Deyin Zhang (DZ) for A’ Design Award and Competition. You can access the full profile of Deyin Zhang 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?
DZ: I received excellent design education in the Product Design Department of Chongqing University during my undergraduate studies, under the guidance of Professor Xia Jinjun. Afterwards, I studied under the renowned Chinese professor Luo Shijian and received master's and doctoral education. Now, I am conducting a visiting doctoral exchange in Professor Liu Wei's laboratory at King's College London. I have backgrounds in art design, industrial design, and engineering design. I really enjoy being a designer because it gives me a sense of accomplishment. I believe that design is a meaningful and valuable profession.
FS: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
DZ: I am a doctoral student in design. I am engaged in research on intelligent design, art design, design evaluation and so on. My design laboratory comes from Zhejiang University, and I mainly work on user experience design and industrial product design.
FS: What is "design" for you?
DZ: Design is an innate instinct of human beings, and I am fortunate to have this instinct as my major of study and profession. I became a designer because I am engaged in a job that can change the world - specifically, I am designing experiences, designing products, and designing satisfaction.
FS: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
DZ: I like designing experiences, designing products - to be precise, I am designing satisfaction. In the future, I hope to design more products and services that can be experienced by people and improve their quality of life.
FS: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
DZ: My favorite design is not only about satisfying users, but also about meeting green development and the long-term needs of society. Overall, good design requires a combination of art, technology, and business. When evaluating a design work, it is necessary to approach it from three perspectives: artistic evaluation, technical investigation, and commercial insight.
FS: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
DZ: The first thing is to find your users - who are you designing for.
FS: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
DZ: I like to use wood for design. I think wood is synonymous with nature and green. My favorite platform is various design competitions, which can quickly expose our designs better (such as the Italian A Design Award) My favorite technology is 3D printing, which can quickly bring our ideas and concepts to fruition.
FS: When do you feel the most creative?
DZ: I feel most creative while taking a shower.
FS: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
DZ: Always know who you are designing for - always remember the needs of users, especially the real needs
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
DZ: I will be very happy because I believe design is a very valuable and meaningful activity, so I will be very happy
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
DZ: After the design project is completed, I will feel more proud
FS: What makes a design successful?
DZ: Success design is not only about satisfying users but also about meeting green development and the long-term needs of society. Overall, good design requires a combination of art, technology, and business. When evaluating a design work, it is necessary to approach it from three perspectives: artistic evaluation, technical investigation, and commercial insight.
FS: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
DZ: When I judge a design work, I evaluate and modify it from three perspectives: artistic evaluation, technical investigation, and business insight. This is the secret to my successful design.
FS: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
DZ: The responsibility of designers is not to waste social resources and to create sustainable green design.
FS: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
DZ: The field of design is a combination of art, commerce, and technology. In the future, intelligent design may create more possibilities for society.
FS: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
DZ: The last exhibition was held in Hangzhou, China in 2022. The next exhibition may be in London.
FS: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
DZ: My design inspiration comes from small yet touching details in nature, culture, and daily life, especially the needs of users. In addition, I constantly stimulate creativity by reading interviews with other designers.
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?
DZ: My approach to design is the pursuit of balance between simplicity and functionality with form and emotionality. The idea behind testing out this style is the desire to enhance user experience and detail aesthetics. I begin with research, followed by ideation through observation, sketching, and experimentation, and ultimately I aim to produce desirable visual designs.
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?
DZ: I reside in London now with a lot of culture. The cultural background has a major influence on my designs and motivates me to create traditional elements in a contemporary format. The difficulty, however, lies in balancing the local expectations with what international design market demands.
FS: How do you work with companies?
DZ: I collaborate with design laboratories to complete design projects
FS: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
DZ: Clear contracts are needed to ensure the income of designers. Excellent designers need to have empathy and find the real needs of users
FS: Can you talk a little about your design process?
DZ: My design process is not fixed. For major design projects, I will communicate with other designers and quickly find the target users to directly communicate with them. For small design projects, I will directly complete them based on my own design experience.
FS: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
DZ: Design of refrigerator, curtains, carpet, kitchen chairs, and toilet
FS: Can you describe a day in your life?
DZ: I have a meaningful day every day. In the morning, I go for a morning jog and complete user research, in the afternoon, I do design practice and other important tasks, and in the evening, I read books to enrich my design knowledge.
FS: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
DZ: When I design a design work, I evaluate and modify it from three perspectives: artistic evaluation, technical investigation, and business insight. This is the secret to my successful design.
FS: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
DZ: Designers need to meet the needs of different people during design, which sometimes makes them feel very frustrated. But the advantage of design is that it is a very valuable job that may make designers feel very happy.
FS: What is your "golden rule" in design?
DZ: Design should meet the unity of art, commerce, and technology, and truly meet the needs of users.
FS: What skills are most important for a designer?
DZ: Communication skills and the ability to identify opportunities.
FS: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
DZ: I will try almost all tools such as computers, paper prototype tools, model cutting tools, brushes, online collaboration tools (such as Figma), and Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. that are used by everyone, and then find the most suitable one for myself.
FS: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
DZ: Effective communication can save a lot of time, which is my experience.
FS: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
DZ: I'm not sure, it could be as fast as a week or as slow as a year
FS: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
DZ: The question I often get asked is: Why can you always maintain your passion for design
FS: What was your most important job experience?
DZ: Always maintain passion for design in work
FS: Who are some of your clients?
DZ: Users of some creative products, including ordinary consumers and start-up design companies.
FS: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
DZ: I love doing experience design the most, especially designs that make users feel happy. I think this design is the most valuable.
FS: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
DZ: I will try to complete a personal design monograph to express some of my design viewpoints
FS: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
DZ: I usually work with teams
FS: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
DZ: I am currently working on a collaborative design project and cannot disclose it due to a confidentiality agreement signed
FS: How can people contact you?
DZ: My email is: deyin.zhang@kcl.ac.uk
FS: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
DZ: No more.
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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