Wai Ho Cheung

LEGENDARY INTERVIEW

Design Legends ("DL") had the distinct honour to interview legendary designer Wai Ho Cheung ("WHC") for their original perspective and innovative approach to design as well as their creative lifestyle, we are very pleased to share our interview with our distinguished readers.

DL: Could you please tell us a bit about your design background and education?

WHC : I originally majored in Physics at The University of Manchester. After a year, I changed the study to Industrial Product Design at Coventry University. I used to be intern at By-Georgsen S.L., Spain and Karim Rashid China, China and work in Shenzhen Mannay Cosmetics Co., Ltd., China. I have also designed a collection of fashion.

DL: What motivates you to design in general, why did you become a designer?

WHC : Whist I was studying Physic, I realised that I preferred to make my own creation which gave me more satisfaction.

DL: Did you choose to become a designer, or you were forced to become one?

WHC : I chose to become a designer, but maybe I can say I was forced to be by my bag of skills.

DL: What do you design, what type of designs do you wish to design more of?

WHC : I would like to do product design, especially furniture design. For sure, I will challenge myself if my clients want me to design things in different fields.

DL: What should young designers do to become a design legend like you?

WHC : Designer is a kind of job that you have to involve in many processes and hence you need to have so much different knowledge and various angles of observation. Therefore, the first step is to take away the label, ‘designer’ and to explore your own philosophy about life, then you will know what the best design(s) should be.

DL: What distinguishes between a good designer and a great designer?

WHC : In Chinese, we have a motto, ‘a calf would not be scared by tigers(初生之犢不畏虎)’. This means that a new-born animal will not fear challenges and will explore the world with curiosity and without assumptions, which I believe is a key attribute in a great designer.

DL: What makes a good design a really good design, how do you evaluate good design?

WHC : Nothing is absolutely good or bad, unless you give out some constraints. For example, you will not say that a shelter is a good design before you know a disaster is coming. Therefore, I would say a good design is the right answer for the right question at the right moment.

DL: What is the value of good design? Why should everyone invest in good design?

WHC : Design is a subject to improve the usage of tools, no matter in shapes, methods or materials. Therefore, a good design can at least make the functionality and hence the money spent more efficiently. In addition with the calculation on authenticity, this can catch people’s attention in order to increase the sales.

DL: What would you design and who would you design for if you had the time?

WHC : From the question ‘if you had the time’, I assume you are asking about my design at leisure. For my self-direct projects, I would design whatever I could think or get the ideas, which are assigned to nobody specifically, only people interested in mine.

DL: What is the dream project you haven’t yet had time to realize?

WHC : For my self-direct project, I have uncountable ideas waiting for further development. But one dream project I particularly want to realise is my sci-fi story concept, which is about alien abduction, dimensions and Tai Ji (太極). I hope it able to be filmed and to cooperate with Mr. Christopher Nolan or The Wachowskis.

DL: What is your secret recipe of success in design, what is your secret ingredient?

WHC : Most of my inspirations come from my dreams. I will draw the images out and then I will try to puzzle the whole design by searching reference, sketching and CAD modelling. Certainly, my secret ingredient is my passion.

DL: Who are some other design masters and legends you get inspired from?

WHC : Mr. Morten Georgsen, Mr. Karim Rashid, Mr. Marcel Wanders, Ms. Zaha Hadid, H. R. Giger and Michelangelo.

DL: What are your favorite designs by other designers, why do you like them?

WHC : I like Zaha Hadid’s Liquid Glacial Tables very much, because she played excellently with the rippling surface.

DL: What is your greatest design, which aspects of that design makes you think it is great?

WHC : I think Dimension and Arctic are the designs which can mostly represent my design style, especially Arctic; aesthetics also means functionality. Moreover, with one material, one colour and one shape, I can say I am using the least to make variations on Arcitic.

DL: How could people improve themselves to be better designers, what did you do?

WHC : Again, like the Chinese motto, ‘a calf would not be scared by tigers(初生之犢不畏虎)’. I think not only designers, everyone should be like a new-born animal to explore the world with curiosity, always keep their mind fresh and willing to jump out from their comfort zones, which I believe is a key attribute to improve to be better humans.

DL: If you hadn’t become a designer, what would you have done?

WHC : Maybe I would become a quantum physicist, a philosopher or a businessman.

DL: How do you define design, what is design for you?

WHC : Design is creation with meaning(s).

DL: Who helped you to reach these heights, who was your biggest supporter?

WHC : For sure, the most important supporters are my family; I could not be a designer if they did not let me change my subject. Then Mr. Morten Georgsen, his professional design team and Ms. Angela Micoli taught me a lot during the internships.

DL: What helped you to become a great designer?

WHC : My dreams and my hypothesis.

DL: What were the obstacles you faced before becoming a design master?

WHC : As I studied Physics before, all the education and training I received were how to be a person with good logical mind and calculation skills. In other words, I was very weak on the foundation of design. However, nothing was wasted that it can also be the enhancement with my scientific thinking way, whilst I am keep learning to fill up the knowledge of design.

DL: How do you think designers should present their work?

WHC : Just like everybody says, ‘let the product talks’. Designers are not artists, we design products and eventually the products are bought and used by customers. Obviously, you cannot present to your customers one by one, so let the product talks!

DL: What’s your next design project, what should we expect from you in future?

WHC : My plan is: 1. Find a job in Europe relating to product design, especially furniture design 2. Try to sell my designs 3. I have few storylines that I want to cooperate with Mr. Christopher Nolan or The Wachowskis. 4. Remind people about happiness In other words, I tend to get a job instead of promoting my own projects. Maybe the next project will not be my design, but a team’s.

DL: What’s your ultimate goal as a designer?

WHC : To remind people about happiness and to spread out my hypothesis.

DL: What people expect from an esteemed designer such as yourself?

WHC : In whatever profession, a true master can always enlighten people through their work. However, I suggest people to lift down their expectations first, which have limited their mind.

DL: How does design help create a better society?

WHC : I think design is supposed to help the resource being used more efficiently, such as multi-functional products.

DL: What are you currently working on that you are especially excited about?

WHC : I am currently looking for job and now I am excited to improve my portfolio by promoting my furniture designs with interior environments, which is like giving my designs a new life.

DL: Which design projects gave you the most satisfaction, why?

WHC : I think my sofa-bed project, Dimension, which gave me the most satisfaction. It was my final year project at university, so a full spectrum of work was involved, research, idea development, prototyping etc. Likewise, I was very pleased to see my concept was work with my full scaled prototype.

DL: What would you like to see changed in design industry in the coming years?

WHC : I think 3D printing technology is the milestone in the design field in this decade. 3D printing technology will make every single design ‘specifically general’, which means the same product can be tailor-made for customer that is more ergonomic.

DL: Where do you think the design field is headed next?

WHC : I think smart products will be the trend in this decade and smart products will keep improving to be more intelligent and dominate the products in every field.

DL: How long does it take you to finalize a design project?

WHC : It depends on how detailed I need to work on the project. Usually I finish a project from 2weeks to a month, but few of my projects took me even more than a year.

DL: When you have a new design project, where do you start?

WHC : Usually on my bed for my self-direct projects.

DL: What is your life motto as a designer?

WHC : a calf would not be scared by tigers (初生之犢不畏虎).

DL: Do you think design sets the trends or trends set the designs?

WHC : I think it is always a cycle, and the funny thing about a cycle is there is no start and no end. Are you sure you want to ask ‘Which came first, the chicken or the egg?’

DL: What is the role of technology when you design?

WHC : I do not like to put high technology into my design as I want to keep it simple. So currently, I would say that technology is mainly involved during the production. However, I will also do hi-tech products if my clients want, no problem at all.

DL: What kind of design software and equipment do you use in your work?

WHC : I used pencils, AutoCAD, 3ds Max, my brain and my heart.

DL: What is the role of the color, materials and ambient in design?

WHC : We are living in 3-dimensional space with senses of vison, hearing, smell, taste and tactile, so all colours, materials and ambient are taking important roles in design; also it depends on the type of design and product we are talking about. For examples, colour is important to a traffic light; material is important to a magnet; ambient is important to a power station.

DL: What do you wish people to ask about your design?

WHC : I would like people to ask me about the concept behind my design.

DL: When you see a new great design or product what comes into your mind?

WHC : I would like to observe it as detailed as I can and then whisper, ‘This is amazing!’

DL: Who is your ideal design partner? Do you believe in co-design?

WHC : The ideal partner would be someone I can trust. Unfortunately, I never tried co-design before so I cannot judge if I believe it or not.

DL: Which people you interacted had the most influence on your design?

WHC : Sometimes, I would discuss detail parts with my friends to see people’s opinion. For technical assistance, I am glad with advices from Mr. Ip, who helps me all the time.

DL: Which books you read had the most effect on your design?

WHC : I Ching(易經).

DL: How did you develop your skills as a master designer?

WHC : To improve my foundation of design, I keep reading books to gain the knowledge. Meanwhile, I would buy some books or attend some courses to strengthen my design skills when I realise it’s time to improve.

DL: Irrelative of time and space, who you would want to meet, talk and discuss with?

WHC : Michelangelo

DL: How do you feel about all the awards and recognition you had, is it hard to be famous?

WHC : Currently, I have only won A’ design award this year and certainly I am excited with it. As I am still young, I don’t care about how to be famous; I will just do my best.

DL: What is your favorite color, place, food, season, thing and brand?

WHC : My favourite colour is violet and the favourite brand of furniture is Moooi.

DL: Please tell us a little memoir, a funny thing you had experienced as a designer?

WHC : I used to get 3 different sets of opinion on my design from my supervisor, my manager and my boss at the same day.

DL: What makes your day great as a designer, how do you motivate yourself?

WHC : Sketching and building up 3D models are always joyful when you realise how seductive your design is.

DL: When you were a little child, was it obvious that you would become a great designer?

WHC : No, as I said I studied Physics at the beginning, becoming a designer was not my dream before.

DL: What do you think about future; what do you see will happen in thousand years from now?

WHC : Sorry, I don’t want to predict the future so far like this.

DL: Please tell us anything you wish your fans to know about you, your design and anything else?

WHC : I can be more than a designer, like everyone else.