Ce Zhong

LEGENDARY INTERVIEW

Design Legends ("DL") had the distinct honour to interview legendary designer Ce Zhong ("CZ") 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?

CZ : My background ranges from mechanical engineering to industrial design and product design.

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

CZ : I still remember when I was a middle school student I got my first auto magazine occasionally, the form and mechanical aesthetic of vehicle in that article impressed me a lot. Afterward, dedicating in design for a lifetime stimulates my work up to now. However, the transfer from designer to design researcher is what I am going to do from now on.

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

CZ : Yes. But now I choose to be a design researcher.

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

CZ : My design work ranges from home appliances to medical installation, railway transpiration, and public transportation. I do a lot of research during the process of design, which inspires me a lot to better inquire about some specific questions. As a result, I do better understand what kind of artifact I should design, who will be going to live with my created object, and how this kind of designed thing can better stay with people.

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

CZ : For a young designer. They should just ‘read’ a lot of design at first, especially classical design in work. The most important thing is that they should reflect on why these products become classic in the world? Why their form designed like this? Why they use that kind of material? How can they iterate the design by themselves according to the resources they have, e.g., material, manufacturing technique, design skill? And finally, what they should improve to achieve the goal they want.

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

CZ : The good designer can meet the satisfied of users and manufacturers. But a great designer should take their responsibility to the society to make our life much better.

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

CZ : A good design should meet the necessary design requirements such as aesthetics, function, safety, efficiency, etc. requirements. It can also stimulate the development of technology and society. We should put a specific product in the timeline of the technology and design development track.

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

CZ : The value of good design is it can make our everyday life easier. We should invest good design to boost the development of technology. Thus our everyday life may become more and more splendid.

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

CZ : I design for everyday practitioners who engage with everyday artifacts over time in the context of residence.

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

CZ : The next project would be the next project what I want to do most. I always dedicated all my vigor to my new design project.

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

CZ : This is a good question. I think hard working and work hard is the most important gene in my blood.

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

CZ : I think I know a lot form other along with my design career. They can be, for instance, designers who I am familiar, a researcher who is outstanding, friends who I am familiar with or stranger, etc.

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

CZ : I like a lot of designs in many different kinds of design fields and non-design fields. Both of them give me a lot of inspirations with which I renewal my design mind every day.

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

CZ : I still work in progress of my most excellent design. I always believe the next design of mine would be the best design because I try to dedicate all my renewed expertise in my work.

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

CZ : treat design as your lifetime career.

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

CZ : I do not know what I would have done. But I know I will work hard as well.

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

CZ : Design for me is a better way to understand how everyday artifacts situated in an environment where people engage with them, and how do these artifacts mediate the way people live in that specific context.

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

CZ : A lot of people help me in my design life. Such as my parents, supervisor, classmates, friends, etc.

DL: What helped you to become a great designer?

CZ : hard working.

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

CZ : To understand what good design is. How to act as a principal investigator to conduct research through design.

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

CZ : the best way is deploying their work in use in a real environment.

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

CZ : I am going to conduct research focusing on computational artifact by focusing on the dynamic properties of texture.

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

CZ : To better understand how does the lived experience with artifacts regarding its different kinds of properties.

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

CZ : People are looking forward to the esteemed designer to make their life much more comfortable and better.

DL: How does design help create a better society?

CZ : design help us design product, graphic, environment, community, and city, as well as out society. Everywhere needs design, design give us a lot of opportunities to

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

CZ : I enjoy the process of setting up a research project. Especially in the process of data collection, I can have an overview of either the data I gathered to answer the research question or not? How to figure out the problem and adjust the design or artifact?

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

CZ : hope the next project will be much better than all the previous projects.

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

CZ : hope the next project will be much better than all the previous projects.

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

CZ : in the upcoming artificial intelligence, internet of things, visual reality, and augmented reality, as well as significant data, etc. age.

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

CZ : All depends. For the research product, I will spend more than half year for each because I have to iterate the research product.

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

CZ : I am working on a research computational lamp by focusing on the dynamic properties of texture. The goal of this research is what is the characteristics of the dynamic texture of computational lamp in the context of interaction design and HCI research? How do these qualities can be perceived through the haptic and visual interaction with a digital lamp in the environment of everyday residence? I try to use research through design method to conduct this kind of research.

DL: What is your life motto as a designer?

CZ : Less but more, and less than more.

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

CZ : It all depends. They both influence each other.

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

CZ : I often utilize new technology and new material in the new design projects. For instance, what I am going to is design a computational lamp which can be driven by microcontrollers with the application of conductive silicone. The aim of this research project is to investigate how to describe dynamic pattern expression of texture through a design of interactive lamp?

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

CZ : I have to read a lot of research papers at first, which is related the what kind of research what I am going to do. I do conduct design practice a lot by myself and work with my lab mates. We use Rhinos, Adobe suites, CNC, laser cutting, and 3D printing for sure.

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

CZ : they are like the ingredients of the food and clothes of people.

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

CZ : Critique of my design. Ask about what and how I design it out? What is the most challenge I met in the design, and how did I deal with that problem?

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

CZ : What can I learn from this design? Is there any aspects we can improve this design.

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

CZ : Critique of my design. Ask about what and how I design it out? What is the most challenge I met in the design, and how did I deal with that problem?

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

CZ : What can I learn from this design? Is there any aspects we can improve this design.

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

CZ : a lot of books give an insights of design such as “the design of everyday things”, “where the interaction is: embodied interaction, “make design theory”, “reflective practitioner”.

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

CZ : a lot of books give an insights of design such as “the design of everyday things”, “where the interaction is: embodied interaction, “make design theory”, “reflective practitioner”.

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

CZ : definitely, I want to talk with a lot of design legend such as Steve Jobs.

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

CZ : famous is not important. But make sure your design is most important things you should care everyday.

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

CZ : my favorite color is sky blue. I like walk along with the seashores when I am free. I enjoy the summer sunshine a lot.

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

CZ : I found that design do not need design. you just let it happen as people want.

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

CZ : in the morning, I always do read papers or articles which may contribute to my research and design work. In the afternoon, I will do design practice sometimes and teamwork as well. In the night, reading would be the best choice for me and I will have a reflection before sleep.

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

CZ : in the morning, I always do read papers or articles which may contribute to my research and design work. In the afternoon, I will do design practice sometimes and teamwork as well. In the night, reading would be the best choice for me and I will have a reflection before sleep.

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

CZ : I think the development of design is accompany with the improvement of people’s life. therefore, as we are going to living in a technology society and community in future, especially the development of artificial intelligence, internet of things, visual reality, and augmented reality, as well as big data etc. the design in the future will intersect with many other subjects, such as computer science, information science, and statistics, etc.