Cheng-Jay Tsai

LEGENDARY INTERVIEW

Design Legends ("DL") had the distinct honour to interview legendary designer Cheng-Jay Tsai ("CT") 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?

CT : I am an industrial designer now working with the CMF trends research team in Taiwan. I am also currently a graduate student in industrial design studies. I have spent one year in an exchange program in Germany and a one-year scholarship program at ArtCenter College of Design in 2019. After graduating from Shih Chien University, I have been a graduate student in Applied Arts at National Ciao-Tung University, Taiwan since 2017. Through meeting and corroborating with design and engineering students in various fields, I have gained relevant experiences in Applied Arts and expanded the limit of the boundaries. From 2015 to 2017, I was a one-year exchange student in TH Köln, Germany. During the time, I have experienced the culture shock in Germany as well as evolve the well-knit recognition of design verification. As for my growing environment, I was born in Taiwan in 1994. Taiwan has emerged as a progressive country, priding itself as an energetic democracy and an economic dynamo. Above all, Those are the academic developments and my growing background that drive me to a designer's path.

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

CT : A designer’s responsibility is to define the parameters, to reformulate, change, or partially dissolve them. To establish the realization of the designers' awareness, I believe that the essential aspects of personal identity are always in process.

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

CT : I major in Industrial Design, especially in product design, design thinking, and computer graphics in modeling emphasis. Since the experience of the exchange student in Germany in 2015 and the second language training after my graduating, I believe that mixed cultural backgrounds can bring about a more evident personal identity.

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

CT : In chronological order of my learning process, they are Thomas Heitherwick (London, England), Dieter Rams (Wiesbaden, Germany), and Ross Lovegrove (Cardiff, Wales).

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

CT : One of my favorite designers, Thomas Heatherwick, has always involved in materials and making. His enthusiasm for problem-solving matured into Heatherwick Studio’s current design process. They have works in the design concept, architecture, landscapes, all of them are inspired to challenge the current state with the highest positive social impact. The passion they showed always get me motivated when I was a freshman in college.

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

CT : By stepping out of the comfort zone, and also making friends with designers from all over the world, I believe that I can let the world know a product designer from Taiwan with a faith that lasts.