Yanming Yin

LEGENDARY INTERVIEW

Design Legends ("DL") had the distinct honour to interview legendary designer Yanming Yin ("YY") 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?

YY : After I graduated from the Fine Arts Academy of Southwest University in 1992, I taught at a technical secondary school. After that, I worked as a graphic designer, a newspaper editor, and an rendering hand painter. Later I went to a Hong Kong company for more than five years. Since there was no room for development, I founded my own company and always insisted on designing with my own brand for eighteen years.

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

YY : As a Chinese designer, I chose this industry with no regrets, because it brought me not only a job, but also glory. With the trust and respect of my customers, design also truly conveys aesthetic values and leads the way of life.

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

YY : When I was in college, I chose the arts and crafts as my major which was able to reflect my own experience and do something creative. The freshman and sophomores had to study interior design courses. At the time, At that time, I had a strong interest in hand-painted performance maps. Later, I naturally became a designer。

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

YY : In addition to the design fields of boutique hotels, commercial real estate, office space, building facades, and other areas, I also tried original furniture, installations, and works of art and devoted myself to public welfare. In 2016, I designed and donated Yuxi Hewai Primary School in Yunnan Province. The third space Zhuoyu pavilion put forward a design concept that combines design and education and uses design to enhance rural education.

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

YY : Regardless of age, regardless of group, as a designer should have two capabilities: First, the ability to learn; second, to explore the spirit. Design is a matter of life, and there must be awe and compassion for design. In the ever-changing period of the times, every day is new and design changes every day. Therefore, each of us must keep learning, so that the chance of designing value creation will be greatly improved.

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

YY : There is a saying that a successful designer needs a lifetime of hard work and commitment. He integrated a variety of identities, architects, artists, fashion icon, photographers, lighting designers, travellers, marketing experts and personal image designers.

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

YY : The persistence of the initial heart, the belief in ourselves and the team, constant thinking and demonstration, and constant attempts to innovate also stem from the deep understanding of the nature of the design system and design. The quality of the work I will focus on the idea of the work itself through the space and the inner feelings. First of all, I think the atmosphere that the space can convey must be comfortable; secondly, the space must have a certain level of maturity and control over the overall control; many designers are able to design in the local space is very colorful, but the overall There is a slight lack of control, so the integration of space as a whole is also one of the criteria for judging.

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

YY : My favorite designer is American architect Wright. He has similarities in the use of graphics and the cosmic view of life and the oriental aesthetics. This unity of man and nature is a state that I hope works can present. There is also a Berlin Jewish Museum designer Daniel Libeskind who inspired me. In April last year, I visited the Museum of Jewish History for the second time. In Libeskind's deconstructionist application, I found that he organically combined the rhythm of music with the symbiosis of architectural forms, and that Libeskin himself was a musical genius from childhood. His achievements in piano are not. In the field of building construction, its visually powerful architecture and interior space form fully reflect the extension and connotation of the design. It also allows us to once again realize the deeper expression of the phrase building is solidified music. The combination of art will give us more unlimited possibilities for designing the future.

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

YY : First,understanding how to analyze the market, customer appeal, investment control and marketing objectives. Second,High aesthetic literacy and aesthetic accumulation, unique visual and mature design thinking mode are required. Third,be passionate about life and always maintain a passion like life as a lover.Last but not least, you must have enough focus.

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

YY : I may choose to be a singer. During the summer vacation of my sophomore year,I took a chance to participate in the singing competition in the city (like a good voice) and became the top ten singer. Later I entered a cabaret as a part-time resident singer. I spent five minutes each night on the stage, earning tuition for one semester. Did not expect singing can also make money, quite cool.

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

YY : Design is an art of life, communication of thinking and emotion as well as combination of imagination and reality. It’s a journey across dreams. Design carries wishes from others but more than that, it carries our own dreams, our understanding of life and our eternal pursuit of beauty. The building process of our own design mind map represents our longing for freedom and the kind of ideal life.

DL: What helped you to become a great designer?

YY : A designer is a rational agent with an artistic mind. This is an essential quality for this profession. He must have the enthusiasm for life and work, and he must have the ideal of pursuing true self in the midst of stress and frustration. It is very important for young designers to improve themselves. To improve their abilities, including comprehensive ability, communication skills, thinking skills, vision, persistence and innovative spirit, these are some of the factors that must be possessed by excellent designers. These are all derived from the heart. Repairs, enthusiasm, and innocence will last forever. The future is a big stage where design and art are combined. In parallel with tradition and innovation, design is integrated into art and art is integrated into life. The three are symbiotic. Design is not a single science. It is an applied science. The focus is on the times. In addition to designing art systems such as literature, music, fine arts, architecture, sculpture, dance, theatre, and movies, design must pay attention to secondary culture. . In the final analysis, the design is for the customer to solve the problem. No matter how simple or luxurious it is, the quality of life is a problem that must be solved. This is the value of our thinking and existence.

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

YY : The biggest obstacle is how the design breaks, and how to integrate its own aesthetic value and commercial value. How to combine technology, art, and people's lifestyles perfectly is the focus that we have always focused on, raising our focus on lifestyles to the interpretation of aesthetics of life. This is the direction in which we strive today and in the future.

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

YY : Currently designing furniture products, this is a modern Chinese-style furniture series named after my own name. I am very much looking forward to the appearance at the Shanghai International Furniture Fair in September this year.

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

YY : The transformation of the facade of Shenzhen Art DesignCcenter has implemented the first, second, third and fourth phases of the project with the concept of cube. It has created an influential value system from both the design and business models. In 2016 I designed and donated the public welfare project The Third Space Yuxi Hewai Primary School in Yunnan Province, from the building to the indoor space integration, the entire design from the form and history of the cultural context of the same strain, for the rural children to create a free space to release the soul.Chengdu Vanke New Park Villa House project is an exploration of our concept of new Chinese style design and art integration system. This project won the 2017 SBID International Interior Design Award, the German Design Award Special Mention and the Kinpan Awards Best Villa Space of the Year. We opened up the way to look at designing and researching Chinese-style works, and we constantly introduce new ones.

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

YY : I think the future product design and education design fields are worth exploring and trying. The extension of the design is broad, and there are too many attention and research groups in the commercial design field, and the design definition seems to have become synonymous with commercial design. The excavation of the social value of the design is still in the initial stage. Product design is closely related to the lives of the general public. The combination of education and design is the best way for future generations to elevate art and aesthetic education. As designers, we should maximize the value of design from the essence of design and the value of social values. This is also the future trend.

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

YY : How to break through and combine its own aesthetic value with commercial value; how to combine technology, art, and current people's lifestyles and interesting expressions is the focus we always focus on.The theme of the design project is a process from deconstruction of space to the sublimation of art. It includes the analysis and deduction of business requirements, customer psychology, marketing strategies, situational concepts, and aesthetic conception. It balances multiple relationships between the two. Selecting a point to break through and zoom in is not only to highlight the focus, but also to return the design to its original heart and regain the original concept of design.

DL: What is your life motto as a designer?

YY : There is a saying from Cear pelli: The desire to reach the sky runs very deep in our human psyche.

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

YY : Alan Chan has touched my design. His keen sense of touch and multi-cultural exploration and environment over the years have given me a different understanding of design. The design of extension and language is broad, it is universal and moving. The most important thing is to design the future and play a more important role in people's lives.

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

YY : The most recently read book is the Capital of Knowledge by Mr. Muneaki Masuda,founder of the Japanese TSUTAYA Bookstore. The core of the book is to explore the vital lifestyle. Mr. Masuda treats him as human. The understanding, comprehension, and care for him created a kind of space and atmosphere for his TSUTAYA Bookstore, and created a composite, warm and fashionable cultural life space for learning and enjoying a beautiful lifestyle. This book interprets the connotation of business from the perspective of life style, chanting, flowing naturally, and giving people new inspiration.I especially recommend reading this book.

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

YY : y personal qualifications and professionalism have greatly helped me become a designer. At the Normal University, we were exposed to the expertise of different art disciplines and cultivated a strong comprehensive ability. However, the sensitivity to form and aesthetics made me have more unique understanding and pursuit of the project. More than five years of solid project training eventually led to the formation of a flexible design thinking model and a professional design system.

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

YY : Over the years, we have only participated in domestic and Asia Pacific awards. This is the first time we have sent our works to the international arena for participation. We are very happy to be recognized by the Italian A’Design Award organizing committee. Doing a good job of designing yourself is not the purpose and meaning.

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

YY : Design is a preface industry related to fashion, history, culture, and art. Trends and iterations change the design and give different propositions and considerations at any time. As a designer, we only need to maintain the passion for creation and the love of life at any time. Creativity will be endless, but also allow yourself to maintain a dynamic and state at any time; I often communicate with experts and audience through the release of the work and participate in the competition, everyone's recognition and the highlight of business value is their greatest encouragement.