Danyang Ma

LEGENDARY INTERVIEW

Design Legends ("DL") had the distinct honour to interview legendary designer Danyang Ma ("DM") 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?

DM : I’m a graphic designer from Beijing and based in New York. My work mainly includes branding, typography, packaging, and social design. I'm currently working as a freelance Designer. My clients range from in-house teams like Pinterest Academy and Adobe Express to design agencies like &Walsh and Gretel. I have attended Pratt Institute and Tongji University for Communications Design.

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

DM : Painting has been my passion since childhood. In middle school, I started using Photoshop to create art collages and design pieces. This experience helped me gradually develop a personal art style and realize I wanted to become a creative professional.

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

DM : Most of my designs are branding projects, as well as typography and posters. I am a visual/strategy person in general so branding is a combination of both of my interests. If there is a type of design I wish to explore more, it would be designing for an exhibition. It's exciting to gather around brilliant artist and designers from multi-discipline, demonstrating the same topic through different medium.

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

DM : It's really helpful to talk to people, especially peer designers, also to learn new design technologies, and observe innovative forms of art.

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

DM : In my opinion, "good designer" serves people on their touch-points, and makes users enjoy it without even noticing its existence. On top of that, "really good designers" are the ones that make impacts on human behavior in a subtle and versatile way. Any designer that can positively affect a certain group of people is a great designer.

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

DM : A "good design" always follows the pattern of nature, making the form pure and easy, and the product itself shall be reasonable and intuitive, dedicated to details, aesthetic, and precise. Furthermore, there is a purpose behind all "really good design", with an innovative approach embedded in long-term visions.

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

DM : I am a thinking-and-feeling combined designer who believes every piece of good design is there for not only aesthetic needs but also for a greater purpose. Design is to help both clients and users find solutions and communicate their messages.

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

DM : I have carried a bold, playful style throughout school and professional design works. It speaks simplicity and strong emotions at the same time. This visual language helps enrich dialogical communication among designers, clients, and audiences, provoking a double-way conversation. The implicit, flexible, and delightful touch in traditional Chinese ink painting has also influenced my preference in design, along with the philosophy of elevating the art through blankness, the balance of emptiness and completeness, and the sense of breath. I try to carry that idea into my design pieces.

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

DM : Paula Scher, Brian Collins, Michael Bierut, and Jessica Walsh

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

DM : A packaging design project for a coffee pod brand called VOODOO HOUSE. The design is based on the concept of voodoo spells - one of the most mysterious and fascinating African cultural heritage. I tried to adapt different spells to represent coffee blends, from dark to light roast. Packaging illustrations are inspired by African tribal totem art, expressing handcrafts. I especially enjoyed working on illustrations that imply the concept of tribes, symbolic characters, and rituals. I especially enjoyed working on illustrations that imply the concept of tribes, symbolic characters, and rituals. I have conducted plenty of research at museums and voodoo stores, taking photos and studying materials and ingredients used for the voodoo practice.It was my first time utilizing handcrafting and printing techniques in a design. It encourages me to keep practicing and exploring different mediums and design methods.

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

DM : Design for me is a functioning tool, to advocate undergoing dramatic changes in culture, collective identity, leadership, cooperation, and new business model.

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

DM : I get most of my motivation by simply talking to people. And once you're surrounded by encouraging and inspirational talents, the situation will push you to pursue a better self.

DL: What helped you to become a great designer?

DM : Being creative makes people excited. Designers are always trying out, looking for, and exploring new ideas. And consistency makes a significant difference.

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

DM : It took me several years to find out what kind of design I'm good at working on, which are branding and social, and I'm positive they will switch to something else in the future.

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

DM : I've always considered the actions designers can take in terms of fighting for climate change. I want to design something around the topic of food consumption. Maybe we could design some actual bars, or restaurants, featuring global warming themed foods/drinks, and of course, all of them are plant-based. Mold Magazine has been looking into the design of future food for a long time. They illustrate the possibilities of how humans would preserve and consume food in the future. If humans do nothing about the climate, what will the food be like in the future?

DL: How does design help create a better society?

DM : Changing its users' behavior from daily essential to a larger, longer-term basis, which can make a huge difference in society and the environment. I always believe that designers should feel a cultural obligation along the way in every design process.

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

DM : Our studio is currently working on a comedic project addressing designers' insights and reflections on the coronavirus outbreak and quarantine life. We figured a little humor is at least what designers can do to support everyone under this difficult time.

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

DM : I hope artists and designers can work together to improve the diversity in the design industries and provoke cross-cultural design conversation. We are primarily prioritizing European art and design histories as the key pedagogical source over non-Western design lineages. The minorities, the disabled, and females are not having enough voice in contemporary design discourse. It is great to encourage designers to practice using the visual language that is unique to their specific cultural heritage.

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

DM : I personally believe that self-authorship is the future of design or even every creative industry. We are living under the age when everyone has such easy access to generate small pieces of media with the advantage of technology. Internet and portable devices have further established the acknowledgment of design by worldwide distribution. Design will become accessible to not only professionals but everyone who wants to participate.

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

DM : The process starts with interpreting and identifying the message my clients want to convey through design. They were followed by researching for inspirations of logos, layouts, styles, etc. And then, I would create 3-5 sketches of the first draft. Let the clients decide which direction they prefer. And then proceed with designing the art direction and the rest of the deliverables.

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

DM : I think it works both ways. Design swifts and drives social awareness and people's intention to build a life based on humanity and technology, which will benefit the development of design and stimulate it into a higher level in return.

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

DM : In the next 5-10 years, it's possible to imagine technologies will take over more executing tasks, leaving designers more space to focus on ideation and conceptualization, also further enhancing digital effects to help designers create more impactful and stunning works.

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

DM : People who I work and talk with everyday. I really appreciate the opportunity of producing my idea and getting to know so many aspiring creatives.

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

DM : Designing Design, by Hara Kenya

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

DM : Mel Chin, an artist who launched an art project generated by AR technology regarding the future of global warming in Times Square. I would like to have a chance to talk with him about climate change, and what designers can do to help with it.