MENGLIN TIAN
LEGENDARY INTERVIEW
Design Legends ("DL") had the distinct honour to interview legendary designer Menglin Tian ("MT") 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?
MT : 2020-2022, Design Products, MA, Royal College of Art, LONDON/UK 2016-2020， Product Design，BA， Jiangnan University， WUXI/CN.
DL: What motivates you to design in general, why did you become a designer?
MT : My love for design could go back to my childhood. At that time, I was deeply attracted by a pretty popular CCTV interior design program called "exchange space". Thanks to my parents' education and support, I am able to gradually transform my love for design into my major and future career. In 2016, I matriculated for the Bachelor of product design of Jiangnan University, which was one of the most long-standing and famous design institutes in China. During four-year academic life, my studies of core subjects such as materials and technology, product design expression, product design engineering, design management and brand strategy, product design discipline frontier, design psychology, user research played an important role in shaping my understanding of design industry, which enabled me to know how to run and promote the whole process of design and explore some new materials by myself. These systematic design learning and the accumulation of new materials have laid a solid foundation for my postgraduate journey.
DL: What do you design, what type of designs do you wish to design more of?
MT : It's poetic, playful and purposeful. I like that design can add happiness to people's lives, and I look forward to people's wow and small surprise smiles when they use my design.
DL: What should young designers do to become a design legend like you?
MT : Never forget to discuss your project with people, no matter who they are.
DL: What makes a good design a really good design, how do you evaluate good design?
MT : Whether it solves a problem, whether it comes into the world responsibly.
MENGLIN TIAN
LEGENDARY DESIGNER
2020-2022, UNPRECEDENTED CHALLENGES CHANGE THE LIFE WE USED TO TAKE FOR GRANTED. THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ME TO RETHINK AND EXAMINE WHAT WE THINK OF LIFE AND THE UNDERCURRENTS OF PEACE. WE WILL SEE PROBLEMS THAT WERE PREVIOUSLY IGNORED EMERGE AND MAGNIFY. EACH OF THESE CHALLENGES REMINDS US THAT OUR DAILY LIVES NEED TO BE RETHOUGHT AND REDESIGNED. EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE MANY CHALLENGES AHEAD, I ALWAYS BELIEVE THAT WE SHOULD FACE OUR LIFE WITH AN OPTIMISTIC AND POSITIVE ATTITUDE. AS A DESIGNER, MY WORK IS COMMITTED TO SOLVING PROBLEMS IN AN INTERESTING, POETIC AND PLAYFUL WAY, ADDING SOME HAPPINESS AND FLASH TO OUR LIFE.
Creaon Toy by Menglin Tian
