Deyin Zhang

LEGENDARY INTERVIEW

Design Legends ("DL") had the distinct honour to interview legendary designer Deyin Zhang ("DZ") 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?

DZ : I received my undergraduate design education in the Department of Product Design at Chongqing University under the supervision of Prof Xia Jinjun. Then I received my Masters and PhD education from the famous Chinese Professor Luo Shijian. Now, I am doing a visiting PhD student exchange in Prof Liu Wei's lab at King's College London. I have a background in art and design, industrial design and engineering design.

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

DZ : Design is an innate human instinct, and I'm fortunate to have been able to make it my major of study and my profession. I became a designer because I'm doing a job that can change the world - specifically, I'm designing experiences, designing products and designing satisfactory.

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

DZ : Certainly an active choice, designers are one of the most respected, great and enjoyable professions!

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

DZ : I'm designing experiences, I'm designing products - to be precise, I'm designing a kind of fulfillment. In the future, I hope to design more products and service experiences that can be experienced by people and improve their quality of life. In addition, I would like to be involved in more social design because society is one of the most complex systems, one of the most challenging design projects, and one of the design projects that can directly enhance people's life experience.

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

DZ : I think the most important thing for designers to grow is an open and inclusive mindset. When doing design, be good at integrating art, technology and business attributes. In addition, learn from the best. I am very lucky that my mentors, Prof Luo Shijian, Prof Xia Jinjun and Prof Liu Wei, are among the most famous and knowledgeable professors in China and the UK, and they have given me tremendous energy.

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

DZ : Good designers are designing the future, and great designers are creating the future.

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

DZ : Good design is not just about satisfying the user, it is also about meeting green development and meeting the needs of society in the long run. Overall, good design needs to combine art, technology and business. When I evaluate a design work, I will bring three perspectives: artistic evaluation, technical examination and commercial insight.

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

DZ : Most directly - good design can create the future and can change the present. This is the reason why we must invest in good design. Back to this question, the value of good design may not be in the present, but to use the developmental perspective, there are designs in the present may knowledge conceptual design and can not be directly on the ground, but in the future certain environment, technology to meet the future, there will be greater value.

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

DZ : I would love to work in social design, designing for this huge system of society, such as green zoo service systems, such as pet healthcare system innovations.

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

DZ : Develop a design that is used by millions of people daily.

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

DZ : When I design a piece of design work, I will bring three perspectives: artistic evaluation, technical examination and commercial insight to evaluate and modify, which is the secret of my design success.

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

DZ : My Masters and PhD supervisor, Luo Shijian, is a legend in my mind. He has designed everything from famous seats in China to exercise systems for astronauts. In addition, he is a very famous design scholar. Every time I talk to Prof Luo Shijian, he inspires me a lot and he is my idol.

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

DZ : I admire the designs of Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe, whose philosophy ‘less is more’ is a great influence on me. I also admire many designers such as Gio Ponti and his masterpiece Superleggera. They are all masters of minimalism.

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

DZ : I have a piece of work focusing on social green design, Fresh. FRESH is a design piece that aims to reduce food waste by addressing the problem of food waste due to over-buying and hoarding. It records food information by scanning the shopping list and uses three colours to indicate the shelf life of the food. Meanwhile, FRESH can recommend recipes based on leftover ingredients in the fridge, provide weekly waste food reports and cumulative statistics to help users develop sustainable consumption habits. With users' consent, FRESH can also share regional food waste data to support organisations such as the FAO in promoting more sustainable food production and agriculture. I think this design is good because it takes into account the user experience and reflects on food waste behaviour from a higher perspective, and proposes feasible solutions.

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

DZ : Designers need to maintain a mindset of continuous learning. In my case, I read a lot of design literature as well as design perspectives on a daily basis and follow the latest technological developments, taking into account their application in the design field.

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

DZ : I haven't thought about it. If I don't become a designer, I'll probably become a college teacher.

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

DZ : Design is an innate human instinct. In addition, design is a way of solving problems by putting yourself in the shoes of the user.

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

DZ : Allow me to mention my three mentors: Professor Luo Shijian of Zhejiang University, Professor Xia Jinjun of Chongqing University and Professor Liu Wei of King's College London. The three professors are my greatest supporters. In addition, my parents are also my greatest supporters.

DL: What helped you to become a great designer?

DZ : I believe that perseverance and persistent learning is the foundation for becoming a great designer.

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

DZ : I've encountered a lot of deliberate disapproval from people (even from some of the teachers at my school) and it used to frustrate me. Then I learnt to ignore the voices and stick to my choices.

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

DZ : Talk to other designers, participate in forums and design competitions.

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

DZ : The most mysterious and intriguing aspect of design is the unknown, and I don't know exactly what projects I'll be designing in the future (which partly depends on the client's requirements), but what remains constant is that I'll be sticking to design at all times in the future!

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

DZ : Getting approval from my mentor, my students and my parents, that's what I'm aiming for.

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

DZ : I'm not sure, but I'm sure I'll make more satisfying design projects in the future.

DL: How does design help create a better society?

DZ : Design improves the quality of life by solving practical problems and meeting the needs of users, in particular, inclusive design projects, for example, which focus on the needs of people with disabilities, the elderly and other disadvantaged groups to create a more egalitarian society. I think it is also important to note that design can also help build a more harmonious society by creating public spaces, digital platforms or cultural events that enhance human interaction and social cohesion.

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

DZ : I'm doing design practice and design research, and recently I've been working on design thinking, specifically on big language modeling for design thinking. This project is very exciting to me.

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

DZ : I think that my most satisfying design project is always the next one, because facing the unknown and accumulating the existing experience, the future design project is the one that is most likely to satisfy me.

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

DZ : The intelligent era has arrived, and with the popularity of big language modeling tools and AIGC tools, changes in the design industry are inevitable. But I hope that the design industry will still focus on the needs of people themselves, and start from the needs to solve the actual problems of users. This is one of the most important values of design.

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

DZ : I think there are many directions of development in design and it is difficult to say which one is the mainstream or which direction of design development is the future. So it is difficult for me to give an answer to this question.

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

DZ : Six months to about a year. During this time, preliminary research is critical.

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

DZ : I would start by identifying my client's needs (which of course is not the most critical), and I think the most critical thing that needs to be done very quickly is desktop research of the user's needs as well as actual research. I think this is the starting point for my design projects.

DL: What is your life motto as a designer?

DZ : My life motto is: surpass your idols!

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

DZ : This is a very interesting question. I think it's hard to come to a definitive conclusion. It may be that every designer wants to set trends, but the vast majority of designers are led by trends.

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

DZ : Design is a fusion of business, art and technology, and technology is a key player in ensuring the realization of design.

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

DZ : Computers, paper prototyping tools, model cutting tools, brushes, online collaboration tools (like Figma) and Photoshop which is used by everyone, Illustrator and so on, I try out almost all of them and then find the one that works best for me.

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

DZ : These things are key to the success of the design, especially the choice of color, which directly determines the user's first impression.

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

DZ : I want people to forget about the designers and focus on using and enjoying the designs. Just like a singer would only want the audience to listen to their performance without asking questions.

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

DZ : I will study the methodology and visual presentation of this design and think about whether I am capable of doing better than him.

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

DZ : Co-design is a very common way of designing in the modern world, and my design partners are my friends who may or may not be designers. I like to hear from different people.

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

DZ : My mentor, Prof Luo Shijian, has the greatest influence on my design. In addition, the philosophical views of many entrepreneurs have had a great influence on my designs.

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

DZ : I enjoy reading philosophical books, especially those by Chinese philosophers, such as the Tao Te Ching.

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

DZ : I didn't deliberately cultivate it, but I've always had an open and inclusive mindset, and I learnt from anyone.

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

DZ : If I had the time, I would really like to have the most in-depth conversation with my parents. We haven't had a very deep conversation in about 10 years because of my full work schedule. I love my parents as much as they love me. I would talk to them about career choices and planning, and I'm curious about their perspectives.

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

DZ : Don't be obsessed with being a celebrity or proud of the awards you've won. Keep all your focus on the design itself - on the user's needs!

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

DZ : I love the color pink. I love my hometown home of Nanjing. I love chocolate (although chocolate makes me fat). I like spring. My favorite brand is Apple, I appreciate their innovative design thinking.

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

DZ : The first time I travelled in London I was delayed for an hour because I couldn't understand the underground lines, which I later found out was not a problem of my understanding but a bad design, haha. I also privately designed my own visual system for the London Underground, but of course, it was just a self-indulgence for me.

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

DZ : Every day is great for me because I'm doing the most rewarding job in the world - designing.

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

DZ : I've never thought about it, I just study and do design. It's not something I should think about in terms of winning awards or becoming famous.

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

DZ : In the future, I hope designers can become presidents or mayors. Will the earth still exist in a thousand years? I don't know.

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

DZ : They can chat with me by e-mail (deyin.zhang@kcl.ac.uk) or WeChat (a Chinese social software) with the ID: Deyin_1990 .