Yu-Ting Chen

LEGENDARY INTERVIEW

Design Legends ("DL") had the distinct honour to interview legendary designer Yu-Ting Chen ("YC") 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?

YC : I graduated from Tainan University of Technology, Taiwan.It has been 23 years since entering the interior design industry in 1999. In 2019, MU.YU.Interior Design Co,Ltd was established, mainly engaged in the design of private residences and commercial spaces.

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

YC : I liked painting since I was a child, and studied advertising design in high school. At that time, a female teacher was engaged in interior design. I thought it would be cool to be able to actually complete the design concept, so interior design became the goal I started to pursue. The completion of each design case and the satisfaction of customers are the cornerstones for me, and I will move forward step by step more steadily. I always firmly believe that interior design is my lifelong path.

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

YC : I choose to become a designer.

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

YC : A good design can meet the needs, make users satisfied and relieved, and improve convenience.

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

YC : Kengo Kuma, his works feel lighter but more shock-resistant, and integrate nature and natural building materials, full of Japanese aesthetics.

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

YC : Sunmoon Tea Shop is my most special work so far. These loess bricks have a history of 70 years and are also the main building materials preserved in this case. I hope that in the future there will be more traditional craftsmanship and materials preserved through design.

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

YC : Gardener.

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

YC : For me, design is an integral part of listening, observing and integrating. It is the result of a series of dismantling, reorganization and simplification.

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

YC : Designers use their professionalism and aesthetic awareness to enhance the public's design awareness, arouse the public's awareness from daily life to public places, and bring better convenience or services through design changes. This is a more important thing for the social environment.

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

YC : Virtual reality is rapidly changing the entire design environment.

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

YC : The design should be simplified the future.

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

YC : It is difficult to define when design work is complete. Every project is unique and design times vary.

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

YC : Usually I am used to draw the concept on the sketchbook first, then repeatedly disassemble the combined space, and then draw the material and color. Sometimes a 3D simulated scene is used to complete the case.

DL: What is your life motto as a designer?

YC : Making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity.

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

YC : I think design sets the trends.

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

YC : Anything can happen.