Sizhe Huang

LEGENDARY INTERVIEW

Design Legends ("DL") had the distinct honour to interview legendary designer Sizhe Huang ("SH") 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?

SH : I am an interdisciplinary designer, specializing in forging the future of user experiences. Currently, I am contributing to Lucid Motors where I am passionate about weaving seamless experiences into the user's interconnected lifestyle, ensuring that every interaction is intuitive and enriching. With a foundation in Industrial Design from my undergraduate studies and a Master’s Degree in Media Design from the ArtCenter College of Design, I navigate skillfully between physical and digital mediums, crafting immersive experiences that resonate with users. My design approach is staunchly user-centric, ensuring that every creation is not only functional and innovative but also emotionally impactful and aligned with user needs and expectations. My interests span across mobility, IoT (Internet of Things) and social platforms, always with an aim to explore how these domains can intersect to create novel, meaningful, and integrated user experiences. At the core of my work lies a belief in the transformative power of design, bridging technological advancements with deeply human experiences.

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

SH : From a young age, painting became a powerful medium for me to express myself, allowing me to communicate through aesthetic visuals. As I matured, my fascination grew in merging aesthetics with emerging technology, exploring how these elements could intertwine to create something innovative and impactful. My innate qualities of being a keen observer and an active listener catalyzed my excitement about utilizing design as a tool to resolve issues and enhance people’s lives. This enthusiasm propelled me to pursue academic journeys in both undergraduate and graduate studies, where I immersed myself in design theory while also unleashing my creativity. Upon graduation, I embraced the role of a designer with zeal, applying my academic learnings to real-world scenarios. I derive immense satisfaction from collaborating with others, bringing designs to life that not only embody aesthetic and technological integration but also have the power to positively alter everyday experiences for people.

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

SH : A truly good design transcends mere aesthetics to achieve a harmonious balance between form and function, where each element is purposeful and enhances the user's experience. At its core, good design solves problems efficiently and elegantly, making life simpler, more enjoyable, or more meaningful. It is intuitive and accessible, ensuring that users can interact with it seamlessly, regardless of their background or ability level. Furthermore, good design is sustainable; it considers the entire lifecycle of the product, including its impact on the environment and society. Evaluating good design involves several key criteria: functionality, user experience, aesthetic value, sustainability, and innovation. Functionality tests whether the design effectively performs its intended purpose. User experience assesses how easily and pleasantly users can interact with the design, including accessibility for all potential users. Aesthetic value looks at how the elements of design—such as color, shape, and form—coalesce to create an appealing product. Sustainability considers if the design minimizes environmental impact and promotes ecological health. Finally, innovation evaluates the design's originality and its contribution to pushing boundaries in its field. A design that excels in these areas is not just good; it’s exceptional, setting standards and driving progress in design thinking.

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

SH : My key to success in design is rooted in a potent mix of unyielding curiosity, relentless dedication, and deep empathy. This unique blend serves as the bedrock of my approach, guiding my creative process and decision-making at every turn. Curiosity is my compass—it drives me to continuously explore new ideas, learn from others, and challenge the status quo. This perpetual quest for knowledge ensures that my designs remain innovative and that I never become complacent. It fuels my ability to anticipate trends and to think critically about how emerging technologies can be harnessed to enhance design solutions. Dedication, on the other hand, is my anchor. It provides the resilience needed to tackle complex challenges and the persistence to iteratively refine my work until it meets—and often exceeds—my standards of excellence. It’s this dedication that sees projects through to their successful completion, no matter the obstacles encountered along the way. Above all, empathy is my secret ingredient; it is the heart of my design philosophy. By putting myself in the shoes of others, I ensure that my designs are not just aesthetically pleasing or functionally apt, but truly resonant with users. Empathy reminds me that design is ultimately about people. It's about understanding their needs, alleviating their pains, and enhancing their lives. The true measure of success in design, therefore, isn’t just found in accolades or achievements, but in the positive impacts that my work has on individual experiences. This empathetic approach ensures that my designs are meaningful, user-centered, and genuinely transformative.

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

SH : Naoto Fukasawa has been a significant influence on my design approach, particularly due to his philosophy of 'Design without Thought'. Fukasawa's ethos revolves around the idea that the best designs are those that seamlessly integrate into our lives, becoming almost invisible because of their intuitive nature. This principle resonates with me deeply. It has encouraged me to always strive for simplicity and to design solutions that effortlessly resonate with users, ensuring that they don’t have to think – they can just feel and use. His work serves as a constant reminder that design should not be intrusive but rather an innate extension of human behavior and environment.

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

SH : 'Design' is a profound symphony of art, science, and empathy. It's not merely about creating visually pleasing artifacts, but about crafting solutions that resonate deeply with human needs and emotions. Design is a dialogue between the creator and the user, wherein every line, color, and texture communicates a message, tells a story, or solves a problem. It's a relentless pursuit of balance between aesthetics and functionality, where innovation meets intuition. Ultimately, design is a commitment to enhancing lives, whether it's simplifying complex tasks, evoking emotions, or just adding a touch of beauty to the everyday. In its essence, design is a testament to human ingenuity and the desire to leave the world a touch more harmonious than we found it.

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

SH : Embarking on this path hasn't been without its hurdles. As a first-generation designer and artist, I faced the added challenge of navigating a field where I had little guidance and fewer resources than some of my peers. This often felt like exploring unfamiliar territory without a map. Yet, the support of my family, friends, and mentors has been instrumental in my journey. One of the biggest internal battles I faced was choosing between pursuing speculative, futuristic user experiences and developing market-targeted user experiences that solve real-world problems and transform into actual products. This dichotomy was initially a source of conflict until mentorship helped me see that it was, in fact, a unique advantage that sets me apart. On the professional front, collaborating with engineers and adjusting designs to fit timelines, technological constraints, and product scopes has been challenging. Yet, these challenges have honed my ability to craft pragmatic solutions that satisfy all stakeholders, balancing creativity with practicality.

DL: How does design help create a better society?

SH : Design significantly enhances society by improving accessibility, sustainability, and overall quality of life. By ensuring that products and environments are usable by everyone, including those with disabilities or limited access, design promotes inclusivity and equality. For example, well-crafted public spaces and digital platforms can foster community connections and make daily interactions more efficient. Moreover, with an emphasis on sustainability, designers have the power to reduce environmental impacts through the thoughtful use of materials and sustainable practices. This holistic approach to design, which integrates physical and digital experiences, is essential in addressing complex societal challenges and making life better for all. In your role as a UX/UI designer, you contribute to these positive changes by focusing on user-centric and accessible design solutions that bridge multiple interaction platforms.

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

SH : As a Product Designer in the electric vehicle industry, my role is holistic, extending beyond the traditional bounds of UX/UI design. I crafted the entire user experience, encompassing not only the time spent driving but also the moments before and during the ride of the vehicle. This includes conducting user research, strategizing product development, and designing both the user experience and user interface. My designs are not limited to digital screens within the vehicles; I also focus on how users physically interact with the vehicle itself. For me, designing for mobility transcends creating a mere commute tool—it involves shaping a space, whether shared or private, where people spend significant time and form experiences. I take immense pride in seeing my designs come to life and being enjoyed by customers, often receiving accolades within the design community. My work aims not just to solve problems but to enhance lives by promoting sustainable practices and encouraging a shift towards a greener future. What distinguishes me in the field is my balanced approach that marries user-centric empathy with data-driven strategies. I design with a keen focus on practical use cases, ensuring that my solutions are not only visually appealing but also perform well, meet business objectives, and align with technological possibilities. Beyond my professional duties, I continuously explore my creativity through side projects that have earned global recognition, including prestigious awards like the iF Design Awards, RedDot Design Awards, Muse Design Awards, and European Product Design Awards. Additionally, my passion for media art has led to exhibitions at major international venues such as the London Design Festival and NYC Design Festival. This aspect of my work underscores my commitment to pushing the boundaries of design and art, bringing innovative ideas to a worldwide audience.

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

SH : First and foremost, a deeper commitment to sustainable design practices is essential. The industry can lead by adopting and advocating for materials and processes that reduce environmental impact. This involves a shift towards biodegradable materials, zero-waste production, and energy-efficient design practices. Designers are uniquely positioned to influence consumer behavior and product lifecycle; hence, embedding sustainability at the core of design education and practice could create profound ripple effects across global manufacturing and consumption patterns. Additionally, there is a pressing need for the design industry to embrace a stronger ethical framework, especially as technologies like AI and data analytics become integral to design processes. Ethical design should ensure privacy, security, and fairness, preventing biases in automated decisions made by AI systems, which are increasingly used in UX/UI design and other fields. Establishing robust ethical guidelines and regularly updating them as technology evolves would help maintain trust and integrity within the industry. Furthermore, enhancing cross-disciplinary collaboration is crucial. The challenges facing today’s world are increasingly complex and interconnected, requiring solutions that span multiple fields. Encouraging collaboration between designers, engineers, business professionals, psychologists, and other experts can lead to more innovative and effective designs. This interdisciplinary approach should be fostered through educational programs, professional workshops, and industry standards, promoting a culture of continuous learning and adaptation.

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

SH : The push towards inclusivity in design is gaining momentum, with a growing emphasis on creating products and services that are accessible to everyone. This shift towards inclusive and universal design is not just about adhering to accessibility standards but also about embracing a broader spectrum of human diversity. Designers are now expected to consider a wide array of human experiences and capabilities right from the initial stages of the design process. This approach enriches the user experience, fosters social equity, and opens up markets to a more diverse consumer base, thereby driving innovation and inclusivity in tandem. Technological advancements, particularly in AI, VR, and AR, are revolutionizing the design field. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are being leveraged to automate design tasks, predict user behavior, and personalize experiences in real-time. Meanwhile, augmented and virtual reality technologies are creating new frontiers in how users interact with digital and physical spaces. AR and VR allow designers to prototype and test designs in fully immersive environments, making the design process more efficient and effective. This technological integration not only enhances the functionality and aesthetics of designs but also creates more engaging and interactive user experiences. Additionally, the future of design is increasingly interdisciplinary, blending insights from psychology, anthropology, technology, and art. This cross-disciplinary integration enables designers to create more comprehensive solutions that address complex human needs. By combining knowledge from various fields, designers can innovate more holistically, ensuring that their solutions are not only technologically sound and visually appealing but also deeply rooted in understanding human behavior and societal trends.

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

SH : Embarking on a new design project, I harness the structured creativity of the double-diamond method, blending rigorous systematic strategy with expansive creative exploration to address user needs effectively. This process begins in the **Discovery** phase, where the core challenge is identified and dissected through deep user research—interviews, observations, and surveys help map out a detailed landscape of user experiences, pain points, and contexts. This initial phase is crucial as it sets the direction of the project by grounding it in empathy and understanding. Moving forward, the **Ideation** phase involves generating a wide array of creative solutions, carefully aligning each idea with the insights gained previously to ensure relevance and innovation. This is followed by the **Design** phase, where ideas are transformed into interactive prototypes, allowing for nuanced refinement through user feedback. The iterative nature of this process comes to the forefront during the **Testing** phase, where prototypes undergo rigorous evaluation to hone functionality and aesthetics based on real user interactions. This cyclical process ensures that the final designs are not only aesthetically pleasing but deeply resonant with user needs, continually evolving through feedback to better meet and exceed user expectations. Each project is a journey of discovery, ideation, and meticulous refinement, aiming to deliver solutions that are both innovative and profoundly impactful.

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

SH : In the intricate dance between design and trends, it's clear that the dynamic is not merely one of cause and effect, but rather a continuous dialogue—a symbiotic relationship where each influences and reshapes the other. Designers, as pioneers at the forefront of innovation, often catalyze new trends by introducing groundbreaking ideas that respond to, or anticipate, shifts in cultural, technological, and social landscapes. For instance, the adoption of minimalism across digital and physical spaces didn't just reflect an aesthetic preference but pointed to a broader societal shift towards simplicity and functionality in an increasingly complex world. Conversely, prevailing trends act as a compass for designers, guiding the trajectory of their creative explorations and ensuring relevance in a fast-paced market. This mutual influence ensures that design remains adaptive and resonant with the times. For example, the rising concern for sustainability has steered the design community towards green materials and sustainable practices, a trend that now shapes how products are designed, marketed, and consumed. As we continue to navigate this ever-evolving space, it becomes apparent that the relationship between design and trends is not just reactive but deeply proactive, with designers not just following trends but actively molding them to forge better connections with society at large.

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

SH : I usually use Figma and ProtoPie for on-screen designs, Rhino and Cinema 4D for 3d designs, and Adobe creative kit for image and video editing.