Fei Hu

LEGENDARY INTERVIEW

Design Legends ("DL") had the distinct honour to interview legendary designer Fei Hu ("FH") 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?

FH : I graduated from Hubei Polytechnic University with a Bachelor degree in interior design. I have more than 20 years of experience in the field of interior design. I have led and completed a number of iconic interior design projects and real estate projects across the country, and I have accumulated rich experience in providing design solutions for luxury residential, hotel commercial and public cultural projects in cooperation with several well-known brand companies. I have won gold, silver and bronze awards in design competitions many times. My work has been published in many professional interior design magazines and books.

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

FH : My father developed my interest in painting when I was 3-4 years old, so I loved painting from an early age. When I graduated from high school, I realized that I was more interested in architectural design and interior design, so I started taking courses in design. When I was in college, I majored in interior design. After graduation, I joined an interior design company and became an interior designer.

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

FH : To be a designer is my ideal, I have always loved this career, never tired.

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

FH : I specialize in designing luxury homes, hotels, offices and public cultural Spaces. I hope to design more public service space projects, such as libraries, art galleries, museums, boutique hotels, etc.

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

FH : I can't say that I am a design legend, I have not done enough, but I think young designers should first maintain their passion for design, and secondly, learn all the good cases extensively. The third is to never stop improving your professional skills.

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

FH : Good designers can improve lives, great designers can change lives。For example, the first iPhone was great design, the iPhone2-15 versions are just good design.

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

FH : Good design must meet four conditions: reasonable, innovative, good-looking, can be promoted

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

FH : Good design can improve people's lives and make people feel happy.Can make the world a better place.

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

FH : If I have time, I will design a history museum. I hope it will be a cultural center of the city, leaving a deep impression on everyone who comes to visit it.

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

FH : A historical museum, a resort hotel with sea views and forests.

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

FH : First of all, we must have a good aesthetic ability, then we must learn a lot of classic cases, and the rest is left to inspiration.

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

FH : Tadao Ando I.M. Pei, Rafael Moneo, Jobs，Tony Chi，Steve Leung

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

FH : The three masters who have inspired me the most are Tadao Ando, Rafael Moneo, and Tonychi. Their design styles represent simplicity, classical, and elegance, respectively, which fascinate me.

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

FH : My most satisfying design is yet to come.

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

FH : My method is to learn painting from a young age to develop a sense of beauty. Then I went to professional schools to learn skills and observe all excellent design cases in society. Read lots of books. To travel. Accumulated experience in a large number of projects.

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

FH : I want to be a film director

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

FH : Design is a collection of talents and experiences that can improve everything in life.

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

FH : My family, my teachers, my clients and my colleagues are all the biggest supporters to help me become a good designer.

DL: What helped you to become a great designer?

FH : Passion, inspiration, experience, learning.

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

FH : Designers should participate in more design competitions and win prizes to improve the spread of their works.

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

FH : A shopping mall, I hope in the future I can design more libraries, museums, cultural public Spaces, to serve the public.

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

FH : I hope I can leave my work in the history of design and provide reference value for future generations.

DL: How does design help create a better society?

FH : I once designed a community library, the area is only more than 300 square meters, but once it opened, it was warmly welcomed by the surrounding residents. Inspired by the extensive media coverage, the government invited me to design two more libraries, and more than 30 community libraries have been built based on my design. It has greatly improved the public cultural space of the community residents, benefiting hundreds of thousands of residents. I'm proud of that.I think this is a good example of how design can help create a better society.

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

FH : The development of artificial intelligence technology will subvert the traditional way of working on design, and it will become easier and easier for designers to create more and better works. The efficiency of design will be greatly increased, the productivity will be several times higher, and many designers will be obsolete if they don't update their skills. But I think that human creativity based on emotion and memory is something that AI cannot replace.

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

FH : AI will dramatically change the design industry in the coming years. It will greatly improve the work efficiency of designers, but at the same time, it is also necessary to avoid the negative effects that AI may bring, such as fraud, plagiarism, infringement and so on.

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

FH : A small project with an area of about 500 square meters usually takes four to six months from the start of design to the end of construction. If the project is more than 5,000 square meters, it will take at least 1 year.

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

FH : First, I will study the needs of the owner, then I will understand the environment and history of the project site, and then I will think deeply about various possibilities of design.

DL: What is your life motto as a designer?

FH : Design changes lives.

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

FH : Sometimes design leads the trend, and sometimes the trend leads design.

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

FH : Technology is the support, the foundation, like a drummer in a band.

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

FH : General design software and tools.

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

FH : The importance of color and material in design is equal to shape and structure, and all three are indispensable.

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

FH : What is your purpose in doing this?

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

FH : Why didn't I think of that?

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

FH : I'm not a big believer in co-design, which can only be led by one person and supported by a team.

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

FH : It's hard to remember because there are a lot of people, if it's someone I've come into contact with, it must be my college teachers.

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

FH : Just too many

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

FH : Spend a lot of time reading and researching Spend a lot of time practicing hand drawing Travel a lot Master a variety of work software and make them your tools

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

FH : Tony Chi, who is my favorite hotel designer, is based in New York.

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

FH : I would like to express my gratitude for the great honor the A'DESIGN AWARD has given me, and it is an honor to be recognized by the jury along with so many great designers.

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

FH : Yellow, Italian, Chinese food, autumn, painting

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

FH : On a trip with my family, we stayed in a small hotel in the mountains and I discussed with the front desk what was well decorated and what wasn't. A middle-aged man who was carrying plants stopped, listened to our conversation, and joined us. It turned out that he was the owner of the hotel, and we had a nice chat, and he later invited our family to dinner.

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

FH : The best part of the day is when there are no meetings to attend, no clients to visit, you can concentrate on the design of a project, and you can listen to music and drink some champagne when you are sleepy.

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

FH : When I was a kid, I never thought I would be a great designer, but when I went to college, I began to believe I would be a good designer.

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

FH : I think the appearance of human beings will not change much after 1000 years, but the clothes, food, housing and means of transportation will be completely different.

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

FH : I’m afraid of dogs. Every time I see a dog approaching, I always want to get as far away as possible.