We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative Yi-AN Hung ("YH").
Yestudio’s story began in 2005. Back then they were a freelancer of interior design with Mrs. Hung and her husband work from home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Today, they connect with customers from Taiwan and China everyday with award winning design service. Yestudio is named after Chinese word “simple”. Their design philosophy is also derived from their believe- simple brings good design. Yestudio’s mission is to inspire and nurture the built environment- one design, one home and one community at a time. It’s their goal for our built environment to be grown under high quality standards, with design passion and enthusiasm.
Yi-AN Hung Designs
We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by Yi-AN Hung.
Yi-AN Hung Design - Green Light Forest Ecology Exhibition
Yi-AN Hung Design - Magic Blocks Coffee Table
Designer Interview of Yi-AN Hung:
DI: Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?
YH : I have graduate degree in interior design and teach as a professor in University and run a design studio in Taipei.After my master degree of interior design from 2003, and being in the field for 15 years, and work in US, China and Taiwan and experience diverse project type. In 2005, I launched my design studio with a interior design and furniture design focus that gradually become recognized for its simplicity and modern style.
DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
YH : www.yestudio.com, We are gang of passionate designer from Taiwan.As a designer, we have individual design philosophy.However, we believe” simple brings good design!”Good design is using simple design solution to solve complicated problems. As the same time, it represent our design attitude and spirit of places.
DI: What is "design" for you?
YH : Design is an idea that solve the problems in a beautiful way, and what I consider a good design is to utilized a simple yet elegant strategy to solve complicated and difficult problems and create value to the project itself.
DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
YH : No specific type, but anything that is interesting and inspiring. As you know it is always difficult to find a good design project and a good client at the same time. Most of time, a good design project do not have a good client, and the project may good wrong or the process might not be smooth. However, I consider a good client is more important than a good project.
DI: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
YH : A design that is simple and beautiful with clear idea. My secret garden is a small interior design project in Taipei. It is to design a small penthouse space a the client's two little girl and for their friend to come for a visit during the holiday. I combine several important spatial idea, like stair, slide and storage space into one single design element and make the space really interesting to use.
DI: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
YH : I design a cool small penthouse two little girl and her family where they can invite friends to enjoy they life during weekend. And this design integrate with multiple functional element into one simple slide and stairs. The design win several international award and get into may design magazine and on-line report.
DI: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
YH : Natural woods, white wall, wind and sunshine. I believe a good space need to be able to flow, and the wind, sunshine, and air should be able to work closely with the space I design.
DI: When do you feel the most creative?
YH : I think creativity or idea come from nowhere, I will appear suddenly and disappear right away. Sometime, when I drink a coffee in the shop or sometime I walk on the street, and many time when I review my students design, I got inspire by what they though process.
DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
YH : A big idea that can solve most of the problems. I particular like to solve the problems of modern living world where people do not have plenty of space to live, and I like to combine multiple function into one design pieces.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
YH : Exciting and energetic, especially when people are using my design. I feel it is the best job in the world.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
YH : Happy and feel good about my profession, there's one time when I find people are talking about my design, I feel very proud and satisfied. I think it is the best job for me and I born to be a designer.
DI: What makes a design successful?
YH : Good client, good budget, good designer, good contractor, enough time….. In my opinion, the good client is most element to make a good design, I prefer to communicated with good client and solve his or her problems through quality design.
DI: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
YH : The beautiful big idea that solve the problems. Lots of time I look at many design project, and there's one a few design I will pulse and take a few time to review it again. And lot of time, they are simple and elegant design that showcase the ability of the designer.
DI: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
YH : I think designer are mean to create a better living environment for our society and make it a better world for our built environment, and that's what help me to keep working and being a designer.
DI: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
YH : I do not have the answer for this question, however, I think there’s plenty of design trend in the world, and it would be interesting to see which one will lead the field. Personally, I like to develop the new technology with design and see how will it evolve over time.
DI: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
YH : I do not have an exhibition yet. However, I do have several exhibition experience with the student I tough in school.
DI: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
YH : I think the inspiration come from anywhere, from life, from pass experience, from who you meet, from client…. Can be anything…and a lots of time they are come from my students.
DI: How would you describe your design style? What made you explore more this style and what are the main characteristics of your style? What's your approach to design?
YH : I do not have a style of my design and do not think it is important to have a style. I consider more about the big idea behind each project I can deliver to my user and audience. Beside, I most like to take a simple form or design material to solve a complicated questions and try to vivid the design idea.
DI: Where do you live? Do you feel the cultural heritage of your country affects your designs? What are the pros and cons during designing as a result of living in your country?
YH : I live in Taiwan, and it is rich with Chinese culture and also extremely open to other culture. I think it is great place for my creativity thinking. Everywhere and lots of time there will be design or culture related exhibition or event take place in the city, I love to bring my children to these event and make myself all refresh.
DI: How do you work with companies?
YH : I run my small studio in Taipei with several creative colleague. I also work with some other talent designer in Taipei, depend on what kind of project that come to me. All of them are great designer and I learn so much from them during every project.
DI: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
YH : I think good design need more space for creativity, and please leave the professional work to the professional people. I think a good designer need to explore the world more and many of them are working really hard, I consider design is a 24 hours work, and people are keep explore the design idea...
DI: Can you talk a little about your design process?
YH : It all depend on client and project type, so far, no project is the same. However, I will normally do a interview to the client and understand they need, and do the site inspection, then to search on my data base do see if there's good design solution for his or her particular problems.
DI: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
YH : Few nice toy under my monitor, nice bag, sunglasses, etc…I like to wear good and interesting design cloth or decoration when working or teaching, that make me feel good.
DI: Can you describe a day in your life?
YH : Busy most on time during weekday, and go out with kids during weekend…. Sometime, when urgent on project, I do work late with colleague, but not that often, I try to balance the work and life a most as I can.
DI: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
YH : Work hard, work smart, and be open to new idea and things. I think a good designer to to explore the world through traveling and to looking at good design.
DI: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
YH : It is a tired professions, you have to love it to be able to do it well. When I was teaching to my students, I always let them know, you are about to enter a field that can not make a lot of money, lots of work, you have to love it before you should continuous.
DI: What is your "golden rule" in design?
YH : I do not have the golden rule for my design, just keep doing some interesting project and things to make me happy. I consider each project and problems are different, I enjoy new thing and challenge to happen during my work.
DI: What skills are most important for a designer?
YH : Communication, and passionate to design. and lots of time, a good designer tend to work pretty hard and sometime forget the time when doing design.
DI: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
YH : Pencil and trace paper and clear brains….I do understand the basic design software, like autodesck, adobe, office etc. and many time I will ask my colleague to help me on difficult software.
DI: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
YH : I tend to do several things at the same time, sometime, one thing can ring a bell to another. Multi-taking is the working condition I enjoy the most, and I can stand under big stress.
DI: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
YH : There’s no time limit for design, I believe good designer can keep improving his or her design all the time, as long as the time is available.
DI: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
YH : Can it done by tomorrow? What? you charge on designing things?
DI: What was your most important job experience?
YH : There’s no such a thing or experience, I just try to pay enough attention and time to each of my projects. Beside, I also teach at school, I consider teaching and practice are both very important aspect to make me a good designer.
DI: Who are some of your clients?
YH : Can be friends’ friends, and some from my website. Some are the government, they all come from different source.
DI: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
YH : Interesting and challenging one, and the one that client pay me well. especially when I face a good client who respect our opinion, I could even work for him or her with cheaper design fee.
DI: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
YH : I got no plan for future, just wait and see what may encounter to me.
DI: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
YH : Team, I have few colleague and sometime I also work with other design company. It all depend on the project type and its nature.
DI: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
YH : I am currently working on a very interesting forest exhibition project in China with strong design idea to framework the whole project.
DI: How can people contact you?
YH : www.yestudio.com.tw +886-2939-9355, tzuhohung@gmail.com
DI: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
YH : I think it cover a lot. I have nothing to add.