We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative GUANGZHOU PINGTIAN CRAFTS CO. LTD ("GPCCL").
I am working as product design director of PTLIFE.As the main designer,I want to combine traditional folk art with modern design.Merging modern design with the honest attitude of folk art, to create new products that blend with the nature of life. In addition to fully satisfy the functional needs and living aesthetics, people can feel the deep natural atmosphere.Because I was born in the country, I got the infection of the fathers or neighbors in the hand-made farming tools every day. So I liked to make toys such as bamboo and metal from childhood. I like to disassemble the broken home appliances, and even the good one.I was keen on breaking things out of curiosity.Therefore,I have accumulated a lot of knowledge and inspiration for the structure of the products!
GUANGZHOU PINGTIAN CRAFTS CO. LTD Designs
We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by GUANGZHOU PINGTIAN CRAFTS CO. LTD.
GUANGZHOU PINGTIAN CRAFTS CO. LTD Design - Flex Multifunctional Lamp
GUANGZHOU PINGTIAN CRAFTS CO. LTD Design - Ten Centimeter Indirect Lighting Lamp
Designer Interview of GUANGZHOU PINGTIAN CRAFTS CO. LTD:
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?
GPCCL : Out of interest and enthusiasm in art, l entered into college to study art.However with-in-depth study,I found art not aiming at solving problems as design， thus changed the major to design.But,as far as I know,art and design,of course,have something in common.For example,the imagination required by art is also most important for design.
DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
GPCCL : PTLIFE is an innovative company focusing on luminous products design, with a creative and enthusiastic team of designers and engineers . It hopes to design and manufacture the products combining the modern science and technology with nature and traditional culture,organically and perfectly,using which people can enjoy the convenience of science and technology ,feel the gracious calm from nature and touch textures of the nation’s traditional craft.
DI: What is "design" for you?
GPCCL : Design is an opening and a solution. Design is the result of a dialectical thinking process. Design makes the past newer, the present better and the future have a way to follow.
DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
GPCCL : I like to design works that are not paid attention to in daily life but have great room for improvement. I like to think from different angles.
DI: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
GPCCL : I like simple and powerful works that really touch the essence of needs and conform to subconscious habits.
DI: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
GPCCL : A thinking process is designed that can guide the design itself to requirements.
DI: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
GPCCL : Natural materials and comfortable experience are combined with photoelectric information technology to make science and technology present as human beings.
DI: When do you feel the most creative?
GPCCL : Finding a new angle and entering the early stage of a design project are the most passionate.
DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
GPCCL : Pay great attention to whether the design pays attention to the nature of the demand. For example, lighting is sometimes not for brighter, but for darker.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
GPCCL : It is best to have calm after excitement.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
GPCCL : After a good design is implemented, when you see the satisfactory results, you will have a kind of astonished divine emotion: this is what God guided me! ?
DI: What makes a design successful?
GPCCL : Try to think thoroughly, practice the operation, often stand on their own opposition, it is easier to make the design successful.
DI: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
GPCCL : Whether it is really satisfied with the use, and whether it is really liked by people.
DI: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
GPCCL : Designers are equivalent to the director of a movie for products. They have social responsibilities both materially and spiritually, minimize waste of resources materially and advocate sustainable consumption spiritually.
DI: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
GPCCL : The design field has been changing all the time. It changes according to the changes of various industries. The future of design lies in industrial design.
DI: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
GPCCL : We have an exhibition in Shanghai in September 2019 and an exhibition in Shanghai in September this year, every year.
DI: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
GPCCL : Design inspiration comes from participation and careful observation of life. Constantly changing angles and learning different knowledge are ways to maintain imagination and creativity.
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?
GPCCL : Human science and technology or humanization of science and technology may not be a style, making design closer to people and ignoring design is a design method.
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?
GPCCL : Guangzhou, China, before we tried our best to get close to our traditional culture, then we found that we needed to stay away to get closer, so-called "I don't know the true face of Mount Lushan, only because I am in this mountain". Only when I look at my mountain from other mountains can I be more real. The current situation in China, from the perspective of various industries, is full of opportunities and the design is at the right time.
DI: How do you work with companies?
GPCCL : We will try our best to choose companies with complementary and technical backgrounds to cooperate.
DI: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
GPCCL : Adhere to your unique development path and choose designers who can persist and dare to break through to cooperate.
DI: Can you talk a little about your design process?
GPCCL : Research Industry-Narrow Scope-Find the Right Point-Design Intervention
DI: Can you describe a day in your life?
GPCCL : Imagination and criticism, ideal and reality, persistence and compromise coexist.
DI: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
GPCCL : Real design is something to be proud of, but we will face many fake designs without realizing it.
DI: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
GPCCL : The negative is that you will experience many failed designs and know many failed designers. The positive is that we are still full of hope and stick to it.
DI: What is your "golden rule" in design?
GPCCL : Keep thinking and always doubt.
DI: What skills are most important for a designer?
GPCCL : Cognition of essence and handling skills of beauty misguided and trivial matters.
DI: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
GPCCL : Common design software will be used, but it is more important to know that tools are only tools, not the design itself.
DI: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
GPCCL : Design is a work that is inseparable from life, so design is a part of life, but the design task of project initiation requires strict time planning and management.
DI: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
GPCCL : There are both advantages and disadvantages. Some designs last for several years, because the implementation of the design cannot be too advanced or lagging behind. The design needs the support of the market.
DI: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
GPCCL : Is that the only way?
DI: What was your most important job experience?
GPCCL : Recognizing that design must be attached to the industry, design is a job in the industrial chain.
DI: Who are some of your clients?
GPCCL : We hope that our customers are directly from thousands of households. We do not pursue the individuality of design, but the universality.
DI: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
GPCCL : I like works that skillfully solve essential problems, because ingenuity requires wisdom, while seeing essence requires philosophy.
DI: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
GPCCL : We have paid close attention to some industries and hope to do some industrial design to lead design companies to the development path of enterprises.
DI: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
GPCCL : Everyone is limited and must work in a team.
DI: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
GPCCL : The design currently in progress is about the improvement of traditional conventional products, hoping to find market space and improve the way to solve the problem within the existing scope.
DI: How can people contact you?
GPCCL : Warmly welcome cooperation and contact, our address: 2, Block C, No.143 Yansha Road, Dongcun Village, Luopu Street, Panyu District, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province Layer B, Contact: Kaka, Tel: 020-84584011, 18626348901, Email: PTLIFE@126.com, WeChatPTLIFE@126.com Public Number: PTLIFE_
DI: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
GPCCL : No thanks.