We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative Meiyi Cheung ("MC").

Meiyi is a singular Hong Kong designer majors in fashion. Her intimate experience with international and China brands have provided her exceptional knowledge to offer design solutions which well balanced with creativity and commerciality to the industry. In 2003, Meiyi established Paragon Design Limited, and opened her own shop WHOSTHATshop at PMQ, Central of Hong Kong in 2014, to showcase her designs and successful collaboration projects with fine artists. Fashion + art, is Meiyi’s new arena to reflect a mixture of creation and commerce through her functional and innovative idea. A way to realize her belief in “ Design without boundaries.” In Fine Art area, Meiyi has drawn paintings for Four Seasons Hotel in Beijing, and participated in different art exhibitions. Three of Meiyi’s fashion pieces are currently collected by the Hong Kong Cultural Museum in 2013.

Meiyi Cheung Designs

We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by Meiyi Cheung.

Designer Interview of Meiyi Cheung:

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?

MC : i was simply a kid with good drawing skill where i were young. I grow up in an ordinary family which is traditional, humble, and practical. Fashion design was an alien to them, and to me, at that time. Until one day, one of the professors in my university asked me to consider further my study in fashion design. After years, she told me that she saw my strong observation power, the sensitivity to proportion, material and texture, with these, she believed i would be a good fashion designer in future. Thanks to her, i enrolled to fashion design, a subject which was an alien to me, and graduated with a few scholarships. Well, with all the awards and achievement i have gained in these years, I believe she is proud to have brought me to the fashion arena.

DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?

MC : Although my major is fashion design, i always believe design should not have boundaries. Therefore I set up an company, Paragon Design Limited , use fashion as a key platform to deliver creative concept, management service, and total design solution to any brand need a pair of fashion eyes.

DI: What is "design" for you?

MC : To me, Design as a whole, is a brain activity without boundaries, is a process of questions and answers that never comes to an end.

DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?

MC : Although I am strong in fashion design, works of painting, wearable art and art installation is the my biggest scope of interest

DI: What was the first thing you designed for a company?

MC : I designed a logo for a leather company.

DI: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?

MC : My favorite material is anything that have special property, appearance, usage and texture.

DI: When do you feel the most creative?

MC : When I am in bed, ideas pour in.

DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?

MC : To me, I am very detail attended and the best use of material

DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?

MC : The world is in silent, the clock stops ticking, and i swim in my brain.

DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?

MC : I do feel more confident and excited when my designs are realized

DI: What makes a design successful?

MC : To me, a design should be the best balance of creativity and marketability, appreciated and desired by people.

DI: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?

MC : good design should be original, inspiring and awakening. It should not follow what people want, but it tells people what they want and what they need.

DI: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?

MC : An awakening to aesthetic, to ethics, and global issue.

DI: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?

MC : Design becomes daily activity of general public. it is not an expertise anymore. Every person is a designer with the help of software and technology.

DI: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?

MC : Material with interesting property and texture always inspire me something. My creativity always come from material and construction.

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?

MC : My design would be quite extreme. In one hand my designs would bevery commercial and easy-to-wear, while on the other side, my designs would contain a lot wow factors yet still very wearable. I create a kind of never-see-it-before style, and still dress a women elegantly and pretty.

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?

MC : I live in Hong Kong. The free trade and the geographic location of Hong Kong helps me in material sourcing and expose to international design trend. Hong Kong does not have a strict and strong culture, but the fusion of east and west life style is a big inspiration to my creativity.

DI: How do you work with companies?

MC : A good understanding of the companies' business plan, strength and the wish of the bosses is very important as it sets the framework of my service to them. Within this framework, i will focus to deliver my expertise to turn the wish of companies comes true.

DI: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?

MC : A creative designer with business mind is important. However, without a clear design briefing and team support, designers will not be able to deliver his best.

DI: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?

MC : I am afraid i do not have any design items at home. All are moved to my shop and my office. The only left is my brain.

DI: Can you describe a day in your life?

MC : My single day flies like an hour.

DI: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?

MC : There is no pure talent in the world. All talents developed from hard working, efforts and good judgement.

DI: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?

MC : We akwats have a young heart, and keep ourselves uptodated. But its not easy to separate work from living.

DI: What is your "golden rule" in design?

MC : do the best or not do it.

DI: What skills are most important for a designer?

MC : The skill of brainstorming, catch the ideas, identify the most feasible idea, and make best judgement in design process.

DI: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?

MC : An old sketchbook

DI: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?

MC : Preparation of research material and design tools is important to keep a design process efficient

DI: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?

MC : It depends, it would be very fast like a couple of minutes, or it would take me months.

DI: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?

MC : "is it the best?"

DI: What was your most important job experience?

MC : To me, every single job experience is important to me, as they are part of my strong and stunning portfolio.

DI: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?

MC : I enjoy design work that request high originality and creativity, as this is my strength.

DI: What are your future plans? What is next for you?

MC : Plan to do more fashion + art / installation projects

DI: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?

MC : I used to develop the designs myself and complete the execution with different parties.

DI: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?

MC : I am working on a museum project "lost in possession" contains eight fashion outfits that incorporates 2 traditional craftsmanship: red-smith and chinese opera headpiece. Each outfits i use different materials such as copper mesh, wool tops, plastic, and techniques such as cyanotype, digital print and hand weaving to delineate the best mix of traditions and technology.

DI: How can people contact you?

MC : please send email to mycheung@paragondesign.com.hk or message me at instragram WHOSTHATshop or message me at https://www.facebook.com/WHOSTHATshop/