We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative ZhiTao 唐 ("Z�").

Tang Zhitao is a dilligent designer who has many years experience in the field of interioer design especially for the catering decoration projects. He has gained some understanding about the "light meal" culture, the "tea shop"which is a typical case wichi is popular in yougth group. He tried to add some new concepts into traditional tea culture, to make "drinking tea" is a fashion and enjoyable activity. He also start to touch architecuture, try to mix interior space with new architecurural elements.

ZhiTao 唐 Designs

We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by ZhiTao 唐.

Designer Interview of ZhiTao 唐:

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?

Z� : I have seen my father's works since I was very young. He is a construction general supervisor of interior decoration. I dreamed one day I can be one of my father's partner and we can make a better decorations together. Therefore I chose 'environment art' as my major when I was in collage. However, after different experiences I achived from different companies, I finally decided 'pure design' instead construction. I think design is more attractive to me.

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

Z� : Our design studio was found in 2015. At very beginning, the project required from clients are most of small apartment with around 40-60 square meter. After that, we began to attach some commercial clients like catering services, office and so on. Ruetraa is the project we finished recently and in the whole process from the concept to the construction all followed our main idea. Our concept of logo is a paper folded flyer, which means the flyer made by paper can also fly once it get the power of idea from designers. The direction of flying way is East. In Chinese 'Fengshui', East is the symbol of 'Life' and 'Hope'.

DI: What is "design" for you?

Z� : The idea comes from a blank paper, then we begin to communicat with our clients from the early concept to a final product. I think the whole process from begin to the end is 'design'.

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

Z� : I prefer to design something with local culture background. We pursue the culture under the design but not the simple beautiful shape. I think the culture material is the most precious issue for a designer.

DI: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?

Z� : The restaurant Mercato in Italy is my favorite design, because the design connects with historical background. 'The Bund No.3' is the first building with bar construction, the way to take the building 'back to the past' presenting the designers' respect the old history of Shanghai. The designer not only describe the history of the Bund, but also reflects a picture of changes of Shanghai city in 100 years.

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

Z� : A private apartment with 70 square meters. I tried to use the shape fo 'tree' to build my idea, and I made a tree relivo on the every wall which connect two rooms. Fortunately, my client like my idea very much.

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

Z� : Texture paint, wood, terrazzo are my favorite material. I can use different software to structure my plan and idea.

DI: When do you feel the most creative?

Z� : The moment or the process that I communicate with my clients, and I get abundant ideas from my clients, that is my source of my inspiration.

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

Z� : The function. Every project has to be operated well, otherwise, it is no meaningful to our society.

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

Z� : When a new idea comes out I feel very excited, then share my idea to our colleagues, even most of time my ideas are objected.

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

Z� : Excited, obviously. There is a happy moment when your 'baby' grow up.

DI: What makes a design successful?

Z� : The design can meet my client's requirement.

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

Z� : The function.

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

Z� : Design can motivate the develpment of commercial industry goes well.

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

Z� : 3d technology motivates design industry developing very fast.

DI: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?

Z� : I have no any plan of exhibition for our studio.

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

Z� : It's depends, some come from accumulation from observation and some come from my research and analysis of material searched from internat.

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?

Z� : I have no specific style, the style is decided from different projects.

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?

Z� : I live in Guangdong, China. The architecture with Cantonese culture impacts me a lot. The dragon boat, water village are all the culture symbols of Cantonese culture. We try to repack those traditional culture into a new culture, and let more young people to accept this culture.

DI: How do you work with companies?

Z� : I was the founder and operater of this studio, so what I consider is how to find more projects for my company.

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

Z� : We try to cooperate with independent designer when our projects is not too many, in order to reduce the daily cost of our studio. When our projects are too many, we can consider to trainning young designers. I think the responsibility and patience are the points we select a good designer.

DI: Can you talk a little about your design process?

Z� : For a new project, I always to go to the location and communicate with the client and collect their ideas, making different cases with new concepts.

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

Z� : ANTIFONI light from IKEA, POÄNG chair from IKEA, Dyson Supersonic, Harman Kardon Sounder, iMac

DI: Can you describe a day in your life?

Z� : I like to drawing up my idea plan in the midnight, in the day I communicate with clients with my ideas face to face.

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

Z� : Try to experience the life. Of cause the knowlage is the most important element.

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

Z� : You have to change something beacuse some rediculous demands when my project has already confirmed.

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

Z� : Control the scale, colour, light. I think those three points are my golden rule.

DI: What skills are most important for a designer?

Z� : The attitude of life and spatial thinking.

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

Z� : Software I often use: 3DMAX、AUTO CAD、PS. The books I often read are Design360°、Communication Arts、Designers-Digest、Interior Design、FRAME and so on.

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

Z� : There is very important to make an effective working schedule.

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

Z� : Depends the category of project. For commercial project, the period is often 1 month, while for the private resident, you have enough time to build your design idea.

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

Z� : the balance between design cost and construction cost.

DI: What was your most important job experience?

Z� : The studio I work for after I graduate from the collage. The projects came from that studio taught me how to use different way to make a design. In that company, I met my great teacher Yang Mingbin, Li Xinglin.

DI: Who are some of your clients?

Z� : Different types, but most of them are come from catering and commercial industry.

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

Z� : Catering project is my favorite project, because I like food. Actually, in my design for catering clients, some of crazing idea can come into real.

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

Z� : I still build it, I hope the plan can break something compare my previous one.

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

Z� : Team work, of course. It can not solve problems easily just depend a person. You know design can cover different knowledge in different filds, so we have to combine together and use team power to develope more projects.

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

Z� : Yes. We have a new project in Shenzhen city is in process, we meet a lot of difficult during the period of construction. Now what we need to do is communicate with the team of construction and try to solve those problems in the best ways.

DI: How can people contact you?

Z� : Most of time the clients know us from our friends or from our perious project. It is worth to mention that we always make return visit to our clients and our projects, to realize what we need to improve or what we need to change.