We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative TONG WEN ("TW").
Tong Wen is a multidisciplinary designer, who has rich design experience in graphic design, interaction design and product design. She constantly releases articles relating to design thought process about both business products and consumer products to inspire other designers in that field. She believes the mission of the designer is to find out and depict what people want by graphic, animation or interactive work.
TONG WEN Designs
We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by TONG WEN.
TONG WEN Design - Terark Visual Identity Design
Designer Interview of TONG WEN:
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?
TW : I learned fine arts at Parsons the New School. Art allows me to express my feelings. Design allows me to create new things.
DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
TW : Working as a freelancer is challenging but interesting. Clients are different, demands are different. So design outcome would be different too,
DI: What is "design" for you?
TW : Design is helping me to understand this world.
DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
TW : If the client really trusts me, then the design experience would be wonderful
DI: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
TW : I really like MUJIRUSHIRYOYHIN Wall Bluetooth Speaker. It is simple, elegant and natural.
DI: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
TW : A logo, for a wearable device.
DI: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
TW : I don't have a fav, it depends on different design need.
DI: When do you feel the most creative?
TW : When I am focused.
DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
TW : Whether it is creative.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
TW : I feel nothing except for "flow".
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
TW : It is a "wow" moment.
DI: What makes a design successful?
TW : Whether it solves the design question.
DI: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
TW : whether it is really solving the problem in the most proper way.
DI: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
TW : Respect your work.
DI: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
TW : The most charming part of design is that it is infinite. I cannot see the future because i know it will surprise me.
DI: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
TW : Maker faire 2018, probably next year.
DI: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
TW : Everywhere. If you don't fear of failure, you will be creative.
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?
TW : I would say it is simple and elegant. Exploring new styles is hard, because designers are usually only familiar with one style. So work harder!
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?
TW : I live at Bay Area, California. Yes, I love traditional style very much. Pros are like you can reach out to a lot of local art pieces, cons are like it is hard to meet different designers living other places.
DI: How do you work with companies?
TW : Treat them as your friends.
DI: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
TW : Trust them and Collaborate. Please choose someone you want to trust.
DI: Can you talk a little about your design process?
TW : Iteration is important. Listening to your audiences/users is important.
DI: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
TW : 5 hand drawing paintings.
DI: Can you describe a day in your life?
TW : get up, think or design or communicate, go sleep~~
DI: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
TW : If you are sure you love to be a designer, then be a designer.
DI: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
TW : positive part is like I can explore new topics everyday, it is a lot of fun. Negative part is like I may feel stuck sometimes, that is really frastrating.
DI: What is your "golden rule" in design?
TW : there is no best design, it could always be better.
DI: What skills are most important for a designer?
TW : critical thinking and having insights.
DI: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
TW : I love white boarding. it is a good way to brainstorm more ideas.
DI: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
TW : If you are really designing something, you won't feel the time.
DI: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
TW : it depends, it can be done in one hour or the whole life.
DI: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
TW : What is the worst design you have ever met.
DI: What was your most important job experience?
TW : I worked as a freelancer for long time. That experience is very beneficial.
DI: Who are some of your clients?
TW : A lot. like Adobe.
DI: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
TW : I like to design all kinds of work, especially something I have never designed before.
DI: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
TW : I would design till I can not feel any fun during design process. Working on next project.
DI: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
TW : Both, it depends on the project
DI: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
TW : Sorry, nope.
DI: How can people contact you?
TW : tongwendesigner@gmail.com