We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative Xue Wang ("XW").
Xue was born in China. She went to the University of Saint-Denis in Paris to study for a master's degree in digital multimedia. She came into contact with scroll art by accident and began to focus on using paper to express her artistic creation. Her inspiration usually comes from the collision and fusion of traditional ancient Eastern culture and contemporary Western culture. She plays guitar, bass, plays in a band, writes calligraphy, studies Yin and Yang Tai Chi, travels alone, reads, studies, likes deep thinking, maintains a high degree of curiosity about the world, likes to try new things, communicate with people from different cultural backgrounds, these things All brought her a lot of inspiration and imagination. It also made her think more and more. Her works gradually attracted people's attention. She was invited to participate in cooperation with famous brands such as lancel, prada, montblanc, etc. In 2018, she was invited to participate in the French cooperation event, jointly organized by UNESCO and the Chinese Information Office of the State Council. she performed a public demonstration of my activity and prepared a paper art piece for Madame Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO. In February 2019, she participated in the 55th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relationships between France and China, at which she was invited to present a paper art piece to the son of the former President of France, Georges Pompidou. In 2018, she was invited to participate in a charity dinner as part of the Cannes Film Festival. her paper art Lotus Flower was auctioned during the charity sale organized by the festival. All profit was donated to the French Association for Disabled Children.
Xue Wang Designs
We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by Xue Wang.
Xue Wang Design - Zen Paper Quilling
Designer Interview of Xue Wang:
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?
XW : I have loved all colorful and interesting things since I was a child, and have a variety of ideas. Later, I studied painting. I also majored in visual communication multimedia design during the university and master's period. Becoming a paper art designer is really an accidental opportunity. In 2016, I was looking for pictures on the Internet and I came across paper art like quilling by chance. I was deeply attracted by this form of artistic expression and found that Paper is a material full of infinite possibilities. It can be hard or soft, and then I start to explore and practice myself, and slowly walk out of my own paper art path.
DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
XW : In 2016, I founded my own Dream studio in Paris, specializing in paper art creation. It is an imaginative, dreamy and creative world of paper art. By curling, folding, and combining various structures to create a combination of two-dimensional and three-dimensional artistic effects, the designer is committed to making more people know quilling paper art, constantly innovate technology, combine different artistic creation techniques, and constantly explore all the possibilities of paper art creation. The main work direction of the studio is to cooperate with brands and help brands make paper art decorations for live events. We can create large-scale quilted paper illustrations, decorate walls, or match with brand products. To cooperate with the brand window display, to produce the background of the shooting products, and to cooperate with the shooting of product manuals, magazine pages, etc. (such as the background of jewelry, handbags, etc.), we can also make large-scale three-dimensional billboards at the brand event, such as clothing. On-site display of new product launches.
DI: What is "design" for you?
XW : For me, art is everywhere. Not only artists can do art, but good works of art must be able to touch people's hearts and resonate. Sometimes our sleepy imagination is often suppressed in daily life and needs to be awakened by art. Art is not repetition, but requires innovation, challenge and exploration to discover another fantasy, wonderful, spiritual enjoyment world outside of daily life. Design is to solve and facilitate various problems in human life, so design should not just create beautiful objects. Of course, design requirements also include aesthetics, but people should not put the cart before the horse. For those who really love artistic creation, this is a very difficult way but full of fun and happiness. In order to make a good work of art, they must firmly believe in their pursuit, maintain curiosity about the world, maintain the spirit of thinking and continuous exploration. Nature is the environment where I most often feels art, there are no artificial colors, everything is natural, and she hopes to stick to her artistic dream forever and never give up.
DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
XW : In the field of artistic creation, I think people should be the most difficult to express, because people have souls and thoughts. We need to grasp the subtle expressions and movements of the characters through long-term observation, and only grasp the special features of each character, it is possible to portray a lively work that moves the audience, especially the eyes, which can reflect the soul of a person. I am obsessed with reflecting the spiritual realm of the characters through the depiction of the eyes.
DI: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
XW : ZEN, This paper art work was created for the invitation to participate in the activities of UNESCO in 2018. It presents a very peaceful face. I want to express that although the busy worldly life makes people feel tired, they always look forward to the calmness and tranquility under the surface, 2018 is the beginning of my artistic career, no matter how noisy and busy the outside world is, I still hope to keep my inner peace and create a work that can truly awaken people's self-consciousness. This work wants to express a peaceful, quiet, meditation, calming power, as if everything is about to sail, everything is full of hope, is a starting point, starting, budding, accumulating a state of full energy. My favorite part of this work is the use of large and small rolls, dots and lines, and lines and surfaces to achieve unexpected effects. The conception stage was about 2 weeks, and then during the production period, I continued to modify, adjust the color contrast, find the most suitable way of expression, the color mixing method of the paper, the change of gradation color, etc., and it took about 3 months to complete the work.
DI: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
XW : Since I was engaged in paper art, the first design was invited by LANCEL in 2018 to make an advertising illustration for their new series of leather bags. I used quilling paper skills to create an illustration with their new leather bag as the theme and a decorative paper background. .
DI: When do you feel the most creative?
XW : Nature is the environment where I most often feel art, there are no artificial colors, everything is natural, and she hopes to stick to her artistic dream forever and never give up.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
XW : At the beginning of a new creation, I am always very excited and curious, because I don’t know what the final effect will be. It’s an unknown direction that is completely dominated by my own feelings, but sometimes I can’t find a very ideal way of expression. At that time, you will feel very low, but you still need to persist in thinking and trying, and in the end, you can achieve your ideal expectations.
DI: What makes a design successful?
XW : For those who really love artistic creation, this is a very hard, fun and happy road. In order to make a good work of art, they must firmly believe in their pursuit, maintain curiosity about the world, maintain the spirit of thinking and continuous exploration.
DI: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
XW : From my point of view, every responsible designer is working hard to facilitate people’s daily life, create a better world, and reduce the energy burden of society. Of course, there are many categories of design, such as industrial design, and its goals It lies in how to reduce noise, save space and energy, be more reasonable, suitable for ergonomics, etc. As people have higher and higher requirements for beauty, the main task of graphic designers should be to use graphic symbols to strengthen the identification system and reduce communication costs. To make visual systems, services, packaging and other peripheral products gradually become more beautiful, architects have been committed to creating elegant and comfortable environments, such as relaxing residences, offices, commercial activities, leisure and entertainment places, although There are many categories of designers, but ultimately, they are all people-oriented.
DI: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
XW : In November 2018, I was invited to participate in a second event at UNESCO, during which I exhibited several pieces of work and offered a work of paper art. In December 2020, invited by the mayor of Paris Vanves to hold a solo exhibition at the municipal government, which was postponed due to the epidemic
DI: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
XW : Whenever I face a new projet, I feel that it is a new starting point, with infinite motivation, and an unknown direction that is completely dominated by my own feelings. I always think about how to make it look better. Perfect, my thoughts jump quickly, new ideas are constantly pouring out, and I am in a state of extreme excitement. But sometimes when I can't find a very ideal way of expression, I feel very depressed, but I still insist on thinking and trying, and finally I can always achieve the ideal expectations.
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?
XW : I have been living in China since I was a child, and I have always loved the mystery, vague, if there is nothing, and the artistic expression of the combination of reality and reality in Eastern culture, such as Chinese landscape painting, Tai Chi Yin Yang Feng Shui culture, the idea of harmony between man and nature, and traditional handicrafts. Embroidery, paper-cutting, shadow puppetry, cloisonne, etc, all of these had a profound impact on me, and then I came to France to study for more than ten years and came into contact with Western art and culture. My inspiration usually comes from the collision and integration of traditional and magical Eastern culture and contemporary Western culture. They blend in with each other in my thoughts. They are a valuable asset of my creation. The influence of Chinese culture has made me always maintain a humble attitude and can make continuous progress. Western culture has opened my eyes to all kinds of wonderful ideas. , Full of challenges. I also like to think deeply and keep a high degree of curiosity about the world. Through a lot of reading, travel, music, and exchange of ideas with people of different cultural backgrounds and living environments, this has brought me constant creative inspiration.
DI: How do you work with companies?
XW : When cooperating with a company or a brand, I usually listen to the needs of the client first. According to the other party’s existing brand visual image, products, fonts, colors and other existing factors, combined with the characteristics of my paper art, I try my best to fit the client’s requirements, to find a most suitable form of expression, to integrate the characteristics of both parties, and finally present the visual effects and creativity that satisfy customers.
DI: Can you talk a little about your design process?
XW : Because my paper art is not easy to modify once it is implemented, and it often takes a long time, so I usually use photoshop to draw the approximate effect first, because it is easy to quickly create a variety of color fusion, gradient, overlap and other effects. It is important to foresee the final image in advance. At the same time, I always believe that pencils and sketchbooks are the most important tools for designers. Any design software is not as good as images drawn by our own hands and brains.
DI: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
XW : When I am looking for my next creative inspiration, I like to look at Pinterest’s photo library, and then look at the works of artists with ideas on INSTAGRAM. Usually, their whimsical creativity makes me very impulsive to create, and of course I usually do. Like to draw freely, write, play piano, read, and exercise will inspire me.
DI: What was your most important job experience?
XW : Because my paper art is not easy to modify once it is implemented, and it often takes a long time, so I usually use photoshop to draw the approximate effect first, because it is easy to quickly create a variety of color fusion, gradient, overlap and other effects. It is important to foresee the final image in advance. At the same time, I always believe that pencils and sketchbooks are the most important tools for designers. Any design software is not as good as images drawn by our own hands and brains.
DI: Who are some of your clients?
XW : PRADA, LANCEL, MONTBLANC etc.
DI: How can people contact you?
XW : My email adresse: wang.xue.design@gmail.com, and my website is :www.xuewang.art