We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative cre-te ("Cre-te").
Every person, thing, and space has its own shape. Cre-te finds and shapes the philosophy and aesthetic sense from the fit and makes it a reasonable business. Especially, deals with based on UX(User Experience) and lifestyle spaces like hotel, resort, residence, F&B, retail etc. and works on real estate development planning, space consulting and design about that.
cre-te Designs
We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by cre-te.
cre-te Design - I Park The Urban Complex Cultural Space
cre-te Design - Asty Garak Residential Building
Designer Interview of cre-te:
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?
Cre-te : I dreamed of becoming a fine artist or cartoonist when I was in school, but after reading a book about Tadao Ando, I started to be interested in architecture. After that, I went to the Department of Architecture, and after graduating, I worked in an architectural design office for 15 years, and at the age of 38, I happened to experience the field of branding design. I decided to become a planner who encompasses the entire space, not limited to architecture.
DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
Cre-te : Cre-te is a design group that provides total design solutions related to space, including real estate development, architecture, interior, spatial branding, and product design.
DI: What is "design" for you?
Cre-te : I think that is the realm of design, not limited to any field, but embracing everything that leads one's life. I think it's an act of programming the hardware that starts with the city and the actions that take place in it, directing everything around you, from the software design that moves the hardware.
DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
Cre-te : Architect Daniel Libeskind's Jewish Museum.
DI: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
Cre-te : Architect Daniel Libeskind's Jewish Museum remains my favorite to this day. I think that in this work, both sound and light and the flow of time were intended by the architect and made into a specific space. Currently, my design state also wants to direct all of this. I want to design the environment and even the temperature that people feel.
DI: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
Cre-te : The first project after establishing a design group called Cre-te was the R&D center of a sportswear brand. This project did not focus on the spatialization of research facilities, but rather on the researcher's activities. We intended a space that induces the movement of actors such as running, jumping, and swinging.
DI: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
Cre-te : Light. This is because light is the most important element in grasping the shape of all objects and an indispensable concept in spatial planning.
DI: When do you feel the most creative?
Cre-te : Well, I think it is a field that is very far from the word creativity. This is because I think that the beginning of every project is the process of creating rational results based on objective data based on analysis of user behavior and experience, shape of nature, and market flow.
DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
Cre-te : Analysis and data collection. In the end, I think this process of analysis is the most important because it is planning the space that people use.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
Cre-te : exciting and hard at the same time.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
Cre-te : proud and sad at the same time.
DI: What makes a design successful?
Cre-te : It seems like time. It's like the 10,000 hour rule. And I think it's about constantly studying myself.
DI: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
Cre-te : Consider usability first. No matter how beautiful the formative beauty is, if it does not meet the function, I think it is as bad as not doing it.
DI: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
Cre-te : I think administrators and designers are in the same spot. If it is an administrator who creates social principles, I think that there is also a designer's good deed by realizing their direction. For example, the process of using zero-carbon energy sources or persuading them is also the responsibility and role of the designer.
DI: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
Cre-te : Convergence and virtual reality, real space and meta space, reality and unreality, all of these will expand into the field of space designers. Just as AI is also constructed in an infinite space, all fields begin within a proposition of space. This trend will eventually pass into the realm of dematerialization.
DI: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
Cre-te : The last exhibition was in December 2019, and the next exhibition is scheduled to be held this August.
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?
Cre-te : It is headquartered in Korea. Localism is obviously influencing my design. It is not just a simple design vocabulary, but the design result should be different according to the habits, weather, and culture of the people in the area. Korea is a country with a history of 5,000 years. Of course, there are endless things that can be found as motifs for design. However, since the beginning of modern architecture was later than in Europe and Japan, there is also a problem of low recognition as a designer. I think the solution to this part is a very easy but difficult part.
DI: Can you talk a little about your design process?
Cre-te : The first step in any design process is research and analysis. After that, the brand and character of the space are decided, and the process of shaping them is followed. This three-step process leads to the most efficient answer when negotiating with the client.
DI: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
Cre-te : Spatial designers can always be at the forefront of trends and market trends regardless of field. This is also the reason why cultural styles and art cannot be separated from space. The downside is that you always have to study and you can't imitate.
DI: What skills are most important for a designer?
Cre-te : I think the most important ability is analytical ability and imagination that can materialize it.
DI: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
Cre-te : I tend to use my time very inefficiently. Once you start one, you don't stop until you get the result. Except for my family, I tend to invest everything in my design.
DI: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
Cre-te : The most frequently asked questions are the design cost question and how to set up a concept.
DI: Who are some of your clients?
Cre-te : Clients range from large corporations to individual clients.
DI: How can people contact you?
Cre-te : People can contact you via email on the home page or by phone. www.cre-te.com