We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative Louis Yiu ("LY").
Louis Yiu is the founder and creative director of A.S.M.D. creations that is based in Taipei. He has extensive experiences in diversified design expertise including brand and logo design, visual communication and packaging design, and his work has received numerous international design awards along his career path. His dedication and passion in design industry will drive him to keep open-minded for any possible changes and challenges.
Louis Yiu Designs
We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by Louis Yiu.
Louis Yiu Design - Sinten Coffee Packaging
Designer Interview of Louis Yiu:
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?
LY : I have been fond of fantasy and drawing since i was a child. When i was in middle school, i met by chance and read a design book. This is how i became interested in design. I later took different design courses and self-taught to become a designer.
DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
LY : A.S.M.D. is a brand design company newly established in Taiwan. It has been operating in Hong Kong for nearly 20 years and has won many awards. Has experience in cross-domain brand services, providing professional design consulting services, visual identity design and strategic communication. We specialize in brand identity, trademarks, packaging, posters and publications.
DI: What is "design" for you?
LY : Design is solving problems by making thinks and things, thereby improving our lives.
DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
LY : All kinds of works i like all of them, but I mostly go for modern contemporary design style as it can blends perfectly with various personalities.
DI: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
LY : My favorite design is logo design, because the proportion of the area if appears in any design is the smallest, but it need may have the most to express. It is a very interesting design item. But recently i like packaging design because it is a very challenging to integrate all the theories and elements of graphic design.
DI: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
LY : It must be the company logo.
DI: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
LY : I don't know if i like it, but i always use illustrator and photoshop.
DI: When do you feel the most creative?
LY : When there isn’t much to do.
DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
LY : Design direction.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
LY : I usually need keep a calm mood when designing because analyzing and solving problems at every moment of design.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
LY : I will be very happy, because every project is completed with hard work. If it can be appreciated by customers or audiences, that would be even better.
DI: What makes a design successful?
LY : Hardworking and Lucky.
DI: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
LY : First I will consider the design direction must be right and correct.
DI: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
LY : In the past, designers have always believed that desigbers need to improve people's quality of life, but now we have added that the design processand works should be more enviromentally friendly.
DI: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
LY : I see the future of design as sustainable materials. Design and products that will be compostable and have a low carbon footprint. It is becoming increasingly popular to sell products that are good for the environment - which is good if we want to be carbon neutral by 2030. Wooden furtniture will have to sourced from responsible forests. In additon, the topic of AI must be inseparable. It will become a part of our lives, not to mention the design industry.
DI: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
LY : I would answer from life. Although this answer is perfunctory, it is indeed an indisputable fact, because the more time a designer sees and feels, his works will reflect it.
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?
LY : I think the designer's preferences and personality are the design style. This process is natural and will change. In this age full of information, I now prefer a simple style. There are different design methods for different customers.
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?
LY : I live in Taiwan, where the culture is diverse, my ideas can be free, and my clients are very receptive to new things, so the advantage for me is that I can do better in design.
DI: How do you work with companies?
LY : Because coopertion has many aspects, there is no standared answer, but we will first look at the conditions and company neds to find the common interests of both parties, and further preliminary discussions can be carried out under an equal relationship.
DI: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
LY : Look at the designer's past works. It doesn't matter if the designer haven't done the same type of project. Metaphor: Design projects are just a stage for experienced designers. Capable designers can definitely perform on different stages. Clients only need to evaluate the designer past projects. It's okay to feel whatever you want.
DI: Can you talk a little about your design process?
LY : we usually first understand the client's needs, because this process will produce different design processes according to different needs. Under normal circumstances, it is inseparable from preliminary research, design strategy formulation, design execution and delivery.
DI: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
LY : Eames chair, USM office cabinet, Dyson fan, Lyric speaker, Ikea ÄPPLARYD sofa.
DI: Can you describe a day in your life?
LY : My day is actually to constantly accept and deal with customer needs and solve internal administrative matters of the company. Whenever a customer asks me a question, I will try my best to understand the difficulties they encounter, understand the problem quickly, and organize and answer them. Sometimes we proactively provide customers with interesting or useful information. So my day is actually a process of continuous learning, thinking and answering.
DI: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
LY : I believe that designers who can make a difference already have certain condiitons, so I have to say don't be afraid of setbacks. After setbacks, it will become a powerful weapob in the future.
DI: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
LY : Let me just talk about myself. As a designer, i can be exposed to different industries and my horizons have been broadened. The down side is the there never seems to be enough time.
DI: What is your "golden rule" in design?
LY : In addition to the importance of design direction, attention should be paid to every link and detail of the design. Details determine success or failure. Good detailed design can make the product more outstanding.
DI: What skills are most important for a designer?
LY : Have a spirti of continuous learning.
DI: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
LY : I will mainly use Adobe Illustrator and photoshop software to do my design.
DI: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
LY : I will set the time needed to manage each step in the process.
DI: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
LY : There is no set answer, it depends on the need of each project.
DI: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
LY : "Can it be cheaper?"
DI: What was your most important job experience?
LY : There are a lot of important work experiences for me because each one makes me grow.
DI: Who are some of your clients?
LY : Now there are clients in banking, sports, coffee, traditional Chinese medicine, food, drink and marketing industry.
DI: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
LY : It's packaging design for now, because it is very challenging, it can be said that it is the integration of graphic design.
DI: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
LY : In the future, I hope to do more packaging design, include tea and wine industry.
DI: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
LY : Depends on the size of the project.
DI: How can people contact you?
LY : If interest can though email to contact me.
DI: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
LY : No, thanks.