We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative Tong Xu ("TX").
从事建筑设计和室内设计32年。 简历涵盖房地产开发公司、建筑集团。建筑设计院、设计公司、装饰公司。 该博物馆横跨欧洲、亚洲、中东和北美，提取人类文明的精髓并深入探索这些地方。 著名建筑探索植根于当地文化的技术和逻辑，通过广泛而有趣的人与人之间的交流丰富生活的维度。 年轻时，他以为星巴克咖啡设计了35家门店而闻名，星巴克咖啡首次进入中国。 他为中国最大的上市学前教育集团和主要教育集团设计了1700多个项目。 他主持了143,000平方米的酒店，写字楼，商业和别墅区的开发。 主持办公装修、商场装修、酒店装修13万平方米。 主持商场设计、酒店设计、商业店面设计、高端餐饮设计、环境景观设计224.1万平方米。 在精品酒店行业、高端餐饮行业、学前教育行业屡获国内外奖项。 “千里行万里，千书读书”，真正将丰富的人生经验注入到设计作品中，从而赋予空间灵魂和长久的生命力。
Tong Xu Designs
We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by Tong Xu.
Tong Xu Design - Jinghualou Restaurant
Designer Interview of Tong Xu:
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?
TX : I am an architect by profession and have been engaged in architectural and interior/exterior environmental design for thirty years. My career has spanned across real estate development companies, construction groups, architectural design institutes, design firms, and decoration companies. The rich professional experience and role transitions have allowed me to naturally adopt a client-oriented approach and consider problems from the client's perspective. This has enabled me not only to delve deeply into designs that align with the clients' operational thinking but also to stay one step ahead, earning the trust of numerous clients. Many of these clients have become my close friends. One of my most well-known works from my younger days was designing thirty-five Starbucks coffee shops when they entered China. Even today, the headquarters in Seattle considers these stores as some of their best-designed outlets during that period.
DI: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
TX : My understanding of design is that, in essence, design serves operations and is a packaging tool for operations. Good design creates things that belong to customers, including operators and consumers. Many designers are simply expressing their own self-awareness, with a constant logic no matter what project they are working on. This approach to design has strong limitations. I pursue the diversification of design logic, lower my ego, and prioritize means over ends.
DI: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
TX : The design industry is a blend of rationality and romance, requiring both idealistic sentiments and rigorous engineering technical means. The arrival of inspiration requires overcoming huge starting resistance, and when your practical experience is insufficient, inspiration and creativity are mostly reduced to mere daydreams; but when you have accumulated rich experience through numerous battles and have reached a point of bursting forth with wisdom, inspiration flows like a spring, unceasingly.
DI: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
TX : a. It is essential to follow through the implementation process of your design work, as it can lead to significant improvement in terms of technical craftsmanship, understanding, and confidence. Remember that you cannot evade design responsibility for any unsuccessful implementation. b. The design process is a struggle within yourself; any excessive description or forced association that deviates from the leading design concept should be firmly discarded, no matter how brilliant the creativity may be. c. Designers should allocate time to observe the world and engage in cultural exchanges; traveling and reading are equally important. New media forms cannot replace your firsthand experiences because those belong to others. Only by experiencing things personally can they become your own, allowing you to speak in your own language rather than someone else's - something your clients will notice.
DI: How can people contact you?
TX : Email：xxuutong@qq.com