Qin Zhen

Specialized in Design.

Qin Zhen

About Qin Zhen

Steve Jobs and Elon Musk is his hero, he wishes that he can do something for the pretty world. usaaan is one of the starting point, which this umbrella rental service is also designed to promote the positive social spirit of mutual assistance and mutual trust between citizens and between cities, then to strengthen citizens sense of belonging in their cities, to be a livable city.

  • Winner of the A' Design Award.
  • Specialized in Design.
  • Original Design.
  • Creative, Diligent and Innovative.
  • All Designs

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Interview with Qin Zhen

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?
Yes, I made up my mind to be a designer when I was a kid. From junior high school to graduate school, I have been receiving art education in art academy, which has a profound impact on my design.
Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
We are a cross-boundary creative team from Guangzhou, China to create multi-dimensional brand experience. We stick to the combination of business and design, use innovative design thinking, gain insight into consumers, focus on brand touch experience, create user experience and connect brands and consumers.
What is "design" for you?
For me, the power of design is infinite. We have been committed to promoting an open, collaborative and multidisciplinary blend of innovation, through the user-centered design principles, together with the present situation of market demand, rapidly find the opportunity, a common design solutions, system and strategy, the concept is presented in the form of tangible and intangible, create value, measurable design influence.
What kinds of works do you like designing most?
I like challenging design and am committed to finding an open, collaborative and multidisciplinary approach to change and solve design problems. I think design can create great value that we can't imagine.
What was the first thing you designed for a company?
What I started to do in the company was brand visual design. Later, I found that visual design could not solve all problems. It could only play a role after thinking based on service design.
What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
My favorite design platform is Dezeen, which updates a lot of information about different design majors every day.
When do you feel the most creative?
I think late at night is when creativity is at its strongest, especially before bed when you can recall something that happened today, an idea, or a problem that you haven't solved yet. This is when you need to create a quick shorthand in your mind. When you have time to look through your memos, there's a lot of inspiration in them.
Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
In the design process, I pay more attention to the balance between the needs of users and the actual commercial practice. In my opinion, user-centered design principles cannot ignore the current market demand and brand value proposition. Design is about business.
What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
When I design, it contains passion and patience. Because design, while exciting, always goes through the process of testing, adjusting, and frustrating. Need to stay warm and calm.
What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
When my design was realized, of course, I was excited. Service design from 0 to 1 carries many challenges.
What makes a design successful?
I think it is inseparable from a good starting point of innovation, team collaboration and the support and cooperation of other stakeholders.
When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
First of all, I will consider whether the design is really needed by users, and second, I will judge whether it has a certain sense of beauty or sustainability.
From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
I think designers should consider whether the design is extended and sustainable before creating. Second, consider whether the design will lead to waste of resources. Is it good for the environment?
How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
I think the previous design is to solve practical problems, but now the design is to pursue better experience. Design will be paid more and more attention in the future, playing an important role in various fields of business and society.
Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
The inspiration of my design comes from the accumulation of daily life. When I encounter interesting things or phenomena, I will take photos or take notes, and I will look through the album when I have time.
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?
My design has no special style, and it mainly meets the needs of the brand and core user needs. What is needed by service consumers is the best design.
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?
I live in guangzhou and I think there's an impact. China is a country with profound history. Guangzhou where I live also has many traditional crafts, such as cantonese, singing and paper-cutting. When I need to enrich the culture of my project or refer to some visual elements, there will be a lot of references. I am also very happy to extract the essence of cantonese culture to design and spread. As for the advantages and disadvantages, I think the advantage is that there are many industries in China that need to be designed, and there are many opportunities. The bad thing is that China has a large population and a large gap between the rich and the poor.
How do you work with companies?
It's usually teamwork. Make a plan together and then arrange the division of labor.
What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
A good designer can help a company to improve its brand service and reputation. I think a good designer should be creative, enthusiastic, good at solving problems with global thinking and good at summarizing self-reflection.
Can you talk a little about your design process?
First, we apply service design methodology to gain insight into consumers and focus on touch experience. Then, we propose ideas to innovate user experience and connect brands and consumers so as to create innovative value and communication value from 0 to 1 and from 1 to infinity.
What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
Eames chair, The Chair, Juicy Salif, PH Lamp and a tea set which my friend gave me by her handmade.
Can you describe a day in your life?
I usually get up at 7 am to wash up. At 8 am, I go out for breakfast and arrive near the company. Check and reply email first in the morning, and meet with the client. Lunch at 12:30 p.m. Start work at 2 PM and check project progress. I eat dinner around 8 o 'clock at home and sometimes go to the gym. Wash up at 10 o 'clock at home, prioritize unfinished work, and spend another hour looking at the news and projects. Sleep between 1 and 3.
Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
Young designers grow up in the era of Internet development, with many learning resources and young innovation. I hope young designers can keep their original intention and make full use of modern technology to bring a better world.
From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
As a designer, the advantage lies in being better at discovering the subtle places in life that need to be designed. The downside is that you can't change the design you encounter in life.
What skills are most important for a designer?
As a service designer, the most important skill is to have an empathy to observe and understand users. Also need to have a global thinking to review, verify their design is feasible.
Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
In the design process, I will use some thinking methods of service design to help me better sort out logic and keep clear of thinking. For example, user journey map, stakeholder map, persona, co-creation workshop, etc
Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
I will make a work plan before the design work starts, and arrange my time and tasks at each stage to ensure the design plan can be implemented smoothly.
How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
Depending on how complete the design is, it can take anywhere from three months to two years, and iterate over and over again.
What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
What can users do more conveniently? If it was me, what would I do?
What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
I like to do the work of user analysis, because the preliminary research can let me understand the psychological dynamics of each user and better grasp the user's empathy.
What are your future plans? What is next for you?
My future plan is to accumulate more entrepreneurial projects to enrich my experience, learn more knowledge of disciplines while practicing so as to better apply service design to life.
Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
Recently, I was working on a project to let more people know about circular economy, which was a big challenge for me.
How can people contact you?
You can visit our company's official website, which contains our address, contact information and some cases.

Extended Interview with Qin Zhen

Could you please tell us about your experience as a designer, artist, architect or creator?
Yes, I made up my mind to be a designer when I was a kid. From junior high school to graduate school, I have been receiving art education in art academy, which has a profound impact on my later design.
Which emotions do you feel when designing?
I do service design, and I hope to try some innovative projects and design that can make the society more convenient and people live comfortably.
What is your growth path? What are your future plans? What is your dream design project?
Ummmm, this is such a big problem that I can't explain it all in a moment, but on the other hand, the designers who are in need of the society now are not just drawing pictures or making some ingenious products, but should have a certain sense of time and social responsibility. In the future, everyone will be a designer, and everyone will be able to come up with solutions to small or complex problems. By then, designers will have a long way to go.
You are truly successful as a designer, what do you suggest to fellow designers, artists and architects?
Good design has aesthetic quality, sustainability, and truly grasp the need to design.
What is your day to day look like?
Design for social problems, perhaps for poor people who don't have houses, people who don't have access to resources because of environmental pollution
How do you keep up with latest design trends? To what extent do design trends matter?
One project I haven't had time to work on is about designing and sharing platforms for environmental resources. I hope this platform can provide references and innovative ideas for people who want to solve some environmental protection problems with design. I hope people who are interested in environmental protection or design can learn useful knowledge and communicate with each other on this platform.
How do you know if a product or project is well designed? How do you define good design?
My secret is to always think from the perspective of the user. What is the real design for the user?
How do you decide if your design is ready?
The great designers of the Bauhaus era still have a great influence on me today
Would you tell us a bit about your lifestyle and culture?
Read more books and exhibitions, and visit more interest workshops and Tours to experience different life.
What are your philanthropic contributions to society as a designer, artist and architect?
For me, design is a new solution to the multi-stakeholder idea. Design has been integrated into my life.

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