Weiquan Long

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?

I graduated from Guangzhou University with a major in arts and crafts (junior college) and a major in oil painting from South China Normal University (undergraduate). I am both a designer and an artist. Have been working between the two. Artists serve the spirit of self, and designers serve the needs of all sectors of society.

Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?

Our company mainly consists of three major business forms: cultural communication, advertising strategy and space design.

What is "design" for you?

Design, a process envisaged through reasonable planning, careful planning, and through various forms of feeling. It serves society, economy, and all walks of life. After analyzing and understanding the comprehensive information of market, industry, function, consumer demand, etc., design the corresponding products, vision, space, image, etc., and then put them into the corresponding market.

What kinds of works do you like designing most?

Simple and not simple design works. The simpler, the more advanced.

What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?

Apple's visual and product design, it is to design products from the perspective of consumer experience, comprehensive consideration of design from the perspective of science, function, shape, vision, and interaction.

What was the first thing you designed for a company?

My first design client was Wuyang Honda Motorcycle Advertising Visual Design.

What is your favorite material / platform / technology?

Design changes according to the development needs of the social era, and it is applied in different industries. Therefore, different materials, technologies and platforms are also required.

When do you feel the most creative?

Whenever I chat with people, new ideas keep coming up. At the same time, when the design works are approved by the market and consumers.

Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?

Creative innovation, interactive experience design is more suitable for this era.

What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?

Anxiety when the design origin is not resolved, comfort when the design creativity is presented, and happier and more positive inspiration when the design is recognized by customers and consumers

What makes a design successful?

When business value brings benefits to customers, user satisfaction is the design of results.

When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?

To evaluate the quality of a design work, in addition to objective evaluation, and to meet all standards and be accepted and loved by the public, and the work must have very good details. Then there is the embodiment of commercial value, which is a judgment of comprehensive factors, but the commercial value of users is the final factor.

From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?

As we all know, society is the soil of design, and design that breaks away from society cannot finally go on. Therefore, for every designer, social responsibility is a necessary quality. Think from the perspective of consumers, serve the social economy, and promote the development of the social industry.

How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?

I think the future development of design is innovation, and the essential idea of design is innovation, and innovation also promotes the future of design.

When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?

My exhibition (personal art exhibition) in 2017, I hope that there will be an opportunity to hold an exhibition in the next 5 years, and I hope that I can hold my own design exhibition in 10 years.

Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?

My design inspiration comes from life experience. I think innovation is inseparable from my own life experience. I like new things and always use new things to stimulate my creativity. I hope my creativity will not age.

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?

I really like the kiss principle, keep it simple and stupid. Simplicity is beauty. My design method is to explore core strategies from the information of complex markets, industries, consumers, and functional requirements, to find the origin of design and simplify things Or more optimized, presenting the future through 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, China. I like Chinese culture and Oriental culture. But Eastern culture is sometimes too euphemistic, and there is no opening and directness of Western culture. Therefore, we are accustomed to open and expand the design of communication.

Can you talk a little about your design process?

First collect market information, analyze and sort out the direction, then refine the design ideas, propose execution methods, and then design.

From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?

Positive: Continuous pursuit of innovative design Negative: too single field, sometimes unable to deal with matters from multiple angles objectively.

Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?

A pencil opens the brain hole, such as Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.

Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?

Separate different projects or daily affairs into different time periods, and deal with different affairs in different time periods.

What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?

Who is the consumer? Consumer habits? Functional Requirements? Design purpose and other issues.

What was your most important job experience?

Every experience is very important, and working with different people is a self-learning experience.