Deyin Zhang

Specialized in Education Design.

Deyin Zhang

About Deyin Zhang

Deyin Zhang is currently a joint PhD student at King's College London, a PhD student at Zhejiang University's School of Computer Science (China), and an outstanding undergraduate alumnus of Chongqing University (China). Deyin Zhang has awarded 2024 China Design Industry Top 100, the first time as a student to win the Top 10 Design Rising Stars (2024), China's first batch of intermediate user experience designers (2021), China's IDC ‘WUWEI’ Young Creative Talent (2023), China National Scholarship, Tencent Scholarship, Jiang Zhen Scholarship, Provincial Self-Reliance Advanced Individuals. Deyin Zhang’s main research areas are product innovation and user experience innovation, interface design and development, and large language model assisted design research, etc. He has published 15 papers and academic monographs. He has published 15 papers, 2 academic monographs and 1 national first-class undergraduate textbook. Deyin Zhang’s 4 works have been exhibited in international famous design exhibitions/weeks; won 28 famous design awards (including 19 first author awards), including German Red Dot Award, Italian A Design Award, European Product Design Award, American New Concept Art Design Award Gold Award, China Design Intelligence Award; participated in a number of national projects and enterprise innovation and design projects as a core member; won 5 national patents, and 2 personal design works have been collected by the Academy. 2 personal design works are collected by the school of arts. In the past 3 years, Deyin Zhang has won design honours in international arenas such as the World Industrial Design Conference (WIDC) and the China Industrial Design Week. 5 times he has lectured or released his innovative design achievements in the International Industry-University-Research Cooperation Conference, the 15th China Industrial Design Week and other occasions.

  • Winner of 2 A' Design Awards.
  • Specialized in Education Design.
  • Original Design.
  • Creative, Diligent and Innovative.
  • All Designs
  • Education
  • Sustainable Product
Chinese Chain Language Learning App

Chinese Chain Language Learning App

Education Design

Fresh Mobile Application

Fresh Mobile Application

Sustainable Product Design

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Interview with Deyin Zhang

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 received excellent design education in the Product Design Department of Chongqing University during my undergraduate studies, under the guidance of Professor Xia Jinjun. Afterwards, I studied under the renowned Chinese professor Luo Shijian and received master's and doctoral education. Now, I am conducting a visiting doctoral exchange in Professor Liu Wei's laboratory at King's College London. I have backgrounds in art design, industrial design, and engineering design. I really enjoy being a designer because it gives me a sense of accomplishment. I believe that design is a meaningful and valuable profession.
Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
I am a doctoral student in design. I am engaged in research on intelligent design, art design, design evaluation and so on. My design laboratory comes from Zhejiang University, and I mainly work on user experience design and industrial product design.
What is "design" for you?
Design is an innate instinct of human beings, and I am fortunate to have this instinct as my major of study and profession. I became a designer because I am engaged in a job that can change the world - specifically, I am designing experiences, designing products, and designing satisfaction.
What kinds of works do you like designing most?
I like designing experiences, designing products - to be precise, I am designing satisfaction. In the future, I hope to design more products and services that can be experienced by people and improve their quality of life.
What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
My favorite design is not only about satisfying users, but also about meeting green development and the long-term needs of society. Overall, good design requires a combination of art, technology, and business. When evaluating a design work, it is necessary to approach it from three perspectives: artistic evaluation, technical investigation, and commercial insight.
What was the first thing you designed for a company?
The first thing is to find your users - who are you designing for.
What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
I like to use wood for design. I think wood is synonymous with nature and green. My favorite platform is various design competitions, which can quickly expose our designs better (such as the Italian A Design Award) My favorite technology is 3D printing, which can quickly bring our ideas and concepts to fruition.
Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
Always know who you are designing for - always remember the needs of users, especially the real needs
What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
I will be very happy because I believe design is a very valuable and meaningful activity, so I will be very happy
What makes a design successful?
Success design is not only about satisfying users but also about meeting green development and the long-term needs of society. Overall, good design requires a combination of art, technology, and business. When evaluating a design work, it is necessary to approach it from three perspectives: artistic evaluation, technical investigation, and commercial insight.
When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
When I judge a design work, I evaluate and modify it from three perspectives: artistic evaluation, technical investigation, and business insight. This is the secret to my successful design.
From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
The responsibility of designers is not to waste social resources and to create sustainable green design.
How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
The field of design is a combination of art, commerce, and technology. In the future, intelligent design may create more possibilities for society.
When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
The last exhibition was held in Hangzhou, China in 2022. The next exhibition may be in London.
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 small yet touching details in nature, culture, and daily life, especially the needs of users. In addition, I constantly stimulate creativity by reading interviews with other designers.
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 approach to design is the pursuit of balance between simplicity and functionality with form and emotionality. The idea behind testing out this style is the desire to enhance user experience and detail aesthetics. I begin with research, followed by ideation through observation, sketching, and experimentation, and ultimately I aim to produce desirable visual designs.
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 reside in London now with a lot of culture. The cultural background has a major influence on my designs and motivates me to create traditional elements in a contemporary format. The difficulty, however, lies in balancing the local expectations with what international design market demands.
How do you work with companies?
I collaborate with design laboratories to complete design projects
What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
Clear contracts are needed to ensure the income of designers. Excellent designers need to have empathy and find the real needs of users
Can you talk a little about your design process?
My design process is not fixed. For major design projects, I will communicate with other designers and quickly find the target users to directly communicate with them. For small design projects, I will directly complete them based on my own design experience.
What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
Design of refrigerator, curtains, carpet, kitchen chairs, and toilet
Can you describe a day in your life?
I have a meaningful day every day. In the morning, I go for a morning jog and complete user research, in the afternoon, I do design practice and other important tasks, and in the evening, I read books to enrich my design knowledge.
Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
When I design a design work, I evaluate and modify it from three perspectives: artistic evaluation, technical investigation, and business insight. This is the secret to my successful design.
From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
Designers need to meet the needs of different people during design, which sometimes makes them feel very frustrated. But the advantage of design is that it is a very valuable job that may make designers feel very happy.
What is your "golden rule" in design?
Design should meet the unity of art, commerce, and technology, and truly meet the needs of users.
Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
I will try almost all tools such as computers, paper prototype tools, model cutting tools, brushes, online collaboration tools (such as Figma), and Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. that are used by everyone, and then find the most suitable one for myself.
Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
Effective communication can save a lot of time, which is my experience.
How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
I'm not sure, it could be as fast as a week or as slow as a year
What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
The question I often get asked is: Why can you always maintain your passion for design
Who are some of your clients?
Users of some creative products, including ordinary consumers and start-up design companies.
What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
I love doing experience design the most, especially designs that make users feel happy. I think this design is the most valuable.
What are your future plans? What is next for you?
I will try to complete a personal design monograph to express some of my design viewpoints
Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
I am currently working on a collaborative design project and cannot disclose it due to a confidentiality agreement signed

Extended Interview with Deyin Zhang

Could you please tell us about your experience as a designer, artist, architect or creator?
I received my undergraduate design education in the Department of Product Design at Chongqing University under the supervision of Prof Xia Jinjun. Then I received my Masters and PhD education from the famous Chinese Professor Luo Shijian. Now, I am doing a visiting PhD student exchange in Prof Liu Wei's lab at King's College London. I have a background in art and design, industrial design and engineering design.
How did you become a designer?
Design is an innate human instinct, and I'm fortunate to have been able to make it my major of study and my profession. I became a designer because I'm doing a job that can change the world - specifically, I'm designing experiences, designing products and designing satisfactory.
What are your priorities, technique and style when designing?
Certainly an active choice, designers are one of the most respected, great and enjoyable professions!
Which emotions do you feel when designing?
I'm designing experiences, I'm designing products - to be precise, I'm designing a kind of fulfillment. In the future, I hope to design more products and service experiences that can be experienced by people and improve their quality of life. In addition, I would like to be involved in more social design because society is one of the most complex systems, one of the most challenging design projects, and one of the design projects that can directly enhance people's life experience.
What particular aspects of your background shaped you as a designer?
I think the most important thing for designers to grow is an open and inclusive mindset. When doing design, be good at integrating art, technology and business attributes. In addition, learn from the best. I am very lucky that my mentors, Prof Luo Shijian, Prof Xia Jinjun and Prof Liu Wei, are among the most famous and knowledgeable professors in China and the UK, and they have given me tremendous energy.
What is your growth path? What are your future plans? What is your dream design project?
Good designers are designing the future, and great designers are creating the future.
What are your advices to designers who are at the beginning of their career?
Good design is not just about satisfying the user, it is also about meeting green development and meeting the needs of society in the long run. Overall, good design needs to combine art, technology and business. When I evaluate a design work, I will bring three perspectives: artistic evaluation, technical examination and commercial insight.
You are truly successful as a designer, what do you suggest to fellow designers, artists and architects?
Most directly - good design can create the future and can change the present. This is the reason why we must invest in good design. Back to this question, the value of good design may not be in the present, but to use the developmental perspective, there are designs in the present may knowledge conceptual design and can not be directly on the ground, but in the future certain environment, technology to meet the future, there will be greater value.
What is your day to day look like?
I would love to work in social design, designing for this huge system of society, such as green zoo service systems, such as pet healthcare system innovations.
How do you know if a product or project is well designed? How do you define good design?
When I design a piece of design work, I will bring three perspectives: artistic evaluation, technical examination and commercial insight to evaluate and modify, which is the secret of my design success.
How do you decide if your design is ready?
My Masters and PhD supervisor, Luo Shijian, is a legend in my mind. He has designed everything from famous seats in China to exercise systems for astronauts. In addition, he is a very famous design scholar. Every time I talk to Prof Luo Shijian, he inspires me a lot and he is my idol.
What is your biggest design work?
I admire the designs of Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe, whose philosophy ‘less is more’ is a great influence on me. I also admire many designers such as Gio Ponti and his masterpiece Superleggera. They are all masters of minimalism.
Who is your favourite designer?
I have a piece of work focusing on social green design, Fresh. FRESH is a design piece that aims to reduce food waste by addressing the problem of food waste due to over-buying and hoarding. It records food information by scanning the shopping list and uses three colours to indicate the shelf life of the food. Meanwhile, FRESH can recommend recipes based on leftover ingredients in the fridge, provide weekly waste food reports and cumulative statistics to help users develop sustainable consumption habits. With users' consent, FRESH can also share regional food waste data to support organisations such as the FAO in promoting more sustainable food production and agriculture. I think this design is good because it takes into account the user experience and reflects on food waste behaviour from a higher perspective, and proposes feasible solutions.
Would you tell us a bit about your lifestyle and culture?
Designers need to maintain a mindset of continuous learning. In my case, I read a lot of design literature as well as design perspectives on a daily basis and follow the latest technological developments, taking into account their application in the design field.
Would you tell us more about your work culture and business philosophy?
I haven't thought about it. If I don't become a designer, I'll probably become a college teacher.
What are your philanthropic contributions to society as a designer, artist and architect?
Design is an innate human instinct. In addition, design is a way of solving problems by putting yourself in the shoes of the user.
What positive experiences you had when you attend the A’ Design Award?
Allow me to mention my three mentors: Professor Luo Shijian of Zhejiang University, Professor Xia Jinjun of Chongqing University and Professor Liu Wei of King's College London. The three professors are my greatest supporters. In addition, my parents are also my greatest supporters.

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