Interview with Ada Wang

To become a designer is my childhood dream. The power of ardent love gets me glued to the job.

For starters, I would listen to opinions of my clients before figuring out what I should do. Then, I would come up with a set of design pre-plans on creativity, expressive means, marketing feedback and such. I will pull off the work via a computer by referring to effect picture or similar cases before. After acquiring opinions of my clients, I would make constant adjustment on the details for amendment to reach my designing objective. What comes as the most important step is realization of the development technologies. If your graph paper can’t be used in practical development, it is devoid of its designing role.

Before designing, I would start by choosing a project that suits me, notably in terms of creativity and expressive ability. Though during the designing process, difficulties are inevitable, I would feel joyful and content when I got it finalized.To bring out your talent gives you a sense of happiness.

I think reading is quite important. A designer needs to rack up ample knowledge through reading rather than restraining your vision to the designing realm. I would read books related with education, history, religion and philosophy to get to know different viewpoints, for it helps you perceive ongoing events in life in a profound way. Designing attainments are not your whole life. They are just part of your life experience.

I don’t have any secret to succeed. Well,it’s just that I would carry on when I encounter difficulties. I just hope that I can become helpful designers, in particular I would deliver information to people about things I need to pay attention to by attending activities on social innovation and public welfare such as environmental protection, education on poor children, women’s rights and so on.

I would go for the important of passion. You’ve got to follow your heart when it comes to your career selection. Sometimes, customers would not show respect to a designer’s professional competence and would easily negate our proposals or would fall to the trap of a rival in business activities. When it happens, you have to think it over why you get started in the first place before finding the root of the problem facing it head-on and working it out. The process of conquering yourself far outweighs the designing itself.

I think patience is the most important principle of practice. Patience is required to pull it through, from the incipient communication, listening of ideas, learning of demands to the feedback and amendment of the designing process. You have to control the schedule and rhythm during the whole process. It’s something like cooking. Finally the whole project can be finished.

I would spend time viewing news portal to learn about what’s going on every day. If I have more time, I would read or play games. I would learn about latest style on game designing.

I would learn about the latest style of designing, but I would not follow the trend altogether or do the copycatting. I would retain my aesthetic perception in designing so that my creativity can be found in my designing.

Curiosity is my standard. For whatever type of designing, I intend to arouse people’s curiosity rather than giving them a mediocre impression. People would exclaim, ‘it’s quite interesting’ when they see it. It would be way better if it can trigger people’s ruminations on some issues.

Business designing is not manifestation of a designer’s individual will. It should satisfy customers’ willpower. Only after I got the balance point between the two points do I decide that the designing is finalized. But sometimes, I have to make concessions. In this case, I would hunt for new balance points.

I am the winner of A’ Graphics and Visual Communication Design Award but most of the time, I am engaged in electronic game design. Loads of my gratifying works are on game designing. An art director used to put it, ‘you have to create a game the way you create a world’. So when I do game designing, it’s like I am creating a world. It’s the biggest challenge to me.

I fancy artists in ancient China, particularly art work from 960 to 1279 covering drawing, calligraphy, porcelain, jadeware and so on. They still empower me with inspiration. I draw reference from the aesthetic wisdom of the ancient men in many of my works.

I was born in China. I went to Germany, Austria, Czech and Italy. I now live in Shanghai. I am subject to the influence of art in ancient China.If I were not a designer, I may live a reclusive life like in the forest. Shanghai is a modernized city with fast living pace. It has a huge marketing demand for designing. Designing can deliver information with graphics rather than languages. It promotes understanding among each other through graphics without a translator. So good designing not just propels social progress, it can enhance communication between different cultures.

Work is tough, notably for a freelancer like me. I sometimes work with friends, and sometimes complete a project independently. I value whether my partners would have a profound knowledge on the designing career. Many people master designing skills but do not have adequate knowledge on the profession of designers. Only knowing of how to design would not make you a good designer. You have to learn more about things outside skills, particularly your understanding on business. From the very beginning to the end, all of a designer’s behaviors are constitutes of business cooperation.

I would often deliver speeches in designing salons or forums targeting at young designers. The speech would help them learn about business designing and occupational planning. I would answer questions they propose on the spot. I am willing to attend public welfare activities and projects on humanitarianism. I would like to make more friends and engage in mutual exchange with them.

Participation to A'Design Award helps me objectively learn about my designing level. I can, at the same time,know what other designers in the world are doing. Their attainments register an astounding impression on me and their works bring me new cognition.A'Design Award is an open and fair competition. It not just helps designers better address all sorts of conditions arising in business cooperation like contract, pricing and law. They are what other designing rewards are in short of. Moreover, A'Design Award would provide public relations of news media. As a winner, all these are amazing.

I had that dream of becoming a designer since I was very young and have never considered any other job so far.

I choose it positively as I always do.

I do all types of designs, such as graphic design, Internet product design, commercial illustrations and game concept design. I like different types of designs.

I always insist on passion and perseverance. As long as a person loves it from his true heart, he will do whatever he can to solve the problems he meets, otherwise, he may easily give up. The premise of perseverance is this passion for the job.

I don’t think I am a great master now. I am nothing but a newcomer to a good designer and there is still a long way to go, so I cannot tell their difference. Sorry!

A good design is judged by many criteria for various dimensions. I highly value the market influence of a design, and a good design should help customers win more competitive advantages. If the design fails to serve his business purpose and fails to create business value, it is only a good design in art, but not in commercial market.

A good design can bring products with incomparable market competitiveness, especially in China. This is the inevitable trend in product development after the commercial market develops. If an industrial product does not have the least visual beauty, it is very hard to image that people will buy it, therefore design surely deserves the investment.

I would make some design works or pictures that I like and make it only to myself.

I dreamed of taking some pictures in the Antarctic, but it is still a dream.

My secret is to talk to the customer face to face! I do not accept design projects with any third-party organization as a broker, because I would never see my customer throughout the design process. Most often, the success of design depends on face to face communication with the final customer, because only in this way, the designer is able to completely understand the ideas and standing of his customer, so that he can make necessary adjustments to the conditions in cooperation. Without face-to-face negotiation, design is a pointless job and cannot win attention from the customer.

I get inspirations and references from many masters in the ancient times. I like studying the cultures and history of different countries and learn very novel ideas from their artworks.

I like the design works more than a particular designer. A good design may be from different persons and my personal preference will not be limited to any particular person or team.

I do not have my greatest design yet, because design is not a job one can fully manifest his personal wills. Sometimes, I have to make concessions and properly deal with the relations between different parties, to reach a balance. Customer’s needs are not to demonstrate the skills of the designer, but designers should serve such needs and have some regrets inevitably in the design works. More importantly, a piece of work has to be enjoyed by most of people, not the designer himself.

Design level is a part of capability, but not all, and, more importantly, a designer should understand the business needs of his design, so as to make it in line with expectations of the majority. For this purpose, extensive knowledge and information are required, other than the design itself.

I may likely run for election, funding, speeches, canvass, attendance of TV debates…They are interesting and I would like to have a try.

When God gives a person talent, he wants to manifest the glory of his creation. I will not let him down, so design, to me, is to reveal the real me inside.

I may have attentions and supports from my family and friends, but what really matters is that I have to rely on myself and fight for it.

I am not yet a great designer. If something makes me a great designer, it must be the idea of “becoming a great designer”!

There are too much. My understanding for design is not deep enough. I am doing the designing mainly from the aspects of techniques and have not come to the level of souls and hearts. I may compromise before poor business environments and have many concerns, and my heart has not yet become fearless. I will look around and have worries, and there is still a pretty long way to go...

The most important thing in the expression of design is to convey the information, in which clearly expressed information is more important than the visual attractions. Because it is the design itself other than its introduction that impresses people most.

I have no idea what the next project is. Maybe a brand image design, or a website design or software system design, or game conception design. Whatever it is, I will face it in a professional way.

I hope my design helps to make more harmonious interpersonal relations in the society, so that people can put aside their disputes and share a common value, so that our society can move forward.

One must be strict with himself by applying professional standards and attitudes and feel responsible for what he is doing.

I believe the best thing in design is to provide a common language that requires no translation, so that people can understand the information conveyed through the images, especially information that requires attentions from everyone, such as environment, human rights, animal protection, children, poverty relief and actions against violence ... Design helps to make a better society. Languages, sometimes, cause misunderstandings but images are more intuitive and create more impacts that call people for reflection.

I am a rational man and always stay calm even when I am doing something I like.

I like every project I have worked on so far, but the better one always belongs to the next one.

I hope design will someday become a real part of people’s life. People do not focus on the practical use and cost effectiveness of products, but should focus more on tastes and enjoyment, which will make a great space for the market of design.

My next design is on VR and AI products. There is vast space that has been not developed at all in the two fields.

Since design is interdisciplinary, the time cost varies from project to project, but I will do my best to have most (not all of them) projects done in 4 weeks.

A successful design starts with communication, like why and what is going to do? One should not do it without asking.

I am an idealist and my motto is “Even life is going to end tomorrow, do it now because it is never late!”

This is an interesting question. There are even conflicting answers among designers to the question of which is dominating between design and trend.
I personally think that trend sets design. Why? Trend is decided by the development of industrial technologies, for example, in fashion design, new technologies produce new materials, and new materials, after they become affordable, will be widely adopted in the market. Since design serves the market, it uses the new materials and creates new fashions. In this process, design is never independent of the industrial technology development, but on the contrary, design is a result of industrial technology development. So, I believe trend decides the presentation of design.

Technology is not the ultimate goal of design, but simply a way to the goal. It is like the relationship between a boat and a river. Design is to cross the river by using the boat, but not to study the boat while standing on it and forget the goal of crossing the river. When we choose a technology, it does not matter whether it is the latest, the most sophisticated or the most popular one. We choose it as long as it agrees with the design needs and helps us to reach the final goal.

I mainly work on PHOTOSHOP but may also occasionally use some other tools, such as Painter and Artrage.

All of the three factors are closely related to the final production cost. Very often the designer has to do designing within a cost range preset by the customer. The selection of a particular color or material and the environment of realization depends on actual conditions and has influences on the final expression of the product, so the balance among various factors is of the greatest importance.

Elegance and uniqueness, to convey a beautiful life.

A great design should be able to shape social development and, therefore, it is certain to play positive roles in the society. I appreciate the influence of design on the society.

I do believe it, though I have not yet found my ideal partner. Once I find him, I can build a close and mutual understanding relationship with my partner.

Ideas from another person help the designer to jump off his restrictions and complete the design. Being professional sometimes leads to a narrowed vision, and different ideas can set the designer free, so I also care about opinions of others and finish it in a professional way.

I read books on history, literature and social science, as well as articles on art history. These help a designer to develop deeper thoughts on design.

I learn the software skills in the actual jobs, by reading books or attending online courses.

I do not have any particular person that I want to meet. This is because a designer can have a soul-to-soul talk with another through his works. If they understand each other, communication is simple through the works, or otherwise, they have nothing to talk, even face to face.

Design is an industry that has a pyramid structure. The famous people are always a small portion of the society. Awards and recognition only explain the current level of a designer but do not mean that he is at the top of the pyramid. If a person does designing simply for being famous, he may very likely be disappointed. I like awards and recognition, but they are nothing but self-motivation to me.

I like purple, forests most, Chinese dishes, spring, walking and photography.

Sometimes, I have projects in various cities and every time I come to a new place, I would like to learn its local characteristics. This makes me feel the vastness and all the wonders of the world. For example, I had once a forest adventure alone, but in the afternoon, then it changed suddenly and began to snow, so I had to walk 7 kilometers to a safe destination. No one else has a glimpse of the grandness and glorious view of the forest that day.

Very often, design fails to win recognition from the customer, but the designer should see it objectively. Commercial design requires coordination among many departments. Although many designs are not well aligned to customer needs, it does not necessarily mean that they are not good. Therefore, a designer must distinguish his design from work and understand their differences. I often say to myself, “It is pretty normal and does not matter!”

Yes. I had special interest in art and design courses ever since I was very young and I was determined to become a designer.

We may look back at the changes to the society throughout the human history of over 1,000 years, especially changes in the past 100 years. The changes to human society were greater than any period in the history. We will see even faster changes in the future which may be more astonishing. I guess, in the next 1,000 years, the urban civilization on earth will become an interstellar civilization. Voyager1 and Voyager2 may well bring us good news.

I hope they can really understand how a designer serves the product and project, but should not take it for granted that design is a simple thing. I also hope people give more respect to professional opinions of designers, rather than see designers as “followers”.

Sure. I established Shanghai Xihe Visual Design Studio in 2014 that mainly focuses on Internet design, game design and brand image design. Internet design includes websites, APP and software systems; game design includes game concept design, scenes, characters and interface design. Corporate Identity includes LOGO design and VI design.

When God gives a person talent, he wants to manifest the glory of his creation. I will not let him down, so design, to me, is to reveal the real me inside.

I prefer modest, simple and aesthetic works where viewers are able to see through the ideas of the designer.

For example, I like the ancient arts in Chinese Song Dynasty best. The masterpieces in the 9th century (960-1279 A.D.), including painting, porcelain and literature, especially painting, were the greatest works in terms of art and design.

My first design for the company was concept design of one game, and the game design is also a part of my job.

I like the representation forms of digital art better, and with CG technology, many novel ideas may come true and the design philosophy can be presented quickly. Paper and pen are also good tools. You can paint as you wish with no limitations, to present your creation at will.

The night. Unlike the jobs in the daytime, many wonderful ideas were conceived during the nighttime when I am alone.

I focus on the delicacy and aesthetics of design. The conception of “design” varies from person to person. But to me, “design” means simplicity by chopping off the complicated decorations, to keep the most important part. “Don’t Stacking” is a rule in my designs, and many of effect stack is often weak performance of the design capacity.

I am very rational, so I will not fill my design with very strong emotions. Mostly, I do designing with a calm attitude.

There will be a brief instant of feeling “relieved finally” and I would have some feelings of success. But it won’t last long. The situation will pass by soon.

Successful design should not be simply attributed to the designer, especially for commercial design, and it requires close cooperation and marketing efforts among various departments. Designer may be an indispensable part but not all of it.

If design is to be considered itself, I would like to measure from the perspective of design aesthetics. However, when the application of design in industrial products or commercial markets is involved, I think more of the actual response in market. Now, judgment should not be based on design itself, but more consideration should be given to the use, costs, market operation, environmental protection and possibility of recycling. It is a good design, when a certain balance is achieved among such factors.

I believe that a designer should be “leader” other than “follower”. It is the responsibility of designers to lead social aesthetic pursuits for real life. To do this, a designer must engage himself in the industry and tell people what good qualities are. He should neither follow all the time and abandon his standing before immediate interests, nor flatter by some pointless works.

Design will take more social responsibilities in the future, because it can get over the barriers of words and culture, so that people can understand each other simply through design. Design links everyone. People can feel its unspoken beauty, which makes it a common understanding uniting the entire human society.

My last exhibition was at my university. If possible, I am always ready to join new design exhibitions.

To be a designer, it is very important to collect works of other designers and to learn from them, however, the final works of a designer are the reflection of his personal experiences and, therefore, unique. Inspiration comes from personal experiences.

My design style is generally concise and elegant. It is not what I deliberately intended but a reflection of my personality. I don’t like intricate things but would like to stay alone. I don’t appreciate noisy and complicated things, so my works tend to be somewhat aloof and will not be visually intense or bold.

I am from China. China is a country with a long history and has very distinctive art presentation and styles in different dynasties. I like the arts in Song Dynasty best, especially those in the South Song Dynasty (1127-1279 A.D.). The culture has very profound influence on my philosophies of design, however, as a result of restrictions in commercial design, I cannot demonstrate such influence in the work.
In China, designers work very passively and have to cover up their ideas on many occasions and complete the design as intended by the customer. The biggest challenge is to convince the customer of a plan that is more professional. Because of immature commercial design market, customers do not have much trust on designers and are unwilling to know them better. Besides, they do not think much of the values and roles of professional designs.

My job is to provide the customer’s company with professional design services. Cooperation starts with consultation, and then signature of contracts including the master contract and ancillary contract. Then, the customer pays the initial design cost. We have complete confirmation procedures during the design process till the completion of the project and its delivery. Then, all documents are archived and delivered and bills of design fee are posted ... all of these are subject to a complete work system.

I suggest that companies should open their project resources to the design market, other than simply giving the access to resources to some particular persons. By doing this, both sides will have more choices and positive interaction and competition will be established. When selecting designers, in addition to costs, companies should also consider the experiences and background of the candidate designer, as well as real feedback from the market when the project is launched. A good design inevitably costs more, which should be a common sense among all companies.

Sure. Firstly, I would try to understand exactly what the customer needs. This is very important. Secondly, I will do design planning for the project and draft a work plan and discuss with the customer on its implementation. The detailed designing process will start after agreements have been reached. In this process, I need to get feedback from customers from time to time and realign my design continuously before the final completion of the project.

My favorite? Maybe the next one!

Like an ordinary office worker. Breakfast, subway, e-mail checking at the office, project design, debriefing, negotiation with customer and discussion on implementation plans...

You must love this job, or otherwise, you can hardly hold on to it and make something. Passion and perseverance are of the greatest importance.

The best thing of being a designer is that you can do what you like. When a design is completed, you can feel the pride. For the bad side, because the design market is not yet mature, designers’ initiatives and intents are very limited, and this adds to the difficulty in designing. You may feel some sense of failure in the actual job.

Less is more.

I believe what really matters to a designer is not his skill, but his understanding of personality and insight to commerce.

I do most of my job on PHOTOSHOP and occasionally some other tools as assistance.

I keep myself most active about 4 hours a day, when I can focus all my energy. I do my top priorities in this “prime time”, such as conception. For another 4 hours, I stay relaxed and do something that is usually flexible, such as replying e-mails to customers. After work, I get myself totally free from the job stuff.

Since design is interdisciplinary, the time cost varies from project to project, but I will do my best to have most (not all of them) projects done in 4 weeks.

I would repeat what I heard in meetings with my customer, and then ask “Do I understand it exactly?” or “Can you understand me?”

I have been working on this for a long time and every project mattered to me.

Most of my customers are small and medium-sized IT companies or starters or game developers.

I always hope to join the early conceptual design for videos, especially film art design, and I am looking forward to such opportunities.

My future plan is to build my own customer channel and create personal design brand. I think, in future commercial design, the brand of a designer is a key concern for customers. I am not going to attract them by preferential prices, but to enhance competitiveness by increasing the personal influence.

I am an independent designer and working for my own career.

There is no particular project in progress for the time being. If I have, I am happy to share.

Welcome to our company website: www.xh-studios.com
Or you can write me an e-mail at master@xh-studios.com, which is the way I prefer.

No, you have asked them all.