Interview with Fu Zhih-Chi

It started by the idea of I wanted to escape from my biology study. I discovered that although I enjoyed doing all the research on the biology field however, I don’t know what I should do in the future with it. Along the path discovering my interests, I found out that I like to create things and I would like to transcend the positive vibes through my design to my audience. I hope that when people see my design, they could feel happy, excited and interested. Since then, I started to consider how to do something positive and meaningful by design.

There are numerous frustrations and difficulties on the way to become a designer, you need to either fight against or compromise with your own ideas, you need to force yourself to leave your comfort zone and keep learning. You will struggle from lacking ideas and inspirations, at the same time the pressure from the society will force you to face the reality.. However, I still consider becoming a designer as one of the best choices I’ve ever made in my life.

Know who you want to design for really well, be determined, experiment and fail (A LOT)

A good design is that is does not only provide what you want, but also discover your potential needs that you desire.

The main concept of the award winning collection- CODE:PROTOTYPE is “Modular’. The jacket was deconstructed into three parts, “The Collar”, “The Body” and “The Sleeve”, the jacket does not have a fixed look, the users could compose the jacket based on their own preferences. This is also the reason why we named this collection the “CODE:PROTOTYPE”. What we provide is only the parts, however, the consumer is the person who completes the jacket.The Modular design not only increased the flexibility for the consumer to adjust the style and the function, meanwhile, it also provides the new solution for the consumer. When the jackets were partly damaged, the consumer only needs to replace the damaged parts instead of throwing the whole jacket away.Currently the “CODE:PROTOTYPE” is under the made to order collection in GearCELL. Except the three currently available parts, consumers could also customize their own parts through reserving an appointment with the studio.

It started by the idea of I wanted to escape from my biology study. I discovered that although I enjoyed doing all the research on the biology field however, I don’t know what I should do in the future with it. Along the path discovering my interests, I found out that I like to create things and I would like to transcend the positive vibes through my design to my audience. I hope that when people see my design, they could feel happy, excited and interested. Since then, I started to consider how to do something positive and meaningful by design.

There are numerous frustrations and difficulties on the way to become a designer, you need to either fight against or compromise with your own ideas, you need to force yourself to leave your comfort zone and keep learning. You will struggle from lacking ideas and inspirations, at the same time the pressure from the society will force you to face the reality. The situation is even more serious especially in Taiwan where the society isn’t showing much respect to the designers. However, I still consider becoming a designer as one of the best choices I’ve ever made in my life.

My design focuses mainly on clothes, however I won’t constraint myself only as a fashion designer or any field. I’m a huge fan of industrial revolution era and I’m found of the concept that designers weren’t limited to one category of field, instead, designers were focusing on providing a total solution for the public.

Design legend is a bit too much for me, however, I believe we should always see ourselves as a young designer or a beginner and embrace diverse ideas, be creative and keep learning. When I mention learning, it's not only about the design, but to be consumer centric, it means the comprehensive concepts of the product. Only when you understand the purpose of the design, the market and the needs of the consumers, you can design a good product that fits the customer.

A good designer will fulfill the clients’ requirements, while a great designer will think a step further and think about how to refine the current situation and discover potential needs.

A good design is that is does not only provide what you want, but also discover your potential needs that you desire.

The highest value of a good design is that it could refine our daily life. Some products could bring the convenience of life, others provide the mentally freshness and satisfaction. What really matters is the innovative design offers the public a better life and solve the problems in the society.

I would like to design something that can truly help out those people who needed it or design for the cultural heritages that needed to be protected. For me, design is not only for people who are financially sufficient like us, instead, I would like to help more people with my design if I’ve got opportunities. Recently I’m deeply impressed by “Parsons” by Angela Luna, which was a collection designed for refugees, very touching.

To be honest, I don’t have anything particular in my mind now, I guess this is because I’m interested in almost everything therefore, I would like to try anything! However, recently I’m thinking of designing a more eco-friendly clothes with multi-functional accessories.

Watch lots of movies, listen to different types of music, exercise (I enjoy martial arts!) and go outdoors, adopt a dog, feel every piece of detail in your life and stay struggled.

Yohji Yamamoto/ Andou Tadao/Zaha Hadid/Yung-Chen Nieh/Darth Vadar

“The tent jacket” by Angela Luna, full of innovation, great design and high level of sophistication. More importantly, the story behind the jacket is to care about the refugees and the homeless population.

The award-winning “Code: Prototype”, it is a collection that originated from when I’m still a fashion student. In addition, it’s also the collection that urged me to start my own studio. This collection is full of the spirit of experiments and adventurous, for me which is also what I felt when I finally decided to establish my own studio.

Always stay curious without any limitations. Try the best to learn as much as you can and to search for the resources that could help you achieve your goal.

I’m a dog lover, if I hadn’t become a designer I think I would become a dog trainer.

Design is a way to provide solutions.

My family.

Curiosity.

Connections, resources, and financial support, the most importantly, the determination to become a designer. I’m still facing all these obstacles every day.

A designer should present his/her design professionally in every possible way, the most crucial part is to comprehensively present the concept of the design.

Combine the concept of “eco-friendly” and “modular clothes”. I would like to extend my passion of design to things that are more meaningful.

Be innovative and keep designing.

How new designs could help the society and the environment. Since I consider the core value of design is to search for the right problem to solve and to be innovative.

To create a better society, the most important factor is about the design quality instead of the quantity.

I’m extremely excited about the brainstorming stage and the time when I receive my prototype, however, most of the time I felt struggled during the design process.

Everything, design is already a part of my life.

Thanks to the evolving technology, the technical requirements for designers will be lowered in the future. In such environment, designers should stay hungry and absorb the innovative knowledge. After all, in the end the key to success is the quality of your design and creativity.

To focus on solving environmental issues.

It depends, design is all about the a-ha moment when you suddenly come up with some great ideas. However, I will usually set a deadline for myself since in reality, designers are always facing the pressure due to the time scope. To me, there’s no the best solution for design, only a better solution.

First, collect lots of information, then analyze it and figure out the direction of the design.

Be strong and be determined.

It’s interactive to me.

I consider technology as a tool when I’m designing.

Illustrator & Photoshop

The materials that can present the concept, the product and the function.

The concept and the story behind the products.

How they think of the idea, how can I learn from them, are there other possibilities to do so?

My ideal design partner will contain two to three partners from different design fields, plus some partners from the business sector. People from different backgrounds will have different perspectives when brainstorming, which is beneficial to be innovative, and you will be surprised to see how unexpected ideas could be generated.
In the contrary, if your team are homogenous, it is difficult to consider reality factors which include the users’ need, the marketability of the product, and the cost. In addition, team members from non-design field could sometimes be more consumer centric and discover the potential needs of the users. Therefore, I consider partnering with people from non-design related background is also crucial.

My professor for The Introduction of Design, she’s the one who encouraged me when I felt frustrated and she helped me to build up my confidence along the way.

I enjoy reading books from different fields of design, I’m also a great fan of illustrator; every book I read and every information I received could gradually create impact on my design.

Do not constraint myself to try new things, think with different perspectives.

Hide, a Japanese rock star who has passed away. His song helped me through the time when I was down, suffered and struggled.

I consider the award as a recognition of my efforts so far. However, a designer should always look forward. Whether a designer could be famous it really depends on the opportunities and luck.

Black、my home、chocolate、winter、sci-fi movie、super hero comic、martial art、rock music

When I’m still a fashion student, I was facing a rush deadline and when I was producing my sample, I accidently sewed the samples on my pants… I didn’t realize that until I finished the sample. It’s one of the best moments during my fashion study I would think of till now.

Exercise and read comic books. One of the best part as a designer is that you can always make a reason for any entertainments (It’s for inspirations, of course).

Not at all, I don’t think I could imagine I would become a designer someday when I was little.

I like to focus more about now and current moments instead of the future.

I hope my fans could try their best to understand the design ideas of each products, the stories behind, and the concept it represents.

Design not only provide what you want, but also discover your potential needs that you desire.

I would like to design something that can truly help out those people who needed it or design for the cultural heritages that needed to be protected. For me, design is not only for people who are financially sufficient like us, instead, I would like to help more people with my design if I’ve got opportunities.

“The tent jacket” by Angela Luna, very innovative, great design and with high level of sophistication. More importantly, the story behind the jacket is to care about the refugees and the homeless population.

When I'm taking a shower and when I'm commuting on my motorcycle.

The function and the quality of the final product.

Proud and touched.

A successful design should refine our daily life. Some products could bring the convenience of life, others provide the mentally freshness and satisfaction. What really matters is the innovative design offers the public a better life and solve the problems in the society.

Be socially responsible and be as environmentally friendly as possible. I'm not a fan of fast fashion since it promotes impulsive consumption and creates plenty of waste.

First, collect lots of information, then analyze it and figure out the direction of the design. Do lots of experiments about your designs and find out the best solution for it.

Work hard, stay hunger, be strong and determined.

The capability to embrace diverse ideas and be creative

Illustrator & Photoshop

I will set up a timeline and force myself to finalize the project by the end of deadline. The perfect solution could never exist however you could find the best solution within your ideas. A project won't be successful if you can't finish it on time and execute it.

It really depends. When I start a project I will set up a timeline and try my best to finish it before the timeline.

They can contact me through email: gearcellstudio@gmail.com or the facebook page of my studio https://www.facebook.com/gearcellstudio/