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Interviews with Xia Ke
Designer profileDesign Legend Interview
6 November 2025
When I was a child, I experienced a lot of hardships in rural life. After entering the university, I changed my career from oil painting to design. I also worked in the fields of medicine, real estate and so on. Finally, I chose the food industry.
Initially, driven by work, I aimed to perfect the designs I created. Eventually, it became a habit, and I started to enjoy the process.
My dream was to become an artist. However, due to the need to find a job, I was compelled to enter the design industry.
During my 30 - year design career, I focused more on graphic design in the first decade. In the subsequent 20 years, I developed an interest in architecture, conducted in - depth research, and gradually began to engage in the design and development of industrial parks.
As long as you find the right path, you needn't fear a long journey.
An excellent designer has good expressiveness, while a great designer possesses creativity.
A good design has depth and can be understood by users. Meanwhile, commercial design needs to achieve commercial conversion, rather than being just a simple visual display.
Good design can bring spiritual pleasure to people and trigger emotional resonance. The original intention of design is to make things more beautiful. When all things develop towards beauty, our world will become a better place.
I will design an art gallery for myself, where I'll display my works of ink painting, calligraphy, packaging, and architecture.
I want to own a design art gallery of my own.
Learn, research, fall in love, and persevere.
In packaging design, I love all the outstanding packaging designs around the world. In architectural design, I'm particularly fond of Antonio Gaudi, Le Corbusier, Jørn Utzon, Frank Owen Gehry, and Heatherwick.
For example, Antonio Gaudi's Sagrada Familia and Casa Milà.
According to general standards, the design of Zhangren Workshop (Daoist rice crispy candy) is quite successful. From "hair standing on end in anger" to "bearing the aura of an immortal", it uses the wrapping of a piece of paper to metaphorize the process of a person's spiritual cultivation and transformation.
Maintain long - term learning and practical abilities.
An artist
Design is a creative job that can add value in terms of functionality, visual appeal, emotional impact, premium pricing, and overall performance.
Life (responsibility to the family, responsibility as a boss).
Love for innovation and unique thinking.
I adhere to my original creative ideas, but unexpectedly, they are similar to the so - called international styles recognized by the public, which makes me less understood. If I always stick to the Chinese style, people may say it's not fashionable just because there are no English elements, perhaps due to the lack of cultural confidence in the past.
Find a good platform and channels to actively promote myself.
Create my own product brand through my creativity and turn it into a listed company.
When I gain others' recognition, I can also learn to tolerate and understand the world.
People always expect me to deliver excellent works while offering me the lowest possible fees.
Designers should maintain a positive attitude towards life, which in turn helps create a better society.
I am currently designing a super IP factory for a global brand's integrated rural industry development model.
In terms of architectural design, we're quite satisfied with the design of the Yinhongzishu·Wolfberry Manor. It's a large - scale project that came after 15 years of continuous collaboration between my partner, Teacher Tang, and me.
As for brand design, we're also very pleased with the packaging design of Zhangfei Beef. This design has accompanied the brand for 20 years.
All of these are things that we hold very dear.
As for brand design, we're also very pleased with the packaging design of Zhangfei Beef. This design has accompanied the brand for 20 years.
All of these are things that we hold very dear.
I hope all designers don't blindly worry about the arrival of AI. Instead, use it as a tool. What we should really think about is whether our thinking and creativity can keep up with the times.
Design should be more user - centered and human - oriented. For example, we should pay attention to the daily lives and dietary habits of the elderly, as well as the mental health of children.
It takes about 20 days to complete a single - item design project. For large - scale projects, the time can range from three months to three years.
When taking on a new project, one should immerse themselves in the project's actual requirements to gain a real - life understanding.
As long as you find the right path, you needn't fear a long journey.
Design leads the trends. Trends are created by design.
Technology can present our creative ideas in a more astonishing and perfect way.
Apple computers, photoshop and AI.
Colors can shape the environment, and materials can enhance the texture of the environment. Conversely, the environment can also influence colors and co - exist with materials.
To ask some questions related to creative thinking.
Can I achieve even greater heights?
An ideal design partner is someone who can fully understand your expressions and respects each other.
Great clients and fellow professionals have really affected my designs a lot.
Biographies and documentaries.
Keep studying everything that feels new to you.
kebuxiye and Gaudi.
It's easy to win awards, hard to be famous, but not necessarily famous.
Red and black, Nice in France,potatoes and Sweet potatoes, autumn, daydreaming, Issey Miyake.
Once when a client asked me a question about architecture, I turned an ashtray upside down and said to the client, "If you scale this up 500 times, it will be a very beautiful building." Since then, we've started a 20 - year - long cooperation.
Set a consistent schedule for your hobbies, such as writing, making friends, painting, or design.
No. When I was a child, I knew I liked painting and thought my future might be related to it.
I believe that 1000 years later, I'll definitely remember the situation of my reincarnation.
Designer Interview
6 November 2025
I've always dreamt of becoming an artist. After graduation, in order to find a job, I became a designer and have been working in this field for 30 years. Art is my dream, while design is my life.
Our company was established in 2012 and has gone through three stages of development. The first stage was a seven - year survival period. In the second stage, we spent ten years researching consumer psychology to create designs that are more in tune with people and the market. In the third stage, we have been deeply involved in the food industry chain, covering aspects from packaging, consumer psychology to industrial parks.
Design should not be an art form that exists solely for the sake of form, nor should it be standardized. Design is closely related to art. It stems from life, surpasses life, and serves life.
I like to design works that can showcase historical heritage, such as special local products featuring intangible cultural heritage craftsmanship.
I love the works of masters like Le Corbusier and Jørn Utzon. They incorporate their life experiences and inspirations into their designs, establishing a strong connection with nature.
Design serves people. First, we need to understand what our customer groups need and what kind of design is user - friendly to them and can bring emotional value to them. Then, we can create value for clients.
I'm fond of using natural materials. For example, in architectural design, I often use local stones, soil, etc., and draw inspiration from their shapes or colors.
When I visit a place I love and have been longing for or take a walk around the market to see various products, I'll get inspiration for creation.
During the design process, I pay more attention to the cultural connotations and emotional value that design can bring to people.
I'll be in a real quandary when facing difficulties in design, but I'll feel extremely exhilarated after coming up with a satisfactory design.
Once the design in my mind is realized, I'll earnestly hope that it can be liked and adopted by more people.
Maintaining enthusiasm for life all the time is the secret to my success.
To evaluate the quality of a design, one should consider its cultural, usability, and communicative attributes.
Passion for continuous innovation and curiosity about life.
In the future, we've got to have more designs that put people first and look out for environmental sustainability.
The last design exhibition was held on the Winter Solstice in 2023 at an ancient guild hall in Chengdu with a history of 300 years. I hope to hold my own design and art exhibitions every two to three years in the future.
My life experiences, along with my constant observation of things and curiosity, can all stimulate my creativity and bring me inspiration for creation.
My design style is a Chinese aesthetic style that combines cultural attributes with modern aesthetics. I adopt a design approach that flexibly refines Chinese culture and integrates it with international elements.
I live in Chengdu, China. The comfortable living environment, the relaxed design atmosphere, the rich accumulation of cultural heritage, and the modern urban trends here all have a profound impact on my creation.
As designers, our cooperation with companies mainly focuses on the technical level, and we contribute the core ideas.
Enterprises should choose designers who have design experience, profound thinking, market sensitivity, and the ability to accurately identify and solve problems.
At the beginning of creating a design, one should first search for past classic cases in their mind. After in - depth thinking, transform them into convertible sketches. Then, combine them with market practicality for a transformative design.
My favorite design items: A wooden and fabric - combined sofa from HC28 under the Louis Vuitton brand more than a decade ago; A piano - lacquered stool designed by Masayuki Kurokawa; A full - moon - shaped sideboard designed by Lu Zhirong; The Book Mountain Cabinet from my own designed "Wunong: Mountains and the Ordinary" series; A storage box designed by Zaha Hadid in a cross - field project.
Every time I hold a personal design art exhibition, I will showcase my accumulated works over the years. This is not only a comprehensive review and summary of my creative journey but also a precious opportunity to share my creative insights with friends. I will introduce to my friends in detail the background and process of creating each piece. When I see the joy and approval on their faces as they appreciate the works, I feel deeply gratified.
For designers, it's of utmost importance to have enthusiasm for life, stay true to their original aspirations, and avoid being impetuous. Just as water dripping can pierce through stone, for designers, like doctors, "clinical practice" is the best way to accumulate experience.
On the positive side, designers can truly create value for clients and enhance the aesthetic level of society, making our lives more beautiful. On the negative side, designers need to communicate with the public while also insisting on their own opinions due to their professional self - restraint. They may find it difficult when these two aspects collide.
The "golden rules" in design are culture, differentiation, and creative aesthetics.
It is important for designers to learn to observe things and have hands-on skills.
The most frequently used resource in my toolbox is books. Additionally, I also follow some design bloggers.
Passion is the best time manager.
The time it takes for a design to go from concept to implementation can range from a week to a year. Take architecture as an example.
"Why did you design it this way?"
One of my important experiences was heading to universities to tell students about my life and creative experiences.
My clients include designs for local specialties, daily necessities, and home decor.
I love architectural design the most. A well - designed building can last forever, and it requires the most comprehensive set of skills.
Next, I hope to have time to return to my calligraphy art.
I have a team
It's not convenient to talk about it.
Via AI,
platform searcheshttps://www.youtube.com/@xiakeformart
https://www.instagram.com/xiakeformart
https://www.pinterest.com/?boardId=1112741089121838650
or phone calls
platform searcheshttps://www.youtube.com/@xiakeformart
https://www.instagram.com/xiakeformart
https://www.pinterest.com/?boardId=1112741089121838650
or phone calls
There's nothing more to add.
Grand Interview
1 November 2025 · Bairuiyuan Bacca di Goji
In the early stage of this packaging design project, we divided the project goals into two parallel threads. One was to showcase the technological attribute of Chinese wolfberry（goji） berries - freshness locking - to justify the product's premium pricing. The other was to preserve and convey the profound traditional Chinese medicine culture and regional characteristics associated with Chinese wolfberry berries. The integration path was not formed overnight but evolved through multiple rounds of workshops, material sampling, and visual experiments.The specific steps are as follows:1.Sort out the visual characteristics of Chinese medicine classics and stele inscriptions.2.Extract the elements of "engraved marks, negative versions, line thickness, and broken strokes".3.Convert these elements into graphic languages that can be printed or embossed.4.Use the embossing technique on the outer box's cotton paper to create an "emergent" tactile sensation (visually it appears almost monochromatic, but information is revealed through touch), thus achieving a balance between visual simplicity and cultural depth.The final effect is a "subtle" expression that respects traditional aesthetics - from a distance, it looks pure white, but when viewed up close, characters can be seen. Meanwhile, the functionality and recognizability of modern packaging are retained.
The one-way exhaust valve technology was independently introduced by the client. After the client decided to adopt the one-way exhaust valve process, our core work focused on the systematic design and integration of the outer packaging around the topic of "fresh-locked Chinese wolfberry berries". Through structural adaptation, material selection, and information hierarchy design, we made the packaging unified in terms of protection, presentation, and brand language.Through the presentation of packaging narratives and craftsmanship details, we endow the product with the warmth behind the technology and enhance its value as a gift, enabling the overall image to combine a sense of technology with elegance both visually and experientially.
The material selection adheres to three principles: "function+ experience+ manufacturability". For the outer layer, we finally chose cotton paper with a comfortable touch and embossed it. The cotton paper can offer a warm and gentle tactile sensation, while the embossing can present the in-scriptive text in a "vitality" effect, which is in line with the sense of cultural ritual；The middle layer and the main structure are made of high - strength industrial cardboard to ensure load - bearing capacity, compression resistance, and logistics safety.The process includes: comparing various paper samples and processes (cotton papers of different grammages, different embossing depths, and different gluing methods) → testing the collision-buffering performance and touch feeling → confirming the parameters for mass production with die-cutting, laminating, and bonding factories. The final materials not only meet the cultural symbolism (simplicity, tactile comfort, and the "understated luxury" in visual appearance) but also satisfy the functionality requirements for transportation and display.
The red-and-white color combination is derived from the contexts of traditional Chinese medicine and festivals in China. White symbolizes purity, medical classics, and technology, while red represents the natural color of Chinese wolfberry berries, life, and time. The red waistband serves as the visual focal point. It not only echoes the product itself but also adds a sense of ceremony to the unpacking process. The gold-embossed rings on the waistband symbolize "time and cycle", reinforcing the concept that "high-quality products are nurtured by time".The gold-edge process (hot stamping) offers a sense of nobility visually. Tactilely, it creates a contrast between the metallic sheen and the texture of the paper. In this way, it combines "traditional value (culture)" with "product premium (quality)", enabling the design to strike a balance between sensibility and rationality.
Our starting point is to ensure that "technology does not overshadow culture, and culture does not impede technology." Therefore, in the design process, technical parameters come first (requirements for freshness preservation, valve body, inner tank material, filling environment) to guarantee that the packaging can achieve its functions physically. Subsequently, cultural aspirations are incorporated into the outer box and the unpacking experience (engraved inscriptions, red silk lifting lid, magnetic buckle opening and closing, and the imagery of the waistband). In other words, the inner layer serves as the "scientific guarantee layer," and the outer layer functions as the "cultural expression layer."In the interaction between visual perception and actual function, we design the cultural expression as a "discovery through details" (appearing simple from a distance and revealing cultural touch - points upon close inspection). This approach avoids having cultural elements interfere with the sealing or increase the operational complexity, thus achieving synergy rather than conflict between the technology and cultural.
The scale design on the bottle is derived from the observation of consumers' usage scenarios and nutritional suggestions. Chinese wolfberry is a daily health - preserving ingredient, and there are two key cognitive blind spots: "appropriate amount" and "frequency". Based on the nutritional advice and research (including user habits and perception of single - serving amount) provided by the client, we introduced scale markings, taking both practicality and aesthetics into account.The scale markings not only make it easy for users to keep track of the recommended daily intake (enhancing the user experience and building trust), but also maintain the overall delicate design visually through the combination of micro - engraved textures and the bottle material, so as not to undermine the cultural tone of the appearance.
The design evolution of the magnetic snap adsorption lid primarily serves the overall sense of ceremony when opening the outer packaging. Our aim is to create a dramatic process from the "stationary gift box" to the "reveal of the product". The "adsorption" and "separation" of the magnetic snaps offer precise and elegant tactile feedback, which connects with a series of actions such as pulling out the red waistband and lifting the red silk lid. Together, they build up to the narrative climax of "the appearance of the precious item."The key point of this mechanism lies in enhancing the cultural experience and emotional connection during the unpacking process, enabling users to feel the brand's high - end quality and meticulous attention right from the first point of contact.
The design's recognition by the A' Design Award has solidified our methodology of "empowering brand premium through cultural storytelling." It has demonstrated that through the visual system, material texture, and opening ceremony of the outer packaging, profound cultural values can be successfully conveyed to an international audience.This honor has spurred us to focus more on unearthing unique cultural symbols (such as the engraved inscriptions in this project) in subsequent projects and transforming them into tangible experiences. Our approach has evolved from "designing packaging" to "designing perceptible cultural experiences," and winning this award validates the international communication power of this direction.
During the research phase of this design, the most crucial step was to establish the keynote that "the outer packaging serves as the core carrier of cultural value". In the early stage, we were caught in a dilemma about balancing the inner and outer packaging. However, user test feedback indicated that the outer box made of cotton paper with a warm touch, the engraved inscriptions that looked like imprints, and the ceremonial opening method together constituted the primary basis for consumers to recognize the brand's high - end quality and cultural connotations.This discovery prompted us to allocate the majority of our design resources to the innovation of the outer packaging in terms of materials, craftsmanship, and structure. Eventually, we established a clear hierarchical relationship, with the outer box serving as the "cultural hall" and the inner bottle as the "reserved precious item."
The far - reaching impact of this project lies in establishing an upgrade paradigm of "from the outside in, culturally driven" for the industry. It demonstrates that the modernization of traditional medicinal material packaging does not solely rely on internal technological innovations (such as freshness - preserving bottles). More crucially, it hinges on successfully constructing the product's cultural identity and high - end value through the overall visual system, material craftsmanship, and opening experience of the outer packaging.We foresee that in the future, more brands will follow this path: regarding packaging as a complete cultural device capable of telling brand stories. In this way, they can break free from the traditional competitive dimensions of functionality and cost and create new market premium spaces.
