As a student studying graphic design, I thought I should not just learn in the classroom, but I should also use the power of the internet to ask some questions from people who are doing great work in the same industry as me. Since they have become famous in this industry, it means that they must have their own unique, overwhelming merits that I should learn from. By asking them questions, I think I will gain a lot of insight.
The first person I chose to interview was a graphic designer from China called Liang Cheng. He graduated from Tsinghua Academy of Fine Arts in 2013 as an undergraduate and continued his studies at Tsinghua University as a postgraduate. After graduating in 2016 he joined a design company. He has won 5 international awards so far and has partnerships with several companies.
I got in touch with Liang Cheng through a teacher I met in China and asked him the following ten questions.
1. What were your reasons for choosing to major in graphic design?
2. Did you encounter any difficulties during your studies? How did you overcome them?
3. Do you have a designer you admire?
4. What is your favourite design style?
5. What do you think is the most important point in design?
6. How do you usually get inspiration?
7. How do you break through when there is no inspiration?
8. What is your most satisfying work so far? Why?
9. How do you think the epidemic has affected your work?
10. Do you have any advice for students studying graphic design?
Liang Cheng's reply is as follows
1. I didn't actually choose to major in graphic design at the beginning, but in architectural design, which sounds incredible, right? The reason I changed my major was that my roommate in my freshman year was a graphic design major and whenever I watched him design and study in the dormitory, I found it very interesting, whereas I was not too interested in my own major. After a few months of this, I decided to change my major and after talking to my professors and parents, I switched to Graphic Design the following year. However, I have to say that this major really suited me better.
2. There were definitely difficulties. I would be bragging if I said there weren't. The biggest difficulty I had at the time was learning the design software. I am not a very good computer user and learning all kinds of design software became my biggest problem. It was really difficult and it took me probably three times longer than anyone else to practice before I finally caught up with my classmates.
3. I don't think admiration is the right word, appreciation is probably better. In fact, there are quite a lot of designers that I like. I recently liked a designer called Edi Bao, his font design is very good, you can check it out, it is worth learning.
4. I like to use very contrasting colours in my designs, I don't like grey tones. Most of my designs are vibrant and bright with a high degree of brightness. I think this can bring a good mood.
5. The most important point in design, I think, is to be realistic, not flashy. It's not just about looking good, it's about doing a scientific and systematic analysis and then addressing the most fundamental needs.
6. Inspiration is a wonderful thing, and I have no concrete way to say it. I think the best inspiration comes from life. That's why it's important to learn to feel life and find the details.
When I'm not inspired, I like to let myself go and do something else. Inspiration is not something that you can just perceive. If you are in a hurry, I find mind mapping really useful. Just expand outwards along the keywords, it's easy to help you find the design point.
8. I don't have the most satisfying work, I think I like each of my pieces equally because they are all created with the same amount of thought that I put into them. The fact that they stand out from the crowd of drafts means that I have put a lot of effort into them and they are all things that I cannot discard. If I had to say, it would always be the next piece.
9. It doesn't really have much of an impact, our industry, itself, is also more about working through the internet. But I can't say there hasn't been an impact, but it's been positive for me. Because of the epidemic, I stopped working for a while and this time off gave me the opportunity to go and enjoy life. You have to understand that designers are a profession that requires constant output, and if there is not enough input, sooner or later it will dry up. It's just as well that this opportunity has allowed me to input inwards and sink my teeth into it.
10. Kids must build a good foundation in school, don't muddle through and don't ignore the foundation because you think you have talent. Be cognisant of every piece of work you do, no matter how big or small. All these works will be a boost to your way forward. Don't be stubborn, look at different designs and experiment more. If you can, you can take on design jobs online while you are at university to gain experience for yourself.
These are the responses from Liang Cheng, and they were very helpful to me. So I am sharing these in the hope that they can help more people.
See you in the next blog.😊
luxuan💗
in 2021
Thanks for sharing, this is very helpful to me.