Interview with Hyeonil Jeong

Hyeonil Jeong ("HJ") interviewed on Thursday, 22 March.

Could you please tell us about your experience as a designer, artist, architect or creator?

HJ : I am an industrial designer currently based in New York. I have worked for a wide range of product design from popular American living brands such as Bed Bath & Beyond, Homegoods to high-end home decoration product lines including Two's Company, Dransfield & Ross, Cosmopolitan home. Also sometimes had a good opportunity of working with a brand new start-up company like Gantri.

How did you become a designer?

HJ : Before moving to states, I worked as a computer rendering and cad specialist of interior design projects for many years. I devoted myself to the computer-based work for a long time and just found myself interested the more to work with the real and physical pieces rather than the images on the monitor. Finally, I managed to study Product Design Major in Parsons School of Design and turned my career entirely into the industrial design.

What are your priorities, technique and style when designing?

HJ : First, defining the project is the most important. I always assert that 'What must be simple is not the form but the idea.' So I tried to define the main idea of the project as clearly as possible.Second, I believe the real development can only be made on the real piece. So I usually conduct the sketch and first CAD work phase in a quick and dirty way to get the first physical prototype as quickly as possible. Then I can start to make a real design development based on the real piece.Third, I believe there is not such a thing as 'finished project.' I want to keep my eyes on my design in the real world and keep my mind open to for the further modification matching to the continually changing world.

Which emotions do you feel when designing?

HJ : I enjoy myself the most in the development stage. Whenever I come up with little solutions of the previous prototype, I feel the pride and pleasure of designing a good product.

What particular aspects of your background shaped you as a designer?

HJ : I have enjoyed Bboying, a type of street dance, for a long time on a non-professional level. Because the bboying itself is a relatively new cultural activity, I could see all the fast-changing aspects and the rise and fall of some cultural movements. As a result, I feel myself having a sharper point of view about the artistic and cultural movements.

What is your growth path? What are your future plans? What is your dream design project?

HJ : In my teenage days, my dream was not becoming a designer but a mechanical engineer. From the very early school years of mine, I was into all the different mechanical features around me such as the volume control knob of daddy’s portable radio, few different hinges found in our kitchen cabinet and the little motors and gearboxes inside my toy cars. All of those experiences got me into my first college year in the engineering major. Later on, I happened to move up to design major but those engineer focused experiences and mindset made me stand out in the other students from the art schools.

You are truly successful as a designer, what do you suggest to fellow designers, artists and architects?

HJ : Be professional in non-design skills. To be called as a professional designer, just doing the design practice well is not enough. You must also be great at taking care of your schedule, communicating with your client in a nice way, keeping your health condition good enough to get into a intensive design work smoothly, and so on.