Interview with Sheng-Hung Lee

Sheng-Hung Lee ("SL") interviewed on Sunday, 18 March.

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

SL : I am a designer, maker and educator. I am inspired by multiple domains of knowledge, different perspectives, and I thrive on creating new value for clients in multi-disciplinary teams. I am trained as an industrial designer and electrical engineer, and my approach to problem solving is influenced by my passion for how design and technology impact on and can be integrated into society. I've collaborated with IDSA (Industrial Designers Society of America) to inform their their strategy, service and user experience for the Asia market, this work was recently been published in the book <IDSA Blueprint in Asia>. I've been focusing on organization design that creates systemic impact.I was invited to be a jury for multiple international design competition including IDEA, Spark Design Award, IDA Award and A’ Design Award and Competition. I also worked as a researcher at the National Science Council in Taiwan and is a member of respected institutions such as Taiwan Society of Technology and Sociology, Phi Tau Phi Scholastic Honor Society, and China Technical Consultants Inc. I graduated with a double Bachelor’s degree (Hon.) in Industrial Design and Electrical Engineering from National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Taiwan. My work has won prestigious awards including IDEA Gold, Braun Prize, Core77 Design Award, Red Dot (Best of the Best), Spark Design Award, European Product Design Award (Gold) and iF Award. In my spare time, I teach product design at Fudan University Shanghai Institute of Visual Art and Detao Masters Academy. I am also an avid learner and a keen student in computer science, taking regular online courses and writing APPs for daily activities such as ordering food and appreciating visual arts.

How did you become a designer?

SL : I deeply believe in design and view design as toolset and mindset to guild people to lead people to make and to have better future.

What are your priorities, technique and style when designing?

SL : It really depends on projects that you work on. Normally, the critical part is to ask the right question and reframe the question in the way to form the right design challenge.

Which emotions do you feel when designing?

SL : I would not use the word “emotion” to describe. It's the feeling of empathy that I have and I need to be empathetic to view the challenges in client's shoes.

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

SL : What shapes me to become a good designer is the subtle observation ability from daily life I have. What shapes me to become a great designer is to keep seeking for the inspiration in life. What shapes me to become an amazing designer is to gain a true ability to listen to people.

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

SL : For me, it's hard to predict my growth path. Because I think it's unpredictable in term of creative talents life and work experiences. Normally, I don't have long future plan, but I do have clear main direction and goal that I want to achieve. Medium long plan is helpful to clarify some of significant dates and activities. Over planning would easier kill the potential of some of creative ideas.
Regarding to my dream projects, the question should not ask the "what". Instead, the question should ask the "why" which means why makes me view it as dream project. Why triggers me to have the impression? For me, the answer is that the dream project is the project that can really make a great social impact through design.

What are your advices to designers who are at the beginning of their career?

SL : Keep exploring, discovering and keep trying new things.
Reminding strong curiosity with high energy towards things, products, experience and service that you are interested in, which takes you to another unexpected journey, full of surprise.

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

SL : First of all, I won't view myself as successful design master at the stage of life so far. What I can share with fellow designers is less from the skill set perspective, is more around to equip with open and right mindset, including human-centre awareness, team collaboration, diversity team composition and etc.

What is your day to day look like?

SL : Basically, it's the pattern of build-to-think and think-to-build process, which is similar like converge and diverge stages. I will have many ideas in my brain at the same time. One of ways to filer out ideas or to bring ideas to life is through prototyping. Making is a natural way to think as a product designer. I can prototype product, service and even experience to assist myself to push me to think comprehensively and deeply.

How do you keep up with latest design trends? To what extent do design trends matter?

SL : In fact, I am not a designer that really chasing the trend. I view trend as one of the source of inspirations. It may help me to think design or project in the context of modern era for clients, users, consumers and people.

How do you know if a product or project is well designed? How do you define good design?

SL : As the saying goes "Good design is good business." To build on the top, "Good design is good business and it makes great social impact with care and passions."

How do you decide if your design is ready?

SL : I would say design itself is problem-solving process. Therefore, solution is not a dot, single answer and what designers found and come up with is not the best solution. It's the suitable solution at that moment. It will evolve with time in different contexts with various requirements and needs.

What is your biggest design work?

SL : So far my biggest design work is redesigning the future learning experience of public space. It's a year long project to help Shanghai Library Innovation Space to figure it out from its value proposition, significant touch points, user journey, furniture design, role, service design, experience design and overall space part. Although the site is not big, it covers almost everything in library. For me, the "big" actually means the outcome of design penetrates in every level visible and invisible. It influences clients' ways of thinking and doing things.

Who is your favourite designer?

SL : For me, it’s hard to decide. Big names like Marc Newson, Ross Lovegrove, Philippe Starck, Ron Arad, Tom Dixion, Jonathan Ive, Naoto Fukasawa and Oki Sato, they all have their own definition and focus on design. What makes me touched is they have strong belief in design and their passion in design to keep bring and guiding them to overcome systematic challenges, to tackle complex problems and to serve and address people needs.

Would you tell us a bit about your lifestyle and culture?

SL : If I am passionate about certain topic, I will go for it without doubt. I think most people do. There is not actual lifestyle could fit me, because I keep changing my status quo, including staying in different locations, working on different types of projects, and collaborating with people, designers from multiple and diverse backgrounds. If use only one adjective to describe my lifestyle, it will be "open". I allow different possibilities to enter into my "blood" and try to understand, to respect, to appreciate and to adapt to it.

Would you tell us more about your work culture and business philosophy?

SL : Culture is formed by people. Therefore, choosing the right people, working with the right talents and partnering with the right creatives are the core. Seeking for right teammate is always the first critical step, especially for the small studio like mine. Shape the company culture is another story.

What are your philanthropic contributions to society as a designer, artist and architect?

SL : I think this is crucial for designer. We should all have social responsibility when we do our works. People, designers will off the projects eventually, but the works, the outcome will stay with time. If the designs, the solutions cannot add another layer of social responsibility, it's not valuable to people, to the world.

What positive experiences you had when you attend the A’ Design Award?

SL : A' Design Award and Competition is a great platform to celebrate the world-class design work of multiple areas and fields. It establishes the high standard for designers, creative talents and innovative companies.

Sheng-Hung Lee Profile