Interview with Karen Chang

Karen Chang ("KC") interviewed on Friday, 31 May.

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

KC : In 1994, I began to work in architectural design. In 1997, I began to work with interior design, mainly in private residences and retail stores. In 2004, I began to design hotel project with Shanghai Parkyard Hotel, Shanghai Puli Hotel, and SAVOIR RESORT etc..In 2007, I began to cooperate with property developers,including VANKE, SUNAC,COFCO, YANGO, SHUI ON LAND, LONGFOR and other major real estate companies across the country. The projects are distributed throughout the country. In 2016, the BE Concept retail store was established by me, specializing in imported furniture and accessories. I have founded the design brand CAC DESIGN for more than 20 years, and I have created a boutique residential, classic hotel and commercial space in response to the needs of the times. At the same time, I have won a series of international awards.

How did you become a designer?

KC : For me, being a designer is a natural and ideal thing. I have been studying painting since I was very young. Out of love for painting, I chose the major architecture, and after graduation I started my design journey in architecture and interior design. My family is very supportive of my choice. Going on the road of design is more out of my interest and love.

What are your priorities, technique and style when designing?

KC : The design process is given priority in three aspects: “design concept”, “determining the use of space” and “breakthrough point of design concept”. In the early stage of design, the tools I use the most are paper and pen; and in the later stages of implementing the design, computers are used to assist the design. When dealing with new projects, communicating with customers first is my biggest concern. Communication can make the design specifically grasp the space requirements, and find accurate design entry points, while at the same time have detailed reference standards for design.

Which emotions do you feel when designing?

KC : Throughout the design process, there is the joy of inspiration, the tightness of the project deadline, the quietness of being able to fully invest in your thoughts while working. Among them, the moment that getting design inspiration is the most exciting and enjoyable, which is also the most enjoyable in the process. The biggest joy of design is that I can see the possibility of different thinking, different materials, realize my own ideas, and try to create a new concept of breakthrough design that makes me satisfied.

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

KC : Architectural expertise is an important part of shaping me to be a designer. Apart from design skills, I am traveling around the world to purchase furniture accessories and to learn more about interior design related products and information, to see design trends, to know new materials, and to gain insights from global innovation. My design career has been relatively smooth. From being a good designer, to completing hundreds of designs, my life has been immersed in aesthetics and design. Essentially, design has become my way of life. Fortunately, many people support my design work, and the most important thing is the support of my family and work team partners.

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

KC : In 1994, I began design work in Taiwan. In 1999, CAC Design was established. In 2004, CAC Design moved to Shanghai. In 2011, the Singapore company of CAC was established. In the future, we will consider the development of design markets in Southeast Asia and Europe and the United States. In the meantime, We are trying to create more creative designs. To create a space for children to learn effectively, is a design project that I have always dreamed of. I look forward to the opportunity to design a space in a poor mountainous area.

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

KC : It is recommended that young designers go out to travel, read books, watch exhibitions, and look at different fields of design. It is often difficult for young designers to find design inspiration. Maybe because their life experience are not enough, and they have to keep learning.

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

KC : It is recommended that designers and architects and owners should fully communicate when doing each project, think from each other's perspective, get a better solution, and make a better and more consistent design. Personally, interior design is not a “realistic design”. Every designer needs to internalize what he sees and understands, then transform it into design and emphasize the characteristics of certain things.

What is your day to day look like?

KC : Before starting a business, I always had a lot of thoughts about design. In the early days of large companies, there were always some collective values and frameworks to follow, but I always thought that it would be the only way to do this? I want to have a different interpretation of the design, to pursue some self-worth, so I chose to build my own design brand. In my daily life, I like to empty my mind and try to deep thinking. In addition to browsing magazines and websites in design, I also like to read some books on economics. Whenever I see a fresh, or different, experience from the past, I will feel happy and excited because of this novelty.

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

KC : Trend is a design condition. In commercial projects, I pay special attention to trends. For example, when doing children's space, I will try to add more children's education trends, for example, adding AI and MR interactive experience in space. However, the designer should also be very cautious about the trend. Maybe the next second, the trend is no longer a trend.The best way to follow up on trends is to create trends.How to create them? Do design in a way that you have never used, because you have never done that before, it is likely to exist in the future. The SAVOIR RESORT is out of the trend framework, I get design inspiration from nature and Jiangnan water town.

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

KC : From a good design, you can see where the designer's focus is, no matter in what form, you can see his thinking. If a designer can implement his design ideas in the project and realize his original thoughts, it is easy for the audience to move or resonate. Good design will also show spatial consistency, using the same or similar expressions, different proportions, and accurately balance.

How do you decide if your design is ready?

KC : There are many possibilities for each project, and there are no standard answers to the design. Therefore, the deadline that is often agreed with the customer becomes the final delivery time. We will choose a reasonable time node based on experience. After the project is delivered, the design team will go to the on-site inspection of the construction and then review it. Of course, we will have more ideas to improve the project. This link is very important, and the accumulation of experience is mostly from this link. I think that the success of a project is not only good in design itself, but also closely related to the actual evaluation of customers.

What is your biggest design work?

KC : SAVOIR RESORT project has gained a lot of recognition in the world. This is an interior design work that I spent five years trying to create. Before the owner invited me to be the designer of this project, the owner had already negotiated with many well-known designers, but the owners were not satisfied with the solutions proposed by these top peers. When I took over the project, I set up the project to be a unique, highly recognizable and comfortable hotel for leisure vacations. We upgraded the old home to modern living, we use natural materials to make the building Space is integrated into nature, we also made a borderless pool design, allowing the artificial field to coexist harmoniously with the natural environment. This series of unique designs has made SAVOIR RESORT one of the most satisfying design works. It has also been called “the classic in Chinese hotel projects” by the authoritative media.

Who is your favourite designer?

KC : Le Corbusior,Louis Kahn,Rem Koolhas has a lot of inspiration for me. Rem koolhas's design works are highly consistent in architecture and interior, and there is a coherent internal and external echo in space. This comprehensive design thinking is also the design principle that I insist on. If I have the opportunity to talk to a deceased designer, I want to communicate with Le Corbusior because I think he is mysterious and has a lot of magic in his head. I think he is the most iconic designer in history.

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

KC : I am from Taiwan and live in Shanghai. My favorite city is Paris. Paris is a fashionable and multicultural city. There are rich and fertile grounds for designers and artists to survive. The city has strong inclusiveness and rich artistic atmosphere. Going to the art gallery in Paris , you will reveal that they are more inspiring than any city's art gallery. Culture has had a great impact on my design, such as the Chinese architectural space in traditional culture, Paris fashion culture and so on. Whether it is architectural design, interior design or landscape design, it has a great impact on the city, and the design creates a city's characteristics. In my opinion, the city is like a container, everyone lives here, and everyone is a different individual cultivated in this environment. Good design adds to the elegance of life and makes life more convenient. For example, the design of the capsule coffee machine simplifies the procedure of drinking coffee, but it does not simplify the feeling of drinking coffee.

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

KC : I like to create a relaxed working communication atmosphere, listen to the ideas of teammates, and app trengths of teammates. I think that "openness" in work is especially important. "openness" can produce a better discussion atmosphere. At the time of recruitment, CAC Design tends to find people with more than 5 years of work experience, because design experience can reduce the error between design ideas and actual design execution. For me, the core challenge in the profession is to try to inspire the designer to explore and think about the design, break the limit and make the design richer and more diverse through more listening and communication.

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

KC : In recent years, CAC Design has continued to try to provide valuable and meaningful design to the society through commercial operations. In 2018, we purchased office space in Taichung City and established an innovation and entrepreneurial platform. We plan to have enthusiastic designer in Taiwan and the China mainland. We provide more opportunities for two-way communication and cooperation. I am working hard to make CAC a platform for developing and tapping the design potential, where we explore and practice design. I also try to share my design concepts and experiences on this work platform. Therefore, for me, work is like a series of ongoing forums to provide designers with self-exaggeration.

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

KC : Participating in the international awards A' Design Award, first of all, can help CAC design find its place in the international market; secondly, the competition is also a good learning opportunity, we can intuitively understand and international design through the comments of international judges; in addition, it allows us to understand more diverse international values, culture and design vision, and make designers more international. Moreover, the A’ Design Award, as an internationally well-known design award, will also help to increase the international recognition of award-winning designers and help designers undertake more international projects. To be a designer of this era, I feel very fortunate. The design of this era is unprecedentedly fast. It is also an era of inheriting the past and the future. We can draw design nutrients from the works of previous design masters and apply them in contemporary design. These design considerations will also become a reference for future design.

Karen Chang Profile