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Looking Back and Ahead
In 2004, Ricky Wong published his first collection of works “Design Pioneer 04”. Later he published other two work collections “Design to Inspire” and “Ambiance”. In 2011, he continues to record and share his recent ideas and experience of design in his fourth individual work collection “Ambiance II”. On the eve of publication of “Ambiance II”, Ricky takes the chance to look back and make a conclusion for the past few years.
Reviewing his first work collection, Ricky told us that both his attitude and design have become more mature. “My team has expanded along with my business. The coming of new colleagues and the change of my team introduce new dynamics for my company as the different ideas contributed by new colleagues always stimulate my mind and creative work, enriching the project design,” Ricky said. At the same time, market changes and customer needs bring adjustments in his design and attitude.
“Every era has its own new ideas; design should not only emphasize creativity, but also appropriate implementation,” Ricky said. The changes of client demands give Ricky some aspiration and reflection about the competition in the design industry. “The robust real estate markets of Mainland China and Hong Kong give rise to the prosperity of design industry. The number of projects in the market increase so as the number of design companies from which clients can choose. Instead of the transformation of market environment, the reason of keen competition in the design industry is the unclear requirements of clients. If the clients have a clear direction of the design, they will choose designers based on their style and quality; hence a keen competition will not be resulted. However, when the clients are choosing design companies, they usually do not know about their functions and standards, leading to the deterioration of the quality of design companies. Competition is common, and it is reasonable as long as it is based on the same standard line, but it is not the case in the market at present.”
Facing the ever-changing business environment, Ricky said that he always had to deal with the dilemma between being a designer and a businessman. When he talked about how to solve this dilemma, he shared with us his unique work philosophy – let the professionals handle professional issues. “The dilemma between doing business and creative work has always been there, and the conflicts between the two happen very often. However, when I face this dilemma, I have always insisted in one principle, that is to let the professionals handle professional issues. As a designer, if I am devoted to business strategies and creative work at the same time, I will inevitably lose the balance; therefore, I would pass the business issues to my colleagues of this professional so that I can be concentrated on artistic creation. Of course, my colleagues would consult me on business matters, but I would give my opinion only as a reference and not to affect their judgment. I am not saying that a designer cannot be an operator of the company at the same time, but I think that it is not suitable for a designer to get involved in too many business issues because it will hinder the work progress most of the time.” Ricky said.
The only reason behind Ricky’s concentration on creative work is his passion of design. “I love creative work and my love for it has never been changed. Design brings me lots of challenges. A designer has to be a leader and to propel every step of the work progress; when he follows a project, he has to handle various kinds of sudden change every day, ensuring that the project runs smoothly and everything goes to plan. I think that the challenges in my design work let me keep a cool head; the process of dealing with clients also gives me a chance to know more about life’s happenings and it makes me feel that design is a both interesting and challenging job. The challenges always stimulate my thinking and bring ‘nutrients’ to my creation afterwards.”
Ricky loves creation so much, then how does he think about creativity and personal style? “As a designer, it is important to have persistence and a pursuit of a specific style and taste but it is not suitable for him to apply a particular style in every project, instead, he should create different moods for the space according to clients’ needs so as to create ideal designs. If you ask me about creativity, I should say that I need to design 50 projects every year and it is not possible for me to bring totally brand new things to my design: just like it is not possible to have a new cuisine every day - but the taste of an old cuisine can differ a lot with different cooking methods of different cooks. I believe that a good design may not employ brand new ideas in every detail and the most important thing is to highlight its character and uniqueness.” Ricky said. Apart from creativity and personal style, Ricky thinks that trend can enrich creation sometimes. “In my opinion, trend takes the role of leading and it cannot be judged as good or bad, and the key is how designers utilize trendy elements. No matter in what times, there are always different ways to appreciate different kinds of beauty and pursue different kinds of lives. The sensibility of future life style is the best source of inspirations.”
Having been devoted to training designers, Ricky Wong has some advice for the young people who have just entered the design industry. “Designer should be eclectic; though he does not have to possess profound knowledge of everything, he should have understanding of different areas. Beside an aesthetic sense and a personal taste, the most important thing for a designer is sensibility: sensibility is different from skills which can be trained – it is a necessary quality for designers because only it can let you be sensitive to the things around and only with a sensitive heart you can refine the uniqueness of beautiful things and integrate it into your design.” Ricky said.
Ricky lamented the lack of high quality design talents in Mainland China in recent years. Although a great number of design school graduates enter the design industry every year, it is not quite possible for those inexperienced to help raise the quality of the industry. The key of the shortage of talents in the design industry is the impatience of young people to develop their career. “It takes at least eight to ten years for a graduate to become a mature designer. He needs to encounter some people and difficulties, and experience some success and failure so that he can broaden his horizon and accumulate enough experience.” Ricky said. However, young people today are eager for quick success and in lack of patience and perseverance. Facing such a condition, Ricky has some advice for the young people who want to enter the design industry: “Enjoy design, let creation become your habit. Keep a good attitude because with perseverance and a heart to research, any career will bring you a bright future – the matter is how much time and effort you dedicate to your work.”
When Ricky published his first collection, he designed 10 projects annually; now, he designed 50 projects every year. In these years, there is a significant change in his career. Looking back and ahead, Ricky told us frankly that he did not have too many future plans. “Personally, I never make detailed plans for my road ahead – striving for the best at this moment is the most important.” When we asked him about project types that he would like to attempt, he laughed and said: “Museum and convention centre are the project types I would like to try. This kind of projects involves a lot of professionals and requires a higher level of organization ability; its challenges must be greater than usual projects, so as the sense of satisfaction it will bring.”
——摘自《安毕恩斯2》 |
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