Design in china is like... by Weiyi Cai

设计在中国像是... Design in China is Like... 1

汉语词典将“设计”定义为：“按照任务的目的和要求,预先定出工作方案和计划,绘出图样”。毋庸置疑，这个定义在今天中国的语境中已经显得片面而狭隘。那么，设计在今天的中国到底是什么？像什么？

In Chinese dictionary, “design” is defined as “Make work plan and draw images according to a task’s purpose and requirements.” Without a doubt, this definition is no longer appropirate to the situation of design industry in China today. Then , what is design like in China today?

14 29

墨：设计在中国像是修辞 More Tong: Design in China is like rhetoric

殷雯飞：设计在中国像是件累人的事 Fei Yin: Design in China is like something that makes you exhausted

58 66 CONTENTS

77 92

费俊：设计在中国像是赤脚行医 Fei Jun: Design in China is like barefoot doctor

约翰科奇迪斯：设计在中国像是问对问题却得不到正确答案 John Korkidis: Design in China is like asking the right questions but not getting the right answers 马丁巴恩斯: 设计在中国像是个在学着成长的孩子 Martin Barnes: Design in China is like a child learning to grow up

张婧妍: 设计在中国像是丛林 Marie Feld: Design in China is like a jungle

后记 Afterwords

设计在中国像是 We have asekd many designers, foreign and native, working in China to answer the questions “Design in China is Like...” The following spreads are the answers we have collected. Thank all of the participants for their valuable answers. 我们向在中国工作的设计师，中国人或外国人，收集了关于“设计在中国像是...”的答案，并在书中呈现出来。感谢他们的参与！

Design in China is like an imperial eunuch with a Wacom tablet on ketamine.

Design in China is like asking the right question but not finding the right answers.

Design in China is like a kind of drink; we always drink it but it feels cheap.

Design in China is like a group of people walking in the dessert, the water is all gone but they still have the hope to find the oasis.

蒙着眼睛打扑克。 Design in China is like skiing down a mountain with a blindfold on. You know that you’re moving in roughly the right direction (as you’re going downhill), but you may crash at any moment.

De Ch Bei we 设计在中国像是人性，大部分人都在盲目跟随。 dea 设计在中国像是提线的木偶。 the day

Design in China is like watching a remote, isolated tribe being given adobe suite and told to â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;be creativeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Some amazing results, some horrendous results, all fun!

费俊: 设计在中国像是赤脚行医

费俊，数字媒体艺术家。交互北京创始人。中央美术学院数码媒体工作室副教授，交互艺术与设计研究生导师。 Fei Jun is a digital media artist, interactive designer, founder and executive director of Interactive Beijing, associate professor at China Central Academy of Fine Arts media lab, and research supervisor in interactive art and design.

Fei Jun: Design in China is like a barefoot doctor

变形记，影像 Metamorphosis, Video

近几年，国内外设计领域内似乎都闪耀着一个词：交互。由此派生出了“用户界面（UI）” 、“新媒体”等专业名词，同时也涌现出一大批致力于人机交互界面设计的设计师。然而在这个看似新兴的领域中，中央美院数码媒体工作室副教授费俊已经摸爬滚打了十多年。有很多人将费俊定义为“新媒体艺术家”，他自己却认为这个头衔太具有时代局限性。一切所谓“新”的东西终会变旧，而他理想中的交互体验设计并不仅仅是一个风潮，更是一个富有改变力的媒介。如果只看费俊最近的一些著名作品，很难想象这个喊着“为改变而设计”的交互设计师是学习版画出身，受过传统的美术教育。他开玩笑说自己现在的状态是个“四不像”：在艺术界里像个黑客，在IT界和设计圈里又像个艺术家。无论有心无心，费俊对自己处于行业边缘的位置很满足。这样的姿态使他对艺术、设计和科技领域都有更加清楚的认识，也使他确定了将这三者结合起来的工作重心。 “在我看来，艺术的主要价值在于发现问题，但它不一定能解决问题；设计是用来解决问题的，特别是从一个商业化的角度上；科技则决定了设计与艺术的维度。现在科技不断发展，这个维度也在不断增大。” 当今中国人对技术的消化能力很强，善于接纳新的技术。费俊坦言，这个现象是一把双刃剑：“好的一面在于我们技术性的进化很快，坏的一面在于不太有人关注技术背后的人文意义，只是为技术而技术。我觉得一个社会如果缺乏对于技术人文方面的思考，是很容易失控的，因为技术最终是为人、为有节操有世界观的人服务的。如果只有技术而失去了它的目的性，那这样的技术是没有价值的。”因此，费俊更想用设计去直面一些问题，并试图以此引发人们的思考，挑战人们对交互体验的理解。他认为，当今国人对交互设计的理解仍然很片面。人们主要是通过适用智能手机等是先在电子屏幕上的人机交互，但实际上交互体验设计还有更大的外延。

一个没有态度的设计师是没有价值的。

自己比较关注艺术、设计和社会之间的关系，之前很多作品都试图探讨艺术返回到生活中的可能性。我们一直认为艺术来源于生活，但很少有艺术家思考艺术怎么回到生活。通过返回来重新测试艺术与生活之间的关系，这是我自己想阐释的方向。” 科班出身的他并不觉得在艺术中融入科技是对艺术的亵渎。相反，他认为科技给艺术带来了新的活力，提供了超出凡人的视觉语言变化。程序产生的变量能达到一个艺术家一生都不能企及的高度。 “很多人觉得科技和艺术的结合只是单纯的媒介上的改变，或者说是艺术形式上的改变，但我觉得不止是这样。将科技与艺术结合在一起是对艺术定义的拓展。在科技的作用下，艺术家与作品的关系也发生了直接的改变。由科技带来的可能性使艺术与社会的关系越来越模糊了，以前艺术是被膜拜的，现在艺术开始更加深度地介入

“‘交互’这个词代表了人与物、人与空间、人与世界的关系。”因此，费俊的作品中有像“陌生人”这样的大型多媒体实地互动体验，在虚实交互中对当今互联网背景下人与人之间的沟通交流发问；有基于电子屏幕的互动游戏“ 屯里那些事”加句介绍吧，类似前面那句的；也有像“紫禁城祥瑞”这样的手机app，让用户可以把故宫艺术珍品把玩在手中。他的很多作品带有强烈的文化气息，似乎在寻求用科技的新手段从新的角度审视文化的可能性。当被问到他认为一个在国内的设计工作者担负着怎样的文化责任时，费俊认为这是个人态度问题。 “我不认为所有设计师必须要有社会性的态度。但是无论什么样的态度，有态度是前提，一个没有态度的设计师是没有价值的。至于这个态度是否要有很强的社会责任感，这倒未必。其实社会需要的是人文关怀，这个关怀可大可小，可以小到关心你的爱人家人，也可以大到博爱。我

以前所有搞设计的就是美工，但我觉得现在开始真正有设计师了。

Audi Connect, iPhone App

社会，形成了带有影响力和改变力的输出物。” 费俊自称是一个有“平民情节”的人，认为在中国这样的语境里，为富人们享受的精致生活添加更多东西已经没有意义，但是作为一个设计师却完全有能力做一些改善平民百姓生活的事。从事艺术工作二十余年，探索媒体交互十余年，费俊对中国设计的发展也颇有心得。“我觉得人们对设计的认识在不断提高。对设计的尊重还谈不上，但设计在产业里的价值正不断被放大。以前所有搞设计的就是美工，但我觉得现在开始真正有设计师了。设计师在产品或体验中的话语权在不断提升，这是看得见摸得着的。我觉得对于年轻设计师来说，这是他们的好时代。” 然而，尽管是个好时代，中国设计想从形式层面的变化走向精神层面的变化，仍有很长的路要走。不过费俊认为，至少现在设计师们已经开始关注对中国？的认同感：“十五年前，中国设计师没有几个会用中文字。现在滥用中国元素的现象依然存在，但是至少大家不用汉语拼音了，甚至能不用英文就不用英文，这都是有意思的变化。而且无论是运用中国元素还是文化里的气质，都是需要时间去恢复的。” 与这种文化气质同样需要时间积累的是国人的审美素养。“中国缺的不是高端的设计师，而是设计的普及性与国人的修养。”费俊认为，中国设计的落后源于公众整体设计素养的缺失。与西方相比，中国人的审美趣味还很落后，而这种公众的审美趣味会让一个设计师更容易找到认同感。不仅是审美，国内在设计的研究层面上也还落后于西方国家。“我们缺乏真正对于交互设计以及交互技术的研究，尤其是在设计与技术融合的语境下。” 尽管发展很快，但中国的设计仍然存在着很多问题。费俊将设计在中国比作是赤脚行医。赤脚医生是一个在文革中期出现的名词，指农村中没有纳入国家编制的非正式医生。他们掌握一些技能但无固定薪资，也不受正规管理。费俊说现在设计师就像是当年的赤脚医生，一方面在做着有意义有改变力的事，大家也很看好他们的前景，但一方面也很艰难，在整个产业链里依然很边缘，它的价值没有真正被尊敬。设计师就只有本着良心为中国设计发展做出贡献。费俊自己也像一个赤脚医生。不论是他修饰简陋的工作室还是平静的谈吐，都给人一种踏实低调的感觉。在交互体验设计这个仍然新兴的领域里，他不断用“为改变而设计”激励自己，带着强烈的社会责任感，保持着低调的做人风格，潜移默化地用作品创造着视觉体验的可能性。

中国而是设计的

缺乏的不是高端的设计师，普及性与公众的审美修养。

Design for Change s I

n recent years, one word has caught people’s attention in design industries all over the world: interactive. Many other professional terms are derived from it: “UI,” “UX,” “new media,” etc. At the same time, more and more young designers have built their expertise in graphical user interface and user experience design. But Fei Jun, Associate Professor at China Central Academy of Fine Arts media lab, has been exploring interactive design for over ten years. Many people define him as a new media artist, but he dislikes this title for it shows a time restriction. Everything new would one day be old, but he thinks interactive experiential design is not just a trend; it is something that has the power to change people’s lives. If you take a look at Fei Jun’s latest portfolio, it is hard to imagine that this interactive designer who is advocating “design for changes” comes from a traditional art background and majored in printmaking in college. He jokes that his status now is neither fish nor fowl: he’s like a hacker in the art world, but in the IT and design world he seems like an artist. With or without purpose, Fei is satisfied with this status now. It enables

him to look at art, design, and technology from a unique perspective, and makes him want to merge the three into one in his works. “I think the main purpose of art is to discover problems, but art does not necessarily solve problems; design is what solves problems, especially from a business approach. And technology provides means in this process. Now with technology advancing, it gives artists and designers more freedom to create possibilities.” The Chinese have a great ability in digesting new technology. Fei thinks this ability is both good and bad. “It is good because it accelerates the technical development in China; it is bad because people seldom pay attention to the humanity and cultural meaning of technology, and turn into using technology for the sake of using technology. I think if a society does not think about what does technology mean to its people, technology is easy to get out of control. Technology is made to serve people ultimately, but if technology loses its purpose, it becomes worthless.”

Therefore, Fei tries to confront social problems through his design, to open a forum and challenge people’s understanding of interactive design. He thinks that people in China today still have a limited understanding of interactive design. What they know is from their day-to-day use of cell phones and digital screens, but interactive experiential design is much more than that. “The word ‘interactive’ represents the relationship between human and objects, between human and space, between human and the world.” In Fei’s works, we see large-scale interactive media exhibitions like “Stranger,” interactive games projects like “All about the Village,” as well as apps for The Palace Museum that display ancient artworks on users’ iPhone and iPad screens. His work often seems to have strong cultural references. When asked about what kind of cultural responsibility a designer in China has, Fei says it is a matter of personal attitude. “I don’t think every designer must have a social attitude…[but] a designer should

have an attitude; a designer without an attitude is worthless. As for how much social responsibility is shown through the attitude, it is up to individuals. This society needs humanity; it could be to love your family, it could also be to care about the society as a whole. I personally am interested in the relationship among art, design and society, and many works are trying to find a way to let art go back to life. All along we think that art comes from life but is higher than life, few artists think about how to take art back to life. I want to reevaluate the relationship between art and life through making designs that make art accessible to the general public.” Although he comes from a traditional fine art background, Fei does not think merging technology into art is disrespectful to art. Instead, he thinks that technology opens new doors and brings new possibilities to artistic endeavors. The variation that technology can produce is something an artist could not reach over his or her whole life. “Many people think that the merge of art and technology is simply a change in medium or format, but I think it is much more than

紫禁城祥瑞，iPad应用程序 Twelve Beauties of Prince Yong, iPad App

think that the merge of art and technology is simply a change in medium or format, but I think it is much more than that. Mixing art and technology is redefining art to some extended. Under the effect of technology, the relationship between artists and their works have changed as well. The advent of technology has blurred the line between art and society. Before art was worshipped, but now art finds its way to penetrate into society through technology and brings influential results.” Fei says that he hopes his work will mainly serve ordinary people. In China, it does not make sense to create more things to serve the rich people; it is day-to day problems that designers should pay attention to in order to make changes. Having been working as an artist for over 20 years, and exploring digital media interactive design for over 10, Fei has seen the development in the design scene in China. “I think people are starting to acknowledge design. Even though design is yet highly respected, its value is being enlarged over the years. Before design was simply decoration, now I think there comes real designers and designers’ roles are becoming more and more important in the industry. I think for young designers, it is a good time.” However, design in China still has a long way to get away from superficial development in forms and reach a stage where it is spiritually meaningful. Fei thinks that today designers in China are at least starting to become proud of their identities. He says, “Fifteen years ago, designers in China rarely used Chinese characters in designs. Even though today there are people that use the Chinese cultural elements for the sake of using them, but at least designers stopped using Pin Yin and even avoid English as much as possible; these changes are all very interesting. Furthermore, using Chinese cultural elements reasonably and creating an identity to China’s popular culture all take time.” What also takes time is developing the taste in art and design among the general public in China. “China is not lacking high level

designers, but it does lack of the appreciation towards designs.” Fei thinks the public’s low standard is what separates design in China the most from that of the Western world. Chinese’s aesthetic taste is still very bad, which could help and motivate designers. Not only in aesthetic taste, China is also behind in researching technology and art, especially the mergence and interactions between the two. From Fei’s words, we see that even though design in China is under fast development, there still exist a lot of problems. Fei says that design in China is like being a barefoot doctor. Barefoot doctor is a word from the middle of the Cultural Revolution; it references the unofficial and uncertified doctors in villages. They have some professional techniques but do not receive a salary or work under formal regulations. Fei says that designers today are just like barefoot doctors back then: on the one hand, they are doing meaningful things that can change people’s lives, but on the other hand, they bear a lot hardship, and are not respected as they should be. Design is still on the margin of the whole industrial chain, its value is not fully understood by the general public. Fei himself is like a barefoot doctor; from his simply furnished studio and his gentle manner, he seems very practical and modest. In this new area of interactive experiential design, Fei is motivating himself and his students with “design for changes,” and making works that change people’s lives.

The Chinese have great ability in digesting new technology. It is good because it accelerates the technical development in China; it is bad because people seldom pay attention to the humanity and cultural meaning of technology, and turn into usi technology for the sake of using it. 27

More Tong 设计在中国像是修辞 Design in China is like rhetoric More Tong，平面设计师，现居上海。2010年毕业于中国美术学院，曾就职于Wieden+Kennedy，现任青蛙设计上海分部设计师。由24节气字体在网上成名。 More Tong is a Shanghaibased graphic designer. He graduated from China Academy of Art in 2010. He has worked at Wieden+Kennedy, now he is a designer at Frog Design in Shanghai. He is famous for his typography work for Chinese 24 terms.

24节气字体（节选），字体设计 24 Chinese Solar Terms (Partial), Tyopgraphy design

设计就像是文章中的修辞，若用得好，升华情感；可要是没有，也没人在意。这个社会速度太快，愿意慢慢欣赏的人少之又少。

称中国的语言文字为一门艺术应该一点都不为过，每一个汉字的组合与含义都有其自己的道理。汉字的特性既为中国的字体设计师们提供了无限的发挥空间，同时又给他们带来了极大的困难。除了难以计数的汉字总量，如何让设计在不曲解含义的基础上为汉字注入新的活力对于设计师们来说更是一个挑战。近些年，一组由上海设计师More Tong设计的24节气字体海报吸引了许多国内设计师的注意。这一组作品用汉字创造出极强的视觉冲击力，与此同时，也唤醒了人们对传统文化的记忆。谈到创作起因，More Tong说：“我和小满（赵小满，独立撰稿人、摄影师，Voicer创立人、主编）管理着关于生活和艺术灵感的网络杂志Voicer (http://voicer.me)。每到节气变化时，都会更新一个名为“日本风物”的专题，我们想要从日本这个懂得珍惜传统的国度身上找回一些快要被我们遗失的东西。在这个专题的启发之下，我从去年冬天，也就是‘立冬’开始创作24 节气字体系列。在没有电器的年代，顺应四季变换，人与物的作息也发生着相应的改变，古老的智慧将其划分为24节气。另一方面，汉字是一种表意的语言符号，尤其在古代，每个字都有其独特的涵义，这本身也是一件有趣的事情。但是如今生活的智慧和趣味都在忙碌的生活中被逐渐淡忘。我想这也许是一个值得挖掘的命题，让自己感悟其中的变化，也能够偶尔提醒大家发现被遗忘在角落的生活。” More多次提到现代人在快节奏的生活中忘记停下脚步欣赏的现实。他说，设计在中国就像是文章中的修辞。“若用得好，升华情感；可要是没有，也没人在意。这个社会速度太快，愿意慢慢欣赏的人少之又少。”隐约记得许涛说的吗 = =语文课堂上，老师曾经讲过：“慢慢走，欣赏呵！”而那时我们只盼望着每一天走得快一点再快一点，也许不相信我们也终将长大，多年后却发现“慢慢走”竟是如此困难。

这一组24节气字体不仅意图提醒人们慢慢走，作品自身也践行了这一理念。。整组作品并非一次性完成，而是在每个节气相应的时节创作，耗时整整一年。创作的过程对于More Tong 来说也是一个探索的过程，他说：“我并没有刻意定义它的整体风格，我相信当这组字体全部完成时，它的风格会自然而然地体现出来。每一个字体肯定是和当时的状态有关的，不然我也不会等到每个节气来临之时才把它完成。中国人讲究天时地利人和，这是一个顺其自然的东西，可能在这个时间里做的不是最完美的，但一定是最合适的。” “合适”是More评判好的字体的标准之一：“在我看来，表达合适，形式体现内容，有自己的个性，就是好的字体，当然最重要的是原创。”More坦言，中国从来不缺少优秀的字体与设计师，但是国内年轻设计师的问题在于他们对于中国自身文化的挖掘太少。“相比较邻近的日本，我们缺少一些传承。看看如今满大街的标牌、广告字体，都是差不多的表情，你感受不到它的性格和诉求。再回想一下30年前，字体设计还未被电脑字库冲击时，我们有很多漂亮的字体，像当时南京路上的广告牌，每一幅都是经过精心设计的，你可以体会到字体与产品、受众之间的关系。我出去旅行时，都会去当地的旧货市场淘美术字体书。过去其实有很多有价值的东西值得我们参考和借鉴。” More 2010年毕业于中国美术学院，85后的他对历史的尊重和借鉴是年轻设计师中罕见的。他很多次提到自己深受日本平面设计的影响。日本平面设计在第二次世界大战之后迅速发展，首先借鉴德国、美国的风格，之后形成了独特的传统与现代并进的体制。More将这一理念灵活地融入自己的设计中，使他的作品既有传统文化的背景又有浓厚的当代气息。然而，他并非刻意将中国文化元素加入到作品中。对于More 来说，合适的才是最好的。“我觉得不管是什么

招财进宝，字体设计 More Happiness Coming, Tyopgraphy design

得不管是什么设计师，最重要的工作是提供或者找出最适合的解决办法，并帮助客户或自己达到目标。我们从事的是一个提供解决方案的职业，所以做的好看应该是最低要求，能解决什么问题才是核心的内容。” 从美院毕业之后，More曾在跨国广告公司 Wieden+Kennedy任职，现在是frog design的设计师。尽管一直在外资公司工作，More却始终自视为中国设计领域的一员。当被问到设计在中国存在着什么问题时，他说：“第一个是抄袭，学校级的比赛获奖作品大多是抄袭的，老师没有去了解过，或者说是放任的。如果从根本上不知道这是一件可耻的事情的话，那是很悲哀的。第

二个是抱团的小圈子，朋友可以有圈子，但是不喜欢一些体系内的抱圈行为，相互吹捧，相互发奖之类的，类似于掩耳盗铃。”然而More觉得时间会解决这些问题，而他作为一个设计师，最重要的是解决自己可以解决的问题，按照自己的要求去完成工作。现在的More Tong做着一份理想的专业工作，参与着一本分享生活美学的在线杂志，至于对未来的期待，他说：“如果可以的话我想离开上海，去其他地方，出去走走更容易发现一些新的东西，发生一些思考上的碰撞。具体的话，可能还是像现在这样，有一份专业的工作，空闲的时候可以做回自己喜欢的东西。”

24节气字体，字体设计，2012 24 Chinese Solar Terms, Tyopgraphy design, 2012

“

Design is like one of those little things that people tend to overlook.

t is no exaggeration to call the Chinese characters a kind of art; every character holds a special relationship between its shape and meaning. This characteristic of Chinese characters provides Chinese type designers with endless creative opportunities, but at the same time it also brings them hardship. In addition to the huge number of Chinese characters that must be addressed, to the best way to inject energy into the square-shaped characters without distorting their meanings is a great challenge for designers. In the recent years, a set of typography design of Chinese 24 solar terms by Shanghaibased designer More Tone has attracted a lot attention in China and abroad. This work creates a strong visual impact utilizing the strokes of Chinese characters. From a cultural stand of point, it tries to bring back people’s memory of solar terms, which is something that has been almost forgotten by many modern people. Speaking of why he chose to create a set of typography designs for the solar terms, More Tong says, “Pinko (Pinko Chao, photographer and editor based in Shanghai, Founder and Editorin-Chief of Voicer) and I are running an online

Every once in a while, we update a section called ‘Japanese Good’s,’ we hope to get inspiration from Japan, a nation that is good at preserving its own culture and identity, and try to [gain] back what we have lost. Along with this project, I came up with the idea of creating typography for the 24 Chinese solar terms. Starting from last winter, the first one was ‘Li Dong (Beginning of the Winter).’ Back then, when there was no electricity or technology, in order to make changes of lifestyle according to the change of the weather, they divided a year into 24 periods and named them with different names indicating the right actions for each period of time. It shows the great wisdom of our ancestors. Chinese characters are symbols of meanings; especially in the ancient times, every character of every word was chosen wisely. It is just interesting to explore the type, especially nowadays, as the pace of life picks up and people start to forget about the wisdom in life and our culture. Therefore, I think it is worthwhile to do such a project, on one hand, to let myself learn about the reasoning behind the 24 terms, on the other hand, to remind people of the fun and details in life.”

More has mentioned the fact that people now move forward too quickly and forget to appreciate the little things in life. Design is like one of those little things that people tend to overlook. He compares design in China to rhetoric in literature. “If it is used right, it brings the work into another level, but if it is not there, nobody would notice. There are so few people who are willing to take things slowly and appreciate what they see. I can still remember from Chinese classes in middle school, my teacher talked about a phrase: ‘Walk slowly, appreciate!’ However, I guess when we were in middle school and wanting time to go faster, it was hard for us to imagine one day we would grow up and find that walking slowly is such a hard thing to do.” “In fact, this set of typography for 24 solar terms came along slowly. They were not created all at once; instead, every design is made at the time of the year the term indicates; therefore, the project has taken a whole year.” The process of making the project is a process of exploration for More. “I didn’t set a style for the works at the beginning; I believed that when they [were] all done, they would have a distinctive style. Every typography is related to the condition of the time of the

“ 36

year I created it. Maybe some of them weren’t perfect, but they were the most suitable for the time I created them.”

China has never been at a lack of good typography designers, but they always meet a problem in their inability to dig into their own Chinese culture.

“The most suitable,” this is one of the criteria More attributes to good typography. “I think if a type expresses a meaning properly, has its own personality, and of course, is original, then it is a good typography design.” More says that China has never been at a lack of good typography designers, but they always meet a problem in their inability to dig into their own Chinese culture. “Compar[ed] with our neighbor Japan, we don’t really keep our good cultural heritage. If you walk around the streets now, the types on the advertising signs all have [a] similar mood and you cannot feel their personality and effect. But if you look back to 30 years ago, when typography wasn’t dominated by computer fonts, we had a lot [of] great typography design, like the signs on Nanjing Road in Shanghai back then, they were all designed carefully [and[ individually. You can feel a relationship between the type and the product and what feeling it wants to create to its audience. When I go traveling, I always go to local flee markets to look for old type books, back then there were a lot valuable type treatment that are worth learning now.”

was born after 1985 and how he respects history and learns from old designs is rare to find in young designers. He says that he is hugely influenced by Japanese graphic design style. After the Second World War, graphic design started to boom in Japan; it started with copying the styles from Bauhaus and American commercial designs, and then created its own identity by pursuing both traditional and moderns styles. More applies this concept into his work, filling it with elements of traditional Chinese culture without having them look old. However, More does not add Chinese elements into his work painstakingly; instead, he uses what he considers to be the most suitable. “I think whatever you design, the most important part of your work is to find the most suitable solution and help your client or yourself to reach the goal. Our profession is one that solves problems; therefore, making works that look good is the minimum requirement, what’s important is what problem you can solve through your design.”

teachers don’t really look into it or just let it happen. If people don’t realize it is a shameful thing to do, then it is truly a shame. The second is cliquey. It is okay to have a friend circle, but I don’t like that there are people who forms cliques and flatter each other and give each other awards. It is almost like they are fooling themselves.” More thinks that only time can solve these problems and as for himself as a designer, the most important thing is to solve the problems he can solve and finish the work by his own standard. Now More is working an ideal professional job, participating in an online art magazine, as for the expectation for the future, he says, “I want to leave Shanghai if I could go somewhere else. It is easier to find new ideas once you change a place. But more specifically, I hope I can still be like now, having a good job and doing what I like when I have free time.”

Even though he has been working for foreign companies, More is a part of Chinese design nevertheless. When asked what are some problems with design in China, he says, “The first is plagiarism. Most of the winners in school competitions are all works of plagiarism and

殷雯飞：设计在中国像是件很累人的事 Fei Yin: Design in China is like a exhausting thing

殷雯飞，上海平面设计师，从业十余年，经营设计工作室White is My Color，擅长艺术指导、品牌以及出版物设计。 Fei Yin is a graphic designer based in Shanghai. She has been working in the industry for more than ten years. She is the founder and owner of design studio White Is My Color, specializing in art direction, brand identity and publication design.

殷雯飞像是一个躲在作品背后的设计师。浏览她的工作室White Is My Color的网站，你能看到的只是她的作品，找不到任何关于她个人的信息。然而，这个“躲”在她身上绝不是贬义词。她是一个用作品说话的设计师。她的作品多次被收录进各种设计书刊，她和Wagas、JW万豪等知名品牌合作，却依旧十年如一日一个人料理着工作室的里里外外。她的作品简约、清新、优雅，有很浓厚的西洋风格。但西化的作品风格并不代表她对自己中国人身份的不认同，若细细听她的个人经历，便会觉得她选择的方向是真正适合她的。她的言语中透露出一个成熟设计师的果敢与沉着。她把设计看成是修行，享受着这个艰苦而又有收获的过程，一个格子一个格子地用她的美学眼光帮助客户实现视觉上的突破。

Fei Yin seems like a designer hiding behind her works. Browsing the website of her studio, Whiteismycolor, all you can see is her work—you can’t even find a trace of her personal information. However, this “hide” does not mean that Yin is afraid of attention; it indicates that she is a designer who proves herself solely through her work. Her works have been featured in press multiple times,as she has worked with big companies like Wagas, JW Marriott. However, she is still running her own studio as she has been for ten years. Her work is clean and elegant, and demonstrates a strong Western style. However, the Western characteristics of her work does not mean she tries to hide her Chinese identity. By assessing her experience it becomes clear that her art direction is the one the most suitable for her. She presents herself as an experienced designer who knows what she wants through her insightful words. She deems design as self-cultivation; she enjoys this hardship journey with passion of creating visual solutions for her clients according to her own aesthetics.

Wagas品牌形象，平面设计 Wagas prints redesign, Print design

帕夏土耳其餐厅形象，平面设计 Pasha Turkish Restaurant, Identity design

Q A 你是怎么决定成为一个平面设计师的？你最享受你工作的哪一部分？ Why did you decided to be a graphic designer? What do you enjoy the most about being a designer?

我从小对视觉的东西就很敏感，而且有很多活跃的想法，但是我的美术功底没有强到可以做艺术家。那个时候选择也有限，所以就学平面设计了。我念书时平面设计叫装帧设计，其实念完书，完全做不来设计。那时苹果电脑刚开始在中国设计行业内使用，还不是个人化的电脑产品。因为做这个行业，比一般人先了解和使用了苹果产品，也比别人先体验了技术带来的新世界。作为一个初级设计师，那时候的工作又让我有机会用电脑做很多效果，我就很享受这种新的工具带来的自由。但几年后就开始非常厌倦了，而且非常迷茫。因为我察觉到这不是我喜欢的平面设计。这之后，我开始学习瑞士平面设计，这让我彻底改变了对平面设计的认识和看世界的方式，所以你现在问我最享受什么，我会说最享受的是可以看到问题出在哪里，并知道怎么解决。

I had a strong intuition for visual objects since I was a child and I was constantly inspired to create visuals in my head. Later on my training wasn’t good enough for me to pursue anything fine art related, and graphic design was the only choice left.15 years ago, graphic design in China’s education was deemed “deco design,” I couldn’t design anything after graduation to be honest. Instead, I was fascinated by design technology during the time when Apple computer just launched in the design industry in China. It was a privilege for graphic designers using this new generation computer to make visual graphics when Apple wasn’t ubiquitous as a more personal digital product. I had been working on “graphics” rather than “graphic design” for many years until I got really tired and lost. I realized that’s not what I wanted to do for life, and by chance I encountered Swiss Graphic Design, this has changed my perspective on this job since then. So if you ask me what I enjoy most, I would tell you that it is when I know where the problem is with a visual communication design and am able to apply a solution.

Q A 你的工作室White is My Color背后有一个怎么样的故事？你是怎么决定自己组建一个工作室而不是给大公司工作，又为什么用这样一个名字？ What’s the story behind White is My Color? How did you decide to start a small studio instead of working for big agencies and why did you choose this name?

你的工作室White is My Color背后有一个怎么样的故事？你是怎么决定自己组建一个工作室而不是给大公司工作，又为什么用这样一个名字？ A: Whiteismycolour 是个很个人主义的名字，也是个性识别的一种。我的平面设计工作经常在解决个性识别这个问题，换句话说，什么是特别你的，什么是特别他的。这也是品牌工作最核心的问题，让人怎么一下就明白你，认出你。所以名字折射出我工作的强项在哪里。我其实是愿意为大公司工作的，我觉得那没什么不好。但可能我出道的时候，只看到广告公司，没有专业的品牌设计公司。所以就自己创业了。现在有很多不错的国际公司做品牌设计，我觉得他们做的很多策略是小公司无法想像的，有很多学问。这也是每个人机遇的选择。

White is My Colour evokes individualism and how to identify things. This associates to what I do, I create visual identities for my clients and for a purpose of work, and my strength is to use graphic design for visual branding and communication. I think I would like to work for a big international company. Working for my self was destined at that time when I couldn’t find any brand agencies in Shanghai to work for and also I didn’t think I was suitable for advertising agencies. I think everyone would gain valuable experience by working in a big company if you are able to see things in a positive light and also know how you really want to grow.

Q A 为什么选择英语定位你的工作室？是否在刻意模糊你个人的身份？ Why do you choose to use English to brand your studio? Are you avoiding showing your own personal identity on purpose?

上海菁英航运经纪品牌形象，平面设计 Seamaster Chartering Limited Shanghai, Identity design

这是很自然的，我做的是 “international style ” (始于50年代的瑞士)，是个西洋的东西，它的学派，内容，精神都不是中国的。所以我不会起个中文名字来强调我个人的国籍背景，这和我本身哪里来的没有关系，和我做的设计有很大联系。我是个中国人，从来没想过要模糊我的身份。这个问题提得好，提得敏感，似乎人们很容易从民族主义角度去看这个问题。好像你一用西洋文，你就否定自己的血统似的，这太疯狂了。那大家别吃麦当劳，别喝星巴克，别开小车了，Automobile还不是中国人发明的呢。 This happens quite naturally, my graphic design work is rooted in the“international style” (originated from the Swiss in 1950s), the theory and spirit is not Chinese. Thus, I wouldn’t think about using a Chinese name to emphasize my nationality, but only if it was more relevant to my work’s identity. I have never intended to hide my personal identity or deny in any level that I am Chinese. This is a good and controversial question in China at the moment, people are very easily manipulated by the sense of “nationalism” or “patriotism,” as if you totally deny your Chinese identity by using or playing with “English Content,” that’s totally crazy. Everyone is eating McDonalds, drinking Starbucks, driving their cars; by the way, the automobile was not invented by the Chinese, so how are you going to defend that?

Q A 经营一个小的设计工作室最大的困难是什么？

最大的困难是经营和创意都是我每天同时要费心和用力的事。

What is the hardest part about running a small design studio?

The toughest part is running business on a daily basis and doing creative design at the same time.

JENJENLAMLAM品牌形象，平面设计 JENJENLAMLAM, Identity design

Q A 你是抱着一种怎么样的态度来对待你的设计和工作？你想通过你的设计来表达什么或者让你的观众感受到什么？ What attitude do you have towards your design and work? What do you express or let your audience feel through your work?

设计工作对我来说是一种修行。很难说世界上有哪种职业你做一辈子也不会情绪疲劳的，所以在这个过程中能保持享受的过程是一种修行。我偶然看到一段丹麦服装设计师Henrik Vibskov的采访，被问及哪件事是他事业定义性的瞬间，他的回答使我非常感动，原文翻译过来是这样的： “当我准备去开演唱会（Henrik本人也是个音乐人) 的那天，一位重病的朋友对我说：‘确保你享受这个过程。’ 每天都有千万件事在我脑中，但这句化让我沉静下来。”这种修行不是你在事业初期有兴趣和有能力做设计就可以继续做一辈子的。很多设计师做一辈子设计，到老了，还是把尺拿出来量数据、画格子，还是从最基本的开始弄，一直到完成，带着享受，这是修行。我的设计表达了我解决视觉问题的美学方式。 Being a designer is a practice for me. I doubt if anyone would not feel emotionally fatigued periodically with the same job for a lifetime, but to endure this boredom in its repetitiveness and enjoy the journey is a high practice. Once I was very touched by reading an interview of the Danish fashion designer Henrik Viboskov. He had been asked what’s been the defining moment of his career: ‘A friend who was very ill when I was going off to play a concert (he is musician as well) said to me, “Make sure you enjoy it!” I had a thousand things on my mind, but those words made me stop’ Your passion, interest and ability might not support you carrying on this job for a lifetime, but the attitude will. And this attitude will lead you to fulfillment. My design work expresses my thinking on solving visual communication tasks.

何艳展示会，平面设计 He Yan Exhibtion, Print design

Q A 近些年国内的设计虽然发展速度很快，但似乎仍然存在很多问题，你觉得什么素质是现在国内的设计和中国设计师最欠缺的？ Even though design in China is developing fast these years, there must still be a lot of problems. What quality do you think a lot of designs in China and Chinese designers are lacking?

中国的设计发展和经济发展是一样的，飞速，廉价，跑制，量产，这样的模式和状态下，设计产业也难以避免落入如此境地的结果。国内的设计整体而言是落后且缺乏专业性的，因为平面设计教育的关系，也因为主流的平面设计以艺术表现而非解决视觉问题为主导，所以很难让这个行业有效地满足现代的经济发展需要，也很难有国际地位。解决视觉问题的平面设计是一项专业性很强的工作，每个大洲都有不同的风格，但共同的是他们能让视觉设计有效地服务于理性的或感性的目的，能够真正用设计美学去沟通，能够让设计帮助经济发展、促进文明进程。无论在历史上还是当今世界，被广泛认可的平面设计师都是解决视觉问题的杰出人才。不敢讲中国设计师的设计水准如何，因为非常参差不齐。在中国你能看到让你情绪上难以忍受的设计，也能看到让你佩服不已的杰作。不仅是中国，世界上其他国家也是这样。谦逊地讲，我觉得中国的设计师，应该把自己视作有社会责任的知识分子，而不要把自己看成是风华绝代的视觉艺术家。因为我们做的每个设计都是在影响别人，在给人做参考、做榜样，甚至做贡献。 The Chinese design industry is inevitably like Chinese GDP growth: rapid and based on cheap labor and mass duplication. In general, the Chinese design industry lacks professional guidance and has an enlightened market. Due to poor design education and also that the dominant graphic designers in China are in the liberal arts – figurative arts, advertising, trends and fashion, the awareness of graphic design rooted in history and semiotics and problem solving doesn’t practically exist here. Hence graphic design has a hard time effectively serving the design economy, nor is it able to earn international recognition. I am not qualified to comment on Chinese designers’ work. The scenario is diverse and dramatic. However, allow my humble opinion, I think Chinese designers should regard themselves as intellectuals who are responsible to society and culture rather than being flamboyant visual artists. Because in every design we make, we influence, we become references, even higher, we contribute to civilization.

Q A 你如何平衡客户的要求与你自己的审美要求？这个平衡是否很难找？在国内你是否有过难以让别人认同你设计的创作概念与方向的经历？ How do you balance between clients’ requirements and expectations and your own personal aesthetic? Is this balance hard to find? Have you ever found it hard to let people accept and appreciate your art direction in China?

客户分三种：爱你的，折磨你的，成就你的。爱你的那种客户，基本对你没要求。折磨你的客户，你抗争也好，妥协也好，结果都是一样的，悲剧。成就你的客户，碰到了，是你的福气。他们和你一样有眼界，他们的要求把你引向一个新的高度。当然你要有这个能力和毅力。 There are three types of clients: The ones who adore you, the ones who torture you, and the ones who shape you. The ones who adore you demand very little. The ones who torture you, it always ends up being tragedy no matter if you compromise or not. If you meet the ones who shape you, it’s your fortune. They’re as enlightened as you are, and their demands take you further, as long as you’re as persistent and pertinacious as they are.

Q A 设计在上海的现状是否能代表这一领域在中国的整体状态？对于一个设计师而言，什么是上海最特别的一点？ Does Shanghai’s design scene represent China? What is the most special thing about the design scene in Shanghai?

这个很难讲。上海最特别的是西化得比较自然，可能是历史根基的原因，有这个土壤。 It’s hard to say so. I think Shanghai is Westernized in a way that doesn’t feel inappropriate.

计 50

在设计在中国像是饭店，哪儿都有，没几个好吃的。设计在中国像是可乐。设计在中国像是服务。设计在中国像是商品。设计在中国像是单纯为盈利而做出的努力。

Design in China is like punching yourself in the face. Design in China is like luxuries. Design in China is like a service. Design in China is like Coca-Cola. Design in China is like commodity.

设计在中国就像是对你自己挥舞一拳。

设计在中国像是一粒种子，它是能成长成什么样，取决于中国的大环境给它什么，让它变成什么，会不会有“领导” 拔苗助长、按照领导个人思维方式去生长。

Design in China is like restaurants, you can find it everywhere, but only a few actually taste good.

Design in China is Like... 设计在中国像是被批斗的老师。

Design in China is like playing poker blindfolded.

Design in China is like a seed; what it grows into depends on what kind of environment China gives to it. 设计在中国像是一个生态的死循环。

设计在中国像是刷牙，有些人看来是可有可无的，但是能给生活带来不一样的惊喜，当你刷完牙，微笑的时候露出白白净净的牙齿，那才是真正的喜悦，但是有的人为了刷牙而刷牙，所以觉得没有意思，设计不仅是一个职业也是一个时代的象征。

设计在中国像是做实验，一步一步地往前推进。设计在中国像是被蒙着眼睛滑雪，你知道你正在朝着哪儿走，但是却可能随时发生意外。

Design in China is like a constant contradiction. 设计在中国像是一个永久的矛盾体。

John Korkidis 设计在中国像是问对问题却找不到正确解答。 Design in China is like asking the right questions, not finding the right answers. John Korkidis是一位来自美国的设计师及创意策划人。在他工作在中国的七年多里，他曾任跨领域创意公司 Jellymon的创意策划，以及艾未未工作室设计师。他参与的项目“餐见艾米”曾获 2013北京设计周最佳创意项目奖。 John Korkidis is a multidisciplinary designer and creative strategist from the United States. With more than seven years of experience in China, he has been the Creative Producer at the multidisciplinary creative agency Jellymon in Beijing, and in-house designer at Ai Weiwei Studio. The project “Meating Amy,” which he participated in, has received the Best Creative Project award in Beijing Design Week in 2013.

他把自己定义为“世界公民”和“设计的思考者”。他会说一口流利的中文、希腊语当然还有英语。他做平面做网页做用户界面时也注重创意的概念与内容。他来自纽约可是就连大苹果也无法装下他。 John Korbidis在创意界追求用创新的理念解决问题的方法来完成工作已经将近有十年了，而这其中的大多数时间都是在中国度过的。他曾经是艾未未工作室的驻扎设计师，他参与过在2013北京设计周上获得大奖的项目“餐见艾米”，该项目通过讲述一头名叫“艾米”的猪从出生到上桌的经历来呼吁人们关注食品安全性。虽然现在他已经离开中国到达了下一站，在旧金山的一家新兴科技公司任职，但是中国的七年对他影响深远，并且他对设计在中国也颇有感触。 He defines himself as global citizen and design thinker. He speaks fluent Chinese, Greek, and of course, English. He works with graphics, web, user interface, as well as creative concepts. He is from New York, but not even the Big Apple is big enough for him. John Korkidis has been creating for creative solutions worldwide for almost ten years and China is a special place for him. He has been the designer in residency at Ai Weiwei’s studio; he was a part of the 2013 Beijing International Design Week Awards winner project “Meating Amy,” which explored China’s most beloved meat product, pork, by telling the story of Amy the pig from her birth to the table. Even though now he has moved on to his next stop at the San Francisco bay working as Senior Marketing Manager and Creative Strategist at a startup technology company, his years in China have given him many great insights into design in China.

Q A 为什么选择中国？

我一直都不停地问自己这个问题。

Why China?

I ask myself that all the time.

Q A 中国的工作环境？

How is it like working in China?

中国总是被指工作环境非常不专业。虽然有时候确实是这样，但是更多情况下（外国人）并不努力融入当下的文化环境，也不寻找什么才是最佳的工作方式，这就让中国变得更加难以捉摸。设计在中国确实存在很多灰色区域，有很多没有明晰的规则和不成文的规定，这也许给很多人带来了困难。人们常常说到“关系”，对我来说，关系就代表信任。如果别人能信任你到带着你吃饭喝酒抽烟，并且不忌讳之后在你面前出丑，那么你就加入了他们信任的行列了。另外一方面，在中国的很多行业里都缺少出众的才华和有效的管理，所以如果你够聪明，并且人脉也很好，那么你就能在你的领域里成为出挑的一个。 China gets slammed a lot for having an amateurish work environment. While true in certain respects, more often people just lack the awareness of the local culture and the best practices, which makes China more difficult to navigate. There is a lot of gray area, there aren’t always clearly defined rules and that’s what most people probably struggle with. The word “guanxi” gets thrown around a lot. To me, all “guanxi” equates to is trust. If you can be entrusted with the indiscretions that ensue after eating, drinking and smoking, then you can be brought into the fold. In addition, great talent and strong leadership is lacking in many industries, if you’re smart and well connected you can be a major player in your scene.

餐见艾米，创意设计 Meating Amy, Creative project

Q A 会说中文有多重要？

会说中文是关键，必须要会。

How important is it to know Chinese?

Crucial, a must.

Q A 在中国工作时你是否改变了你一贯的工作方式和风格？如果有，你是如何改变的？ Have you changed the style of your work after starting working in China? If so, how?

4CORNERS品牌设计，平面设计 4CORNERS Redesign, Idenity design

Q A 62

中国人身上有什么是你以前没有想到的？

我没想到他们是如此虚心，并乐于接受新的想法。

What’s the most surprising thing you find about Chinese people?

How open minded they are to new ideas.

我慢慢地开始信奉摩菲定理了：“凡是可能会出错的事必会出错。” I have come to live by Murphy’s Law: “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong”.

Q A 你觉得有什么形象在中国已被用滥了？ Most cliché Chinese element to avoid?

穿着旗袍的白种女人算吗？

Does white woman in qipaos count as a valid answer to this question?

Q A 你个人倾向在作品中加入中国文化的元素吗？ Do you tend to incorporate Chinese cultural symbols or traditional elements in your works?

是的，比方说光在中国的书法中就能找到无穷的灵感。而作为一个在中国的设计师，你几乎没办法不去注意研究这其中的神韵的。 There is so much inspiration to be found in Chinese calligraphy, as a designer in China it’s almost impossible not to be influenced by the nuances and abstract visual representations of the characters.

Q A 你觉得国外创意工作者大批来到中国对中国的设计现状是否有帮助？

Do you think the advent of a great amount of foreign creatives to China is beneficial to the design scene in China and motivating the Chinese creatives?

很难说，又有帮助又没有帮助。近些年，中国设计师们渐渐开始收到更多国际认可，但是他们在国内却并没有得到太多关注。在很多情况下，人们就认为外国的设计师的作品质量肯定比中国的高，虽然事实并不是这样的，外国设计师却仍然获得比中国设计师更高的薪资。就像所有新兴的市场，或者应该说中国设计正经历着再发展，这里有很多借用和抄袭。在未来我希望看到更多中国设计师能真正认同自己的身份，为自己的文化根基感到骄傲，从本国文化中寻求灵感，毕竟中国有超过5000年的设计和创新历史。 Yes and No. Chinese creatives are just now starting to get international recognition, but they often are not the focus at home. In many situations foreign designers are considered to be of [a] higher quality and even though this is actually not the case, salaries tend to reinforce this stereotype. Like anything emerging, or should I say reemerging, there is a lot of borrowing going on. In the future I hope to see more Chinese designers truly embracing their roots and looking internally for inspiration. After all, China’s history of design and innovation is over 5,000 years old.

VisaTrak手机应用，用户界面设计 VisaTrak mobile app, User interface design

Q A 现在回头看，有没有什么让你觉得“要是在来中国之前早知道就好了”？ One thing you wish you knew about China or Chinese culture before you came?

我要是在来之前在学校学习了怎么写中国字就好了，中国字需要时间来沉淀理解，更是需要一辈子的努力才能掌握。 I wish I had studied written Chinese early on in school, characters take practice and time to comprehend and a lifetime to master.

Q A 你对那些想要来中国工作的设计师有什么忠告？

One thing about China and design in China a creative wishing to work here today must know?

中国教会了我：要是你想成功，你就必须要灵活机变，并且要有把逆境转为顺境的能力。 China has taught me that to be successful in life one must have the ability to be flexible and turn adversity into advantage.

Martin Barnes 设计在中国像是个在学着成长的孩子 Design in China is like a child learning to grow up

Martin Barnes，来自英国，设计师、动画师、插画师、创意总监。在华工作逾十年，创意如山文化咨询公司创立人，现任创意总监，专业幻灯片设计。 Martin Barnes, British designer, animator, illustrator and creative director. He has been living and working in China for over te years. Now is the starter and director of Mountains of Imagination - a presentation design studio in Beijing.

旋转北京，插画 Beijing Spin - Construction, Digital Illustration

“北京轮廓”一角，插画 “Beijing Skyline” study, Photograph collage

中国有各种吸引外国人的原因：更多的工作机会、独特的中国文化，以及美味的食物。与众不同的是，来自英国的设计师Martin Barnes却因为一封邮件而来到了中国。在伦敦工作得不自在、想要寻求改变的Barnes给当时在中国教书的一个朋友发了封邮件。“如果我的朋友在巴西教书，我就会在那儿；如果他当时在埃及，我现在就在埃及了。所以最初并不是中国吸引我，是我渐渐地被中国所吸引了。”Barns如此说道。刚来的时候，除了电视上塑造的老套形象，例如自行车和中山装，Barnes对中国一无所知。而现在Barnes已经在中国工作生活了十年。他说：“伦敦是一个很守旧的城市，没有什么大的发展空间。”因此，Barnes曾一度被中国城市的发展速度震惊。他说：“大吊车晚上还在工作，我曾经就拿着摄像机对着晚上在灰暗灯光下打桩的打桩机不停地拍，有时候还能结识一些坐在工地边吃面条的工人们。我心想，这简直和在电影《银翼杀手》里一样。”以城市为题材，Barnes 创作了一组名为“北京轮廓 (Beijing Skyline)” 的摄影作品，将从各个工地采集的在建建筑照片集合在一起。他不仅对大型工地着迷，对其他很多在中国老百姓眼里再普通不过的事物也很感兴趣，比如停在胡同里的自行车，、架在盘子上的筷子、小区里的健身器材等等。

如今，Barnes在中国结了婚，建立了朋友圈，也有了自己的生活工作习惯。他的兴趣不再局限于城市表面，而是指向了身边的人们。“我觉得再画路上停着一辆自行车已经没什么意思了。我想做一些不仅是外国人，中国人也能产生共鸣的东西。”因此，Barnes的绘画主题由自行车改为了骑着自行车的人，并且正在绘制关于中国人的手机习性的组图。他的目光仍然敏锐，只是不仅关注表层的事物，也开始关注由人构建的独特文化。除了完成个人感兴趣的工作，Barnes现在是一家新兴创意公司的创始人和总监。公司名叫“创意如山”，专注于报告幻灯设计。Barnes 承认在来中国之初自己并没有很好地平衡创意与生计，他说：“我当时的收入少得可怜。我那时候担心太过纠结于收入会阻碍我的艺术创作，但是现在我很关注生意上的事情。我曾经在专业上花大工夫，现在我感觉最大的问题已经不是创意，而是怎么把事情做成：合同在哪儿，协议在哪儿，分期付款的头款在哪儿。因为你要是不在意这些事情，就连你自己的饭碗都没了。所以如果你是自由职业者，还不如自己开个公司，这样可以得到很多好处。你能得到两年的签证，能开具自己的发票，完成付款，分发合同和协议:你能做这些在我看来一个职业的设计师应该做的

中国有各种吸引外国人的原因：更多的工作机会事。” 在大公司与小工作室之间徘徊过，在影视和艺术之间探索过，Barnes现在很享受为客户们带来精彩的幻灯片。 “如果你走进一个大公司，像梅赛德斯，你会看到人人都坐在电脑前看着屏幕上一个又一个图表和要点。（虽然这些很无聊）但是你又能说他们什么呢？如果你没有受过设计培训，又对讲故事没有兴趣，突然接到一堆需要你有条理地整理展现的内容，你怎么可能一下就做好？” Barnes想要用他专业的设计和从影视工作中积累的经验帮助那些在演讲台上发抖的人们找回自信。虽然现在幻灯片报告设计仍然是一个新兴的领域，不少人对此持有一种“这不过就是 Power Point，我也能做”的态度，但Barnes 觉得好的设计能给一个想法或一个故事添色不少。“视频是对一段编辑过的内容的最终展现，博客是在网上分享想法的平台，杂志是印刷出来的故事，而一组幻灯片是这些的集合体。当人们意识到这并不是那么简单的一回事时，他们就会开始注意好的设计和差的设计，以及它们带来的成功或不成功的体验间的差别。” 当被问到国人是否能接受Barnes提出的这些理念并足够信任他，请他来设计他们的讲稿

时，他说：“不管是中国人还是外国人，没有人可以一下子就能接受一个新的理念”Barnes很反对将中国人泛化，即忽视或否定不同中国人间的个体差异。他认为和中国人工作就像和外国人工作一样，重要的是找对人做对事。 “有人经常讲中国的老板如何不可理喻，但我相信人就是人，有好的也有坏的，到处都是这样。我觉得中西方人总是互相误解，让自己的偏见先入为主。”Barnes始终用一种尊重而开放的态度来面对和接纳新的文化。很多在中国的西方人不愿意花时间真正地了解中国人和中国文化，习惯于擅自对他们下定论，对此Barnes很看不惯。他说：“我曾经在一家影视公司工作。一天我们开会讨论一些营销概念，有个中国同事提出联通电视和手机的想法，让人们可以一边看电视，一边用手机互动。一个（外国）人就说这没法做，因为中国人只看电视，不玩手机。我心想：他怎么可以这样武断，怎么能对这种不尊重的态度毫无自觉？” “有人说在中国工作很难，工作它本来就是件困难的事。” 当然，Barnes也发现了中国的设计领域存在的很多问题，比方说行业内的不正规行为、对预算的随便篡改、对项目时间的无法把握等等。他说：“现在国内有点像美国当年的西大荒，像

个人人都可以称王称帝的边境地带。大家都边跑边喊着‘应用程序！’‘电影！’‘网络！’‘ 电脑游戏！’但与此同时，中国人从来没有接触过如此多的选择和可能性。”在互联网的大背景下，中国人才刚刚开始探寻展现并重新定义自己的方式。 “当我还在教书的时候，班上有一个很酷的男孩。有一个星期一，他走进班里时好像变了一个人，看起来像是个mod（英国上世纪六十年代的莫斯族）。我和他说：‘你看起来像Paul Weller，你是怎么做到的？’他说：‘网上看的。’他只是通过百度、谷歌边找边看，然后就做到了。我心想，这才只是开始。” 就像Barnes班上那个十八岁的男孩，设计在中国是一个正在成长中的孩子：开心、兴奋而又有些莽撞，期望着有一天可以学会享受生活，蜕变为老练有魄力的成年人。“朋克总会存在，逆反也总会存在；同样，鲁莽和寻求自我表现也会一直存在。就像摇滚不死一样，这些总会在你 18岁的时候伴随着你，不管你来自哪里。我觉得你应该享受你所拥有的，而中国才刚刚要开始享受它所拥有的。” 除了事业卓有成就，Barnes也在中国找到了实现他社会责任感的机会。机缘巧合之下，Barnes和Wired杂志创始人Ian Stewart、美国市场专家Stuart James组织了一次活动，把轮椅送给两个了一对肢体残障的姐妹。“看到曾经只能呆在家里无法行动的孩子们可以自由活动，感觉实在太奇妙了，就像我们给她们插上了翅膀一样。”因此他们决定要给更多孩子们插上翅膀，并创立了“Wheels Plus Wings”。从实际角度，这个非营利组织希望更多残疾的中国孩子们能坐上轮椅；从更深层次的角度，他们想通过自己的努力，减轻甚或消除人们对残疾的偏见。 “我曾经读过一本书，书里讲到：每个设计师都应该拿出至少10%的精力，去做一些意义超

时尚单车，插画 Pop Bike, Illustration 出自身工作的事情。”Barnes负责Wheels Plus Wings的宣传工作，希望引起更多人对残疾孩子的关注，也让孩子们明白“不要让别人告诉你可以做什么、不能做什么”。在华十几年，中国已经成了Barnes的家。他说：“所有呆在中国的外国人都有一种情结，喜欢呆在非传统环境中。”虽然比起西方国家，中国的环境仍然十分恶劣，但Barnes开玩笑说：“我总这样安慰自己：如果我能在这儿成功，那我到哪儿都能成功。” 他一定很期待亲眼目睹中国设计摆脱孩子的稚气青涩，变为成熟而充满魅力的成年人。

There’s always gonna be punk, there’s always gonna be room for anarchy, aggression and self expression. There’s always gonna be rock and roll and it’s always gonna be important when you are 18, wherever you are from. I think you should enjoy while you want. And China is about to enjoy itself. 71

e hear about foreigners who stay in China for all kinds of reasons: more job opportunities, interest in the culture, or simply because they enjoy the food. However, people rarely come to China because an email popped up in their inbox. Martin Barnes is the exception. Finding difficulty into the design scene in London and wanting a change, Barnes emailed his friend who was teaching in China at the time. “If my friend was teaching in Brazil, I’d be there; if he was in Egypt, I’d be there. It wasn’t about China, it became about China.”

“

After coming to China knowing nothing about the country but the stereotypes - like the bicycles and the Mao suits, to name some Barnes has now been living and working in China for over ten years. Barnes is from the U.K., and says, “London is an old schooled city, has very little room for development.” Therefore, when he first came to China, he was spellbound by how visible the growth of a city is. “You get cranes working at

Besides working on all of those personal projects, Barnes now is the founder and director of a young creative studio focusing on presentation design called “Mountains Of Imagination (MOI).” Barnes admits that he did not have a good balance between creativity and business when he first arrived in China. “I was paid ridiculously little. I feared that if I focused too much on the money at certain point, it would hinder me from artistic choices.” Barnes says, “But I’m really into the business aspect now, because I have been working on the creative side so much that it seems like creative kind of is not the biggest problem anymore. Now is the how to do it: where is the contract, where’s NDA, where’s the down payment? Because if you don’t take care of those things, you’d end up paying people before you pay yourself … So if you are freelancing you might as well start your company, because you get benefits like a 2-year visa, you can issue your Fa Piao, you can pay payments, you can issue NDAs and contracts. You can do all these things that I think professionals should be doing.”

To have this whole working in Chi na is difficult, fucking working is difficult. night. I always used to stop and film diggers digging at night with a green spotlight, some of the evenings the builders sitting around eating noodles and I was just like wow this is like Blade Runner.” He made a lot of work inspired by how he sees the city, like the “Beijing Skyline” project, which is a collage of photographs of buildings under construction from different angles. Just like the mass construction scenes, things that can’t be more normal to a Chinese person can be fascinating to Barnes: bikes parked in a Hutong, chopsticks on a plate, the exercise machines in the neighborhoods where people live, and so on. He captures all of these dayto-day city scenes and illustrates them into a project called “Pop Beijing.” However, after getting married, building his friend circle, and developing his own working and living routines in China, Barnes has shifted from being influenced by the city to

observing the people. “I don’t want to draw another street with a bike in it. I want to make something that people can resonate; it’s the people that make the city.” Therefore, Barnes went from drawing bikes to drawing people riding bikes. Now he is developing a series of illustrations of people’s behaviors with cell phones in China - solely people and their actions, no backgrounds. His hungry eyes went from looking at the views on the surface of the city to the unique culture that people build in China through their interactions.

After swaying in between big companies and small studios, between videos and illustrations, Barnes now enjoys bringing kickass presentations to his clients. “Walking through offices like Mercedes, you’d see everybody has their laptop out and everybody’s looking at PowerPoints shuffling charts, diagrams, text, and bullet points. It’s like what do you expect? If you have no design training and you have no interest in storytelling but you are given a sequential and a program where you have to use a sequence to tell somebody something and you are not good at doing that, no way you are not gonna do it well.”

With his expertise in videos and sequential storytelling, Barnes wants to bring solutions to the people who are suffering in front of the microphone. Although the presentation design profession is still relatively new in the industry, and there are many people with the “Oh, it’s PowerPoint, I can do that” mindset, Barnes thinks that good presentation design is crucial to a pitch and an idea. “A video is an output of a piece of content that is final, a blog post is an idea that is put online that’s for everybody, a magazine is a printed final piece of content, and a presentation is a bit of everything. It’s at a mid ground. Once people realize that, they would start to see the difference between good ones and bad ones, good experience and bad experience.” When asked whether or not the Chinese are taking this new concept well and accepting his presentation design direction, Barnes says, “Nobody is. There are Chinese get it in a second, there are westerners get it in a second, there are also westerners like ‘pew, I can do it myself.’” Barnes is against stereotyping and generalization. He thinks that working with Chinese is just like working with westerners: it is all about finding good people to do good projects. “There are people got horrible stories working with Chinese stereotype bosses. But I think people are people. You got good people and bad people everywhere. I think often people just misunderstand and they all put their own preconceptions on the situations.” To Barnes, what is important is to have a respectful attitude and an open mind to a new culture. There are westerners that come to China but not try to understand its people and culture, which annoys Barnes. “I used to work in a media company, they made TV shows. We were having a weekly meeting, talking about TV concepts. A Chinese colleague had an idea came up about TV shows and smart phones, how you could watch the TV show and react on your phone. And some of the guys said, ‘You can’t because people in China watch TV but don’t use smartphones.’ And I was like, ‘You can’t make generalizations like that.’ You can’t let generalizations like that go unchecked.” “To have this whole working in China is difficult, fucking working is difficult.” However, Barnes does acknowledge that design in China has a lot of problems: there are many people misbehaving with budgets,

福娃新貌，插画 A Re-Imagination of the Beijing Olympic Mascots, Illustration

changing timelines carelessly, and all in all just trying to bully. “It’s a bit like the Wild West. It’s a frontier territory there are no rules, everyone’s making shit up. Everybody is running going like ‘apps!’ ‘movies!’ ‘web!’ ‘computer games!”” Chinese people have never been exposed to so many possibilities, and are just about to start enjoying content and finding their ways to express themselves. “When I was teaching in China, I had a kid in my class and he was very cool. On a Monday morning he just walked in looking completely different, he looked like a mod. I was like ‘you look like Paul Weller, how?’ He was like ‘Internet.’ He had a record he’s seen something, he has gone on Baidu and Google search and figured out how to do it and he did it. I was like ‘this is the beginning.’” Just like the 18-year-old in Barnes’ class,

design in China is like a kid learning to grow up; it is fun, exciting, and aggressive at the moment, but one day it will learn to enjoy itself and grow into a sophisticated and trend-setting adult. “There’s always gonna be punk, there’s always gonna be room for anarchy and aggression and self expression, and there’s always gonna be rock and roll and it’s always gonna be important when you are 18, wherever you are from. I think you should enjoy what you want. And China is about to enjoy itself.” Other than achieving his professional goals, Barnes has also found his way to fulfill his social responsibility in China. A few years ago, by chance, Barnes met Wired magazine founder Ian Stewart and marketing specialist Stuart James. Together they operated a

campaign of giving two handicapped Chinese girls wheelchairs. “It was amazing to see before they were trapped in their rooms, now they can move around, it’s like they suddenly got wings.” After the success of the first event, they decided to do more and now they are operating an organization called “Wheels Plus Wings.” On a practical level, the organization helps handicapped children in China to get in wheelchairs; on a deeper level, it aims to change people’s perception about disability. “I once read a book and I remember it says that every designer should contribute 10% minimum of their creative energy to things that matter beyond. And Wheels Plus Wings is my way of doing it.” Barnes is in charge of all the visual parts related to the organizations

and, of course, designing presentations to promote the organization and the idea that “don’t let other people tell what you can and cannot do.” After ten years, China is like a home to Barnes now. He says, “All the foreigners end up in China have some kind of kink; they quite like to be in an unconventional environment.” The environment in China is quite hostile to a westerner, and Barnes jokes that “I’m often saying this just to convince myself, but if you made it here you can pretty much make it everywhere.” He is surely enjoying watching design in China grow from a young child into a mature and admirable adult.

Marie Feld:

设计在中国像是丛林 Design in China is like a jungle

Marie Feld, 85后，平面设计师，来自法国巴黎，在中国生活工作三年多。现任职于外资广告公司Schwann。 Marie Feld is a young graphic designer from Paris, France. She has been working in China for over three years. Currently, she is working at advertising agency Schwann as a graphic designer in Beijing.

FES城市海报设计，海报设计 FES City, Poster design

有中国的血统，因为她的母亲是中国人。“我小时候根本不喜欢到中国来，因为家庭的原因我们经常会回来探亲，我甚至都有些厌倦了。”而现在Feld却爱上了中国的刺激和总是在改变的环境。但是，适应一个陌生的环境对谁来说都不是一件容易的事，Feld承认也有一度曾经想要放弃，离开中国回到法国去。 “但是我就是不甘心，我很倔强，我觉得我一定可以挺过去。呆在中国确实很考验人，因为你必须坚定自己的信心。”Feld现在觉得很幸运，可以笑着谈这一段过往。在刚来的时候Feld很不满意自己的第一份工作，没有任何挑战性，只是让她裁剪点照片。于是她辞职开始从事自由职业，但是，她马上便遇到了一个大问题——她在中国的身份问题。自由职业在中国仍然是一个比较新的概念，她无法以自由职业者的身份留在中国。“我觉得严格来说这是不合法的，对于外国人来说，这不是一个被政府所承认的的工作身份。所幸我在中国有亲戚，能获得探亲签证，但是我仍必须每三个月离开中国境内一次。我曾向相关部门咨询过以自由职业者身份留在中国的可能性，他们却说他们不知道那是什么意思也不知道该怎样办手续。”因为Feld当时并不完全合法的自由职业者身份，她无法签署合同或任何将她和她的客户束缚住的文件，“所以基本上来说每人都把我害惨了。” “找到客户和活干并不是难事，但是很多次我都必须逼着要到我的薪资。”而Feld的主要合作对象都是外国人，他们应该知道合作流程，

“

但是我就是不甘心，我很倔强，我觉得我一定可以挺过去。呆在中国确实很考验人，因为你必须坚定自己的信心。

但是Feld没有想到他们却不按照规矩办事。“我那时候太轻易相信别人了。”作为无正规工作身份的外国自由职业者，Feld经常被迫妥协吃了很多亏，她说：“就算在项目开始之前签一个协议书，然后即使有情况发生你也没有办法，毕竟你的签证不允许你工作。” 现在，Feld很开心自己有了一份全职工作。“虽然现在不像以前那么自由了，但是却感觉踏实多了。我的工作环境很不错，工作也很有意思。和以前的工作相比，我感觉我终于在做点有意义的事了。毕竟我学了五年设计不是为了来在Photoshop里裁剪照片的。”Feld现在是一家业内小有名气的跨国广告公司设计团队的一员，她的同事主要是中国人。谈到什么是与中国人共

设计在中国就像是个丛林，丰富多彩，充满了惊喜，但是同时又挺混乱的。既杂乱又有意思，对我来说就是场冒险。

“

“我也不知道啊。”当我问到Marie Feld 设计在中国像是什么的时候，这个开朗的26岁法国设计师笑着犹豫了。就在她快要放弃回答的时候，她轻轻地说道：“像是个丛林。”接着她变得兴奋起来：“对！设计在中国就像是个丛林，丰富多彩，充满了惊喜，但是同时又挺混乱的。既杂乱又有意思，对我来说就是场冒险。” Feld来自法国巴黎，而她已经在中国这片丛林里探险三年了。她大多数朋友们毕业后都留在了巴黎，而她却孤身一人收拾行囊来到了中国。她有一种享受刺激、热爱探险的个性，而正是这种勇于冒险的精神使她在北京如鱼得水。“我的阿姨总是问我说：‘你怎么还在中国啊？’但是她完全不知道这里是什么样子，也不理解为什么我在这里感觉很舒服。”虽然和巴黎比起来，北京交通也不方便，城市也不整洁，但是对于Feld 来说，巴黎的大环境却远远没有北京的有意思。北京，或者是整个中国，虽然仍很混乱，但是却比法国更加包容。Feld说：“在巴黎，很难和外国人打上交道。法国人总和法国人抱成一团，没有谁会主动接纳外国人。但是在中国就容易多了，人们都很热情。” “虽然生活在中国和中国人工作有时候挺伤脑筋的，但是他们也很有意思，很风趣也很开明善于接纳。而且这几年北京变化很大，总有新鲜事儿在发生，各种演出活动越来越多。北京变得越来越国际化，但是它还是非常中国。” 既国际化又中国，这就像是Feld自己的身世。虽然是一个土生土长的巴黎人，但是Feld也

与中国人共事最大困难时，Feld说是交流，而她指的并不是语言上的交流。 “有时候我们会无法理解彼此，就算说的话彼此都能听懂，有时候还是会无法理解彼此想表达的想法。由于教育和文化背景的不同，我们思考问题的方式也不同，所以有时候达成共识并不是件容易的事。”意识上的理解需要靠互相适应达到，Feld还觉得设计在中国的标准有待提高。“我觉得很多中国设计师有专业技巧，他们知道怎样操作软件，却缺少想象力。让他们想创意并不是件容易的事，当然我并不是说所有的中国设计师。从我的体验上来看，我觉得他们很善于执行命令，完成任务的能力很强，但是如果问他们‘我们在这儿卡住了，要怎么解决这个问题’，他们一般很难拿出想法。” 尽管如此，Feld仍然很享受和中国设计师们共事，“我可以不断练习中文。”Feld笑着说道。Feld有很强烈的愿望一定要把中文学好，事实上她到中国来的第一件事就是上一个学期的中文课。“如果我能把中文说得很溜，我也许就能认识更多中国朋友了。”Feld承认虽然生活工作在北京，但仍然很难跳出外国人的圈子，她觉得西方人和中国人的生活方式很不一样。“而且就算我在外面认识了中国人，我们交换了号码，以后也很难继续保持联系。”Feld希望随着她中文水平的不断提升，她对中国文化的理解加深，她可以将她的朋友圈扩大，在中国扎根。这个富有探险精神的法国女孩计划着在中国多留几年，至于那之后的事情Feld自己也没有想太多。也许她会在北京安家，也许她会到另外一个地方开始一段新的旅程，就像她在来中国之前并没有太过准备一样，“要是有人把一个地方完完全全都告诉你了，那还有什么意思呢？”

like Feld’s background. Even though she identified herself as French, Feld has Chinese ancestry on her mother’s side. “When I was a child, I hated coming to China. We always had to come to China to see my mother’s side of the family; I almost got tired of it.” Now Feld has learned to appreciate the exciting and always-changing environment in China. However, living in a foreign environment is never easy and Feld admits that there was a period of time when she almost gave up and went back to France. “I’m a fighter, I feel that I have to pull through, I refused to give in at the hardest time. It does take a strong personality to stay in China.”

“I don’t know…”

“

Design in China is like a jungle. It is so colorful, full of surprises; but at the same time, it is not organized.

When I asked Marie Feld what design is like in China, the outgoing 26-year-old French designer hesitated and laughed. When she was almost at the point of giving up she murmured, “a jungle.” Then she got excited. “Yes! Design in China is like a jungle. It is so colorful, full of surprises; but at the same time, it is not organized. It’s pretty messy but interesting. And for me, it’s an adventure.” Feld, a Paris born-and-raised girl, has been adventuring in China for three years. Unlike many of her friends who stayed in their hometown, Feld packed her bags and moved to China right after graduating from college. You can almost see her adventurous characteristic on her face. It is her love of exploring that keeps her in Beijing.

convenient, easier to navigate, and more organized. But to Feld, Paris does not have the interesting environment that abounds in Beijing. Although Beijing, and China in general, can be chaotic, she finds it is a lot more accepting and welcoming than France.

Unsatisfied at her first job, where she was only asked to crop photos and denied creative authority, Feld jumped out and became a freelancer. However, she immediately faced a problem – freelance is a

“

relatively new concept in China and her legal status cannot be sustained as a freelancer. “I think it is not actually really legal. For foreigners, it is not a working status. Fortunately, because I have my mom’s side of the family here I can have some kind of family visa, but I still had to leave the country every three months. I asked [if] there was the possibility that I can legally be a freelancer, but the government office just said that they didn’t know what it is and they didn’t know how to do it.” Since freelancing is not a legal status, Feld did not have a contract that linked her to her clients. “Finding people was not that hard, but a lot of times I had to fight to get paid. Basically I got fucked over by everyone.” What surprises Feld is that the most of people she worked for as freelancer were foreigners, yet they still disobeyed the rules.

I made a mistake trusting people too easily…Even if you had an agreement but something bad happens, what can you do? You are not supposed to work.

“In Paris, it is hard to get in touch with foreigners. French people always stick with French people and nobody really goes out of their way to welcome foreigners. But in China, it is much easier. People are welcoming and I feel accepted here.” While not completely free of challenges, Feld finds Beijing to be a dynamic and everchanging environment.

“My aunt has always been asking, ‘why are you still here?’ But she doesn’t understand what it is like here and how comfortable I feel here.”

“Even though staying in China and working with Chinese people can be exhausting at times, they are also interesting, funny and open minded. Also, Beijing is changing a lot; there’s always something new opening, there are more and more events happening. It is very international, but at the same time it is also very Chinese.”

Compared to Beijing, Paris may be more

International, but also Chinese; it is just

. As a freelancer technically working illegally in China, Feld found her rights were always compromised. “I made a mistake trusting people too easily… Even if you had an agreement but something bad happens, what can you do? You are not supposed to work.” Now, Feld is happy to get a full time job at one of the top advertising agencies, Shawann, in Beijing. “Even though I have less freedom in terms of my working schedule, I get so much more stability. The environment is good and the work is interesting. I feel I’m finally doing something, unlike a lot of my previous experiences. I studied design for five years not to just crop photos in Photoshop.” Feld is now a member of a design team with several Chinese designers, and she finds the hardest part of her day-to-day work experience is communicating with her coworkers. But that miscommunication is not caused by language. “It’s hard to understand each other, even though sometimes we understand each others’ languages, we don’t quite understand each others’ ideas. The way we think are very different, so sometimes it is hard to get them on the same page.” While different perspectives need time to merge, Feld thinks that the standard of design in China needs to grow as well.

“I feel a lot designers in China know how to use the software, but they don’t really have much imagination. If you ask them to find some ideas, it is not easy for them. Of course I don’t mean all of them. But in general from my experience, I feel they are good at taking instructions, but if I say ‘ok we are stuck here, what we going to do?’ it’s going to be a struggle finding ideas.” However, Feld enjoys being in a design team with a majority of Chinese members. Feld has a very strong interest in learning Chinese and she admits that it is hard jumping out of her foreigners’ circle. “Even if I meet some people when I go out, we exchange numbers, then nothing happens; it never goes further than that.” Feld hopes that as she makes progress with Chinese and gains more understanding of the culture, she will expand her friend circle and become more deeply rooted in China. The adventurous French girl is settled in Beijing and planning to stay in China at least for a few years. But what happens afterwards? Who knows? Maybe she will live in Beijing forever; maybe she will start a new adventure in another place. Just as before she came to China, she does not have too many expectations about the future. “If someone tells you everything about a place, what is the fun of it?”

MaGellan Museum展览海报，海报设计 MaGellan Museum exhbition posters, Poster design

+86 In addition to the interviews, we have sent out a survey to a group of creatives with working experience in China, both forien and Chinese. Fortunately enough, we have received some great insgiths. They are presented in the following pages. The results are by no means the representation of the views of all of working foreign creatives in China. However, they are valuable nontheless.

Again, we want to thank everyone who has taken his or her time finishing the survey.

No.1 reason they choose China

Dislikes about working in China

BIGGEST DIFFERENCE THEY FOUND

How competitive - Foreign agencies in china

20% 40%

40%

Clients | 客户 Experience | 经验

BEST thing about working in China

Less Feeling of a Design Community 缺少设计氛围 Living Environment 生活环境

Pay Rate | 收入 Opprtunities | 机遇

MOre trust from chinese clients?

44%

Culture | 文化

56%

How important is it to know chinese

30%

Think it’s crucial, a must

40% - Competitive at times 有时候竞争激烈 40% - Not so competitive 竞争不是很激烈 20% - Competitive 竞争激烈

Design in china is lack of...

Answers from foreign designers:

The public’s design appreciation 公众对创意设计的接受度

33% NO

Think it’s not important at all

100% - YES

Answers from Chinese designers:

13% 40%

25%

38% 25%

Creative Environment

创意氛围

Originality

Clients overlook design only focus on sales 客户过分注重营销而非设计本身

67% YES

Answers from foreign designers:

50%

Biggest hinder to achieve good design in china

Answers from Chinese designers:

How competitive is China’s design industry

30%的人认为必须要会说中文； 0%的人认为中文根本不需要。

Is the advent of a great amount of foreign creatives benificial to the chinese design scene and designers

50% - Competitive at times 有时候竞争激烈 40% - Not so competitive 竞争不是很激烈 10% - Competitive 竞争激烈

38% - Competitive 竞争激烈 25% - Not so competitive 竞争不是很激烈 25% - Competitive at times有时候竞争激烈 13% - Highly Competitive竞争非常激烈

独创性

55% - No 否 44% - Yes 是 Details

细节 86

Any linguistic and/or cultural barriers inevitably lead to a certain tinge of distrust, even if itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s subconscious.

Quotes

More client management... less emphasis on a 100% amazing final product and more emphasis on a harmonious and friendly creative process.

On clients, work, Chinese people and advice

Foreign design is still very insular in China. Also foreign businesses here would generally rather choose a foreign designer over a local designer.

If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re good you at what you do you can climb the proverbial ladder faster in China. In terms of design, less sophistication and more copy to work in. Less room to push the boarder and more client control.

They just want outcomes fast, zero attention to process. The results are all around us.

Clients here want less time spent on concept development.

Face (Mian Zi) is the biggest obstacle to the development of China.

Design is not a common language in china yet.

It’s almost a cliche but relationships mean everything I wish I knew how much time it really takes to build relationships. Beijing, Shanghai situation is not China. You need to get out there, leave the laowei cercles and mingle with the Chinese creatives - and not stay glued to your computer. Learn the language, you need to love China in order to do good work.

Always be patient.

I wish I knew how to read between the lines to understand what’s actually being said, since it’s often the case that the words themselves are purely window dressing.

It’s a difficulty but I don’t dislike it. It’s a good experience and challenge!

Chinese design is slowly getting better but there are still some horrible design (advertising or web design for instance). I think foreigners could help Chinese open their mind to other influences and ideas and also help them pay attention to small details ( I feel like they tend to not do so)

Any linguistic and/or cultural barriers inevitably lead to a certain tinge of distrust, even if it’s subconscious.

Lower your expectations. Having an amazing project manager/account manager that share your view is everything.

后记 | Afterwords

这本书只是从Henry一个想法开始，没有想到最后的成品做到了这样。这个项目的结果绝对没有完美，也不可能完全回答开始想要回答的问题。可设计在中国到底像是什么呢？我想这个问题并没有完全的解答，就像人们一直在争论什么才是好的设计一样。这本书只是一次笨拙的尝试，试着了解设计在中国这个特殊的大背景下是什么样子的。我希望所有看过这本书的人对设计在中国的现状都能有一个新的了解。我一直相信，不理解什么是设计的设计师是不可能成为好设计师的。所以，这本书也是我个人作为一个学生，加深对设计理解的机会。我想感谢奥璞工作室和Henry给我这个机会和这一不平凡的一个月。谢谢Danny Lu，帮我那么多，没有你这本书也不会做起来。Rita，Kanyo，Joe，最好的复查人。在奥璞的所有朋友，当然还有接受我采访的设计师，以及完成调查问卷的国内外创意工作者。 This project startd as a simple thought from Henry when I was looking for internship this summer. We have not imagined this to turn into something like this. This is by no means a perfect project nor has it answered the question it tries to answer. What is design like in China? There’s no final answer to this question. Just like how people have been arguing about what is good design for ages. This book is simply an attempt to try to understand how design is working in the special context of China. I hope whoever browses through this book can get a new look, even just a little bit, on the design scene in China. I beleive that a designer who does not understand what design is cannot be a good designer. Therefore, it is also a selfish project for a student like me. Recieving a western education but coming from China, this is an attempt for myself to gain understanding for my own country. I want to thank Studio Output and Henry Proudlove for giving me this opportunity and a great journey along the way. Danny Lu, without whom this book would probably not even be happening. Rita, Kanyo, Joe for being great proofreaders bearing with my bad grammar. And everyone at Studio Output, my family, and everyone who has supported this in this short period of time. And of course, all the interviewers for taking their time to talk to me and all the designers who participated the survey.

Interviews/Articles/Book Design: Weiyi (Dawn) Cai (@dawncai624 | weiyi.dawn.cai@gmail.com) Special Thanks to: Henry Proudlove

® 奥璞工作室 96