RC: Could you explain about your works? Why do you do it?
TK: I would say my style of works varies a lot but I like to keep my works clean and simple. To me, graphic design is about taking a message and using different words, symbols and images to create a visual representation of that idea. So that is what I try to do in my works, finding the appropriate colors, lines and shapes that would portray the message without being to literate about it. For example, for my logo design in the identity design, I chose those specific animals and typography in order to give off the sense of what “Animal Planet” is about. Why do I do the works I did? I think that just like a math problem, art can be looked at as solving a problem. Art is about solving a problem visually, translating information visually. I do it because I look at it as a challenge, again as solving a problem. I like to look at different forms and colors and see how they can fit together to form a new visual representation.
RC: When did you become interested in graphic design?
TK: I would say I became interested in graphic design when I was in high school when my art teacher told me about Paul Rand and she taught us about what he did. Ever since then, I started looking at more designers and became interested in using Adobe programs.
RC: In your work, it seems like you are interested in environmentalist. How do you approach your purpose into the design?
TK: As the world become more environmentally conscious, I think that design can be used as a tool to bring these kinds of issue to awareness. I would definitely be interested in doing some environmental design in the future.
RC: As a graphic designer, what is your priority of your work?
TK: I think you have to give yourself enough time for both creative thinking and execution. I think you have to give yourself enough time to thought through your concept before execution or else your idea wouldn't come out as clear as you want. But in the real world, there are always deadlines so I think that's what every designer has to struggle through.
RC: What software do you use mostly?
TK: Typically, I use Adobe Creative Suite programs such as Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop
RC: Do you feel comfortable with geometric shapes or typography?
TK: I think I am starting to be more and more comfortable with typography; nowadays, I feel that whenever I look at something, whether it be a signage, commercial and print material, sometimes I start to unconsciously dissect the typography...how it works with the image, how it works with the overall campaign....what kind of typeface is it?...is it something that i've never seen before.
RC: I learned photoshop and illustrator during summer. I always struggled with typography. Do you have any method or advice?
TK: Yes, I also agree that typography is hard. There are so many many many different typefaces and new ones are being made everyday that you get overwhelm when it comes to choosing the one that is most appropriate to the project. As for advice, I would say that there are always basic rules about typography such as widows and ligatures but I would say when in doubt keep it simple, remember that readability is the most important thing and if there is a lot of texts, you want to have some sort of hierarchy. Another important thing is to have consistency in typography.
RC: Who is your favorite artist and how he/she influence you?
TK: I don’t have one particular favorite artist but I think Paul Rand has influenced me a lot in that I learned a lot about design theories and design process. Best known for his corporate logo designs, Paul Rand treated design as selling a service or product. The design has to portray key messages and depict the business behind the design. I think that is also my approach when it comes to design, that I am not simply making an artistic expression but making an interesting solution. He was so successful in putting together unrelated ideas, words and pictures and creating new meaning and message. Another artist that I really like is Christoph Niemann who is also a designer and illustrator. I think he has a clever way of thinking about popular culture and just everyday life. He is very good at distilling complex concepts into images that are simple yet very powerful. The execution of his works are very crisp and very clean and I think that often times, that is what I strive to do as well. His works always carry an undeniable wit to them and I really like that kind of style. For my final design project last year, our assignment was to design a book on any kind of event. My concept came to be about something typical that happens in college which college kids getting drunk. However, I designed the book in a very elegant and classical way as if to glorify the event even though this particular event is rather trashy and meaningless.
RC: Have you ever taken any other art class rather than design class?
TK: Yes, I have taken two Print classes, one Photography class and I also took Web Authoring class where we learned about the basics of HTML, CSS and Flash.
RC: Find any interest in the class or the field? How did you connect that to your works?
TK: I really liked my Print classes where I learned about woodcuts, silkscreen, letterpress and also papermaking. I look at Print as design also but Print is just more hands-on where you actually apply colors onto your piece of work. But as for Print, you have to be more careful because it’s not something you can just fix easily whereas when you’re working on the computer, you can just erase something easily. I made several silkscreen posters and I see them as just like graphic design, using colors, forms, shapes to create an interesting design.
RC: Favorite blog or website?
TK: My favorite website would be “behance.net”, it’s a website where people can post their projects in all kinds of fields such as art direction, illustration, photography, fashion, typography, etc. I get a lot of inspiration from the website and look at the ideas that other people have.
Some of the other websites that I look at frequently would be adweek.com, which focuses on printing, technology, advertising and branding. I think this is a great website because it discusses the design that is happening around the world right now. For example, one of the recent articles talks about the new NFL commercial, the article talks about who was the agency that came up with the idea and how the commercial received by the public.
Another website that I look at would be ted.com which is a website that contains videos of talks by all kinds of people. The purpose of this website is to spread ideas so I like to go onto this website to learn about all kinds of different things that is going on around the world. The discussions on this website can on anything such as design, technology, art, entertainment, controversies, etc.
RC: Were you born in the states?
TK: I was born in Taiwan and moved to the States when I was 10 years old.
RC: Any influence from your culture?
TK: Even though Hokusai was Japanese (I am Taiwanese), I think his works are very inspiring. Hokusai was a printmaker and his prints have a poster quality to them. He incorporated unusual perspectives in his works. Even though he portrays real people and real landscape from Japan, his style can be considered to be illustrative.
RC: Do you like painting?
TK: I do enjoy painting but I must admit that I haven’t painted for quite some time. I do very much enjoy looking at paintings. One of my favorite painters is Diego Velazquez; I really like the extreme realistic qualities of his paintings. Piet Mondrian is also one of my favorite painters; I think his non-representational paintings, which are quite simplistic, speak a lot. The use of minimal colors and lines make a powerful message which I think can be related to design.
RC: Do you have any stereotype when you do your work? I have same question at my painting class on very first day of the class. My answer was I plan too much before I paint, or do my work, so I always do my work at last minute and mess up sometime due to the too much plan.
TK: I feel the same way too. Sometimes, you start to get lost when you're in your creative thinking mode and by the time you realize it, you don't have much execution time left. For me, sometimes I tend to just jump right into the project without giving much thought to it so the end product doesn't come out to what I originally intended to be. I find myself to work better under pressure because then I start to think straight, I know what I have to do to get it done, all my energy start to flow.
RC: What are your future ambitions as a designer?
TK: I think in a world where technology advances and revolutionizes every day, I want to learn how technology will work with design. I want to explore how design can be translated through different interface and make design more interactive through the use of technology. Of course, I do want to work in design agencies when I graduate and get real life experiences of working with clients and learning from other professional designers.
