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Interview with LDPi (China Branch) |
Home > Designer Interviews > LDPi (China Branch) |
Editor Frank Scott (FS) from DesignPRWire has interviewed designer LDPi (China Branch) (LB) for A’ Design Award and Competition. You can access the full profile of LDPi (China Branch) by clicking here.
FS: Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?
LB: Designers at LDPi have a design background, whether they are from an interior design or architectural background. I have mix of engineering and business administration background.
FS: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
LB: Lighting Design Partnership International (LDPi) is a specialist lighting design consultancy group and is one of the worlds foremost lighting architects and provides professional lighting design services at an international level.
FS: What is "design" for you?
LB: For me, "design" is the outcome of a creation process based on a conceptual idea.
FS: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
LB: In addition to the projects that are designed by LDPi, I like to join the Switch On International Lighting Festival that is held annually in Beijing. There I have an opportunity to design some installations combined with lighting. Usually the theme of my installation is based on topics related to education and family.
FS: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
LB: The design that helped me most since 2009 are the inner soles of "Realflex" sport shoes from Reebok and "Boost" sole of the sport shoes series from Adidas. Without them and regular medical treatment, I would not be able to walk for more than 15 minutes due to pain caused by plantar fasciitis.
FS: What was the first thing you designed for a company?
LB: The GTC Galleria Chengdu shopping center (Sichuan province, China).
FS: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
LB: I wish we could use more efficient lighting, whether from an energy efficiency or from a pollution point of view.
FS: When do you feel the most creative?
LB: When writing articles for the bi-monthly Chinese version of the Italian Luce e Design magazine.
FS: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
LB: The why and the story of the design.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
LB: When the design is starting, I feel proud to contribute to the growth of a country such as China by creating unique spaces where people can feel at ease through lighting.
FS: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
LB: I also feel satisfied when a project is successfully completed. But there are always lessons learned from a project for self-improvement for future projects.
FS: What makes a design successful?
LB: The cooperation between the members of a project team.
FS: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
LB: The visual aspect.
FS: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
LB: To design for the people and their loved ones and at the same time to keep in mind that resources are not limitless. At LDPi, every year since 2009, we also allocate about 2% of the annual profit to our BEST foundation program which support kids from the Liuba area (Shaanxi province of China) to attend a one month English summer camp at the Shanghai Xuhui Giraffe Training English Center. Why this school? Because we design the interior lighting for that school, but chose to use the design fee to support the kids.
FS: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
LB: Faster, cheaper, more efficient. From designing tools to hunt and paint on wall during prehistorical times to design a spacecraft that can land on a meteorite, design's boundary is one's imagination.
FS: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
LB: I participate in the Switch On International Lighting Festival since 2011 and will continue as long as this event is held annually.
FS: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
LB: In addition to the projects that are designed by LDPi where the inspirations comes from the team members, I like to join the Switch On International Lighting Festival that is held annually in Beijing. Usually the theme of my installation is based on topics related to education and family.
FS: How would you describe your design style? What made you explore more this style and what are the main characteristics of your style? What's your approach to design?
LB: Until now, all my installations are "small and beautiful". They are made of reused or recycled material and very quick to install.
FS: Where do you live? Do you feel the cultural heritage of your country affects your designs? What are the pros and cons during designing as a result of living in your country?
LB: I arrived in Beijing, China in August 2004. I felt I was adopted by a new family in such a rich cultural country where speed and tight budgets always influence design.
FS: How do you work with companies?
LB: We work under our clients and in cooperation with other designers.
FS: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
LB: Select a designer not only for the pricing, but also because of the ability to communicate and complete the design from A-to-Z.
FS: Can you talk a little about your design process?
LB: During LDPi's design process, the project team works along with the customer and in cooperation with other designers and consultants. We start from a schematic design (SD) with renderings of the project, intended lighting fixtures, scenes and budget. After the SD is confirmed, we move into the design development (DD) where the lighting layout, logical control of the lighting and the recommended fixtures are delivered to the client. After the DD is confirmed, we support the customer during its tender evaluation of the fixtures to ensure the quality of the products used before starting working on the site administration.
FS: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?
LB: Air purifiers (quite needed in Beijing), masks, Reebok and Adidas sport shoes, two Flos free standing lamps and Apple devices.
FS: Can you describe a day in your life?
LB: Wake up have a mix of western and Chinese breakfast with cereals with a mix of grains and beans porridge prepared automatically in 20 minutes by a Joyoung machine (one of the most successful porridge breakfast mixer in China with better product design since 2008). Leave for work with my 20-inch folding Giant bicycle, rain or shine to avoid the heavy traffic. Work on lighting design projects and when the timing is right, write articles for Luce e Design, work on the annual lighting installation for the Switch On International Lighting Festival, read industry and design related news (core77, interni, Domus, id+C, Architectural Review, LED Mag, Lux Magazine) Go back home by bicycle to avoid more traffic. Read news and play with my daughter.
FS: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
LB: Every big name started small. Believe in oneself and never give up.
FS: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
LB: Being too idealist and not enough practical.
FS: What is your "golden rule" in design?
LB: Say what you do and do what you say.
FS: What skills are most important for a designer?
LB: Being open, curious, able to communicate.
FS: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
LB: Office automation, 2D rendering, CAD, the internet to look for references, catalogs, product samples, lux meter, color temperature meter, color rendering index meter.
FS: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
LB: Delegation.
FS: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
LB: Lighting design projects for property development usually last 3 years in average.
FS: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
LB: Why do I look young?
FS: What was your most important job experience?
LB: My first project where I learn a lot with the client, the architect and our company's team.
FS: Who are some of your clients?
LB: Real estate developers, and occasionally government agencies or other designers.
FS: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
LB: Looking at the schematic design with the team in order to provide a few options to the client on how the project will look like at night.
FS: What are your future plans? What is next for you?
LB: Continue working with LDPi for our clients' five-star hotels, shopping center, office and residential projects; participating in the annual Switch On International Lighting Festival and the BEST foundation program to help kids attend a one-month English summer camp at the Shanghai Xuhui Giraffe English Training Center.
FS: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
LB: Our design team is composed of 12 people split into 3 teams to work on the lighting design of our clients' projects.
FS: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
LB: It is a great honor to work again with Steven Holl Architects on another mixed-use project, this time in Shenzhen. There are also a few interior lighting for Hyatt hotels in the works as well as shopping centers.
FS: How can people contact you?
LB: Via email or telephone.
FS: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
LB: Not at this moment.
FS: Thank you for providing us with this opportunity to interview you.
A’ Design Award and Competitions grants rights to press members and bloggers to use parts of this interview. This interview is provided as it is; DesignPRWire and A' Design Award and Competitions cannot be held responsible for the answers given by participating designers.
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