We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Wei heng Hsu. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Wei heng below.
Hi Wei heng, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
Being a designer is already taking so much risks, I see designers as problem solver, but unlike the math problems which they may just have one absolute answer, there’s no such a right or wrong answers when doing design. It’s like jumping into an ocean of colors where ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ don’t really exist. Different designers have their own perspective, all these answers we provide all depends on how we perceive the problem.
I was studying accounting in college before I decided that I want to be a designer, it was a totally different field for me to explore at that time. Although I was having huge interest in art and design when I was super young, but I never systematically learned sketching or drawing. It’s not just about swapping textbooks for paintbrushes. In accounting, you play by the rules. But art, that’s like stepping out in a brand-new, outlandish outfit every day. It’s all about pushing boundaries, making mistakes, and learning from them. More importantly, making arts was an interest for me to spend time, but I never thought about actually treating design as a formal job and make a living with it. It’s scary. But it’s also thrilling. I’m not just creating designs; I’m also creating a piece of myself, something that says, ‘Hey, that’s me.’ So, its’s a big risk, leaving the safe zone for the wild world of creativity. But why not? Life’s too short to thing about whether the decision I made is right or wrong. But all I know is that I don’t want to think about ‘what if’ for the rest of my life, I want to paint my world, and share what’s blooming in my mind.
I was studying Environmental Design, which is also known as Spatial Experience Design. In the world of spatial design, it’s not just about setting up a room for various activities. it’s all about turning spaces into storytellers. Think of a room not just as a room, but as a stage where stories come to life. Whether it’s capturing the soul of a brand or echoing historical tales, each space is like a book waiting to be read. It’s not just about walls and floors; it’s about crafting an experience, where every nook and cranny has a story to whisper, a memory to share. This isn’t just design; it’s a way of making history and brand stories tangible, letting them unfold around people as they walk through. Looking through my designs, you can see a trend: I’m leaning more and more into using bold, dramatic spaces to spin a yarn. It’s like I’m on a path, figuring out my signature style and really getting to the heart of what fires me up. Each design is a step closer to that sweet spot where my passion for storytelling and love for dramatic spaces meet. And all this leads to another risk that I took along the creativity path—with my huge interest in concept design and film, I created short sci-fi film for my graduation project.
As a movie buff, I’m totally captivated by the cinematic world. The way the camera glides and captures every scene, the artful composition of each shot, and those immersive environments – it’s all magnetic to me. Every element in a film, from the lighting to the set design, holds its own magic. I get that each piece is crucial; a great film just isn’t complete if any of these parts are missing. They all come together to create something truly spellbinding. And I see the connection between making a movie and designing a space. To me, designing a space is a lot like directing a movie, almost like a stop-motion animation. By playing around with various layouts, materials, and design language, I can stir up emotions in those who walk through these spaces. It’s all about crafting a one-of-a-kind, immersive experience that really means something to the people who experience it. Therefore, I decided to use a short film format for my graduation project to narrate my understanding of certain spaces. In this project, I aimed to integrate my knowledge of space and my feelings towards it into the scenes.
To me, interior or architectural design shares similarities with scenic design, yet even so, this was a significant challenge for me. Different visual focuses, varying senses of spatial scale, and distinct design software – the differences are substantial, both technically and from a design perspective. For someone like me, who had never actually dabbled in entertainment design, the workload was unimaginable. But I wasn’t afraid, driven by a strong interest and a desire to showcase the scenes I envisioned in my mind. I hoped to tell an awe-inspiring story through my spaces and to move others with my creations, so I went ahead with it.
Actually, taking this step turned out to be the correct decision for me. It was an enriching journey where I gained a wealth of knowledge and encountered diverse viewpoints across multiple disciplines. The support from my professors and friends was overwhelming, and they were genuinely pleased with the design I presented. Although it was evident that my work wasn’t flawless and had its fair share of flaws, I managed to deliver the best outcome I could at that time, and to me, that was a significant achievement. Additionally, it brought me great joy that my work was short-listed at the Global Design Graduate Show 2023.
Many people hesitate to move forward without full assurance of success, but what I’ve learned in my studies is that while being completely sure would be ideal, it’s often hard in reality. Time and opportunities are limited. Sometimes, we have to force ourselves to step into that space because it’s in the practice that we learn the fastest. Designers always go through such experiences; we can’t be afraid of difficulties and must face them head-on. Despite the risks, if we’re brave and astute enough, we can always find a way forward. This applies not only to design but also to many aspects of life. Only by taking action can we see results. Just like my graduation project, I felt a great sense of achievement and satisfaction when I completed it, even though it wasn’t perfect. However, I successfully took my first step, explored various design software, and gained insights into different perspectives on space from other fields, which was invaluable to me. If I hadn’t taken that step, I would never have realized what I was missing. No one succeeds overnight; we find success through our mistakes, as they help us refine our direction. I never see risk as a bad thing, because we always learn from it. Everything works this way – mistakes mean gains, indicating that next time we’ll go further. So, for me, I’m not afraid to explore. It’s risky, but I don’t want regrets. I’ll move towards my goals to avoid confusion. Just go for it, leaving everything else behind, all I want to say is just do it.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I’m Wei Heng Hsu, a Spatial Experience Designer, a 3D artist. I see things from multiple perspectives, and I pay attention to the neglected detail in creating an engaging, and visual impactful spatial/3D experience in order to tell stories. I’m passionate about breaking the rules, being playful and creative is my key. I’m all about mixing up different design styles to make spaces that really draw people in. Studying in Art Center College of Design, I got to work with all kinds of designers. This gave me a front-row seat to see how impactful it can be when different design worlds collide. Through numerous collaborative projects, I’ve witnessed the opportunities that arise from the intersection of different areas. I’ve designed interactive and adaptable public spaces, created hybrid dining experiences that combine exhibition spaces, fine dining, and retail, developed exploratory virtual open worlds, and crafted retail stores that offer immersive brand experiences. My designs integrate branding, interaction, materials, and more, infusing spaces with emotion, warmth, and distinctiveness. I aim to use spaces of different types and meanings to spark conversations: using spaces to bridge the gap of time, allowing the past to speak to the future; using spaces to transmit a sense of warmth, creating connections between people and objects. Space is more than just its surface; it’s about conveying stories. As a designer, I use space as a medium to break all boundaries, forging connections between people, and between people and objects, thereby igniting emotions in everyone who experiences it.
And i want to share my personal website: weihenghsu.com
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
From my perspective, many people outside the design industry struggle to understand the challenges designers face. What might seem like simple outcomes to others are actually the result of extensive thought and judgment on our part. In design, we can’t incorporate everything; that would be too complicated and would detract from the focus of the design. When we’re working, we think deeply. We don’t want to create meaningless designs. Good design isn’t just about the surface; it has to fit into a story framework, reflect historical significance, or embody a brand’s essence. We have to consider a design from all angles, which often means filtering out many options. So, a design that appears effortless is actually the culmination of one or many designers’ time and careful consideration. And before we even get to the designing part, there’s a ton of research to do. We’ve got to get right under the skin of whatever it is we’re working on. Design involves getting your head around stuff that’s not even in your wheelhouse, which can be a real challenge. It’s a job that covers a lot of ground, and that’s something I wish more people outside the field understood.
Take logo design, for example. I’ve got some background in graphic design, so I know that what looks like a simple logo can actually involve a ton of work. Every angle you see has been thought through. A designer might spend days just getting the angle of a slant just right. And there are lots of little hidden details that take a lot of thought. Like, parts of a logo that look like they’re on the same level might not be, because of the way different letters look bigger or smaller. We have to adjust for that. A lot of these details might not be obvious at first glance, but they’re all a testament to the designer’s hard work and attention to detail.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
This question takes me back to my graduation project, which highlighted a crucial aspect of design: the need for constant learning. Design software is always updating, and new technologies and ideas keep emerging, so our learning never stops. We invariably encounter difficulties along the way. One common issue is wanting to create a specific effect but being limited by our technical skills – after all, we can’t master every technology out there.
The key for a designer is how you cleverly solve these problems. I believe I have a knack for this. For instance, during a visual project, an external issue made our original character design unusable. We were pressed for time and couldn’t find a new model quickly, so I decided to take on the challenge myself. Learning character design is typically a months- or years-long journey. But I knew I didn’t have to learn everything – just the essentials. I utilized various resources, like tips from friends or online, and explored different software to leverage the available technology.
In less than a week, I achieved the desired result. It wasn’t about creating a perfect character but about conveying what people needed to see. Sometimes, it’s about finding shortcuts and creating something believable within a tight timeframe. This is crucial for designers – our focus is on communicating our design and solving problems during the process. This experience was a testament to my resilience, especially when facing challenges.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://weihenghsu.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/enyaweesunac/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/weihenghsu/
- Other: https://vimeo.com/user190285885
Image Credits
The two images for “Bee Friend”–interactive native bee garden is a teamwork project designed by me and Viola Huang, Steven Mao.