Interview with Alice Xi Zong

Growing up I always wanted to become a designer. I started by learning illustration, then I discovered myself really into graphic design. After graduate from Nanjing Arts Institute, I came to the U.S. and get my Master degree in Arts at RIT.
As a graphic designer, I was influenced by the great Italian designer Massimo Vignelli. Vignelli worked in a wide variety of areas, including interior design, environmental design, package design, graphic design, furniture design, and product design. Vignelli's designs were famous for following a minimal aesthetic and a narrow range of typefaces that Vignelli considered to be perfect in their genre, including Akzidenz-Grotesk, Bodoni, Helvetica, Garamond No. 3 and Century Expanded. Massimo Vignelli used to be one of the professors at Rochester Institute Technology at the Vignelli Center at RIT. As a grad student of RIT, I am very honored to studied lots of his projects. He is always the influence and the inspiration of my work.

I am passionate about design, present and support creative concepts. Proficient with Adobe Creative Creative Suite. I worked in a very systematic and diligent manner and proved to be an independent thinker, a faster learner, and a great team-worker. As a designer, I am dedicated to developing designs and branding with a conviction to quality.
Adobe Creative Suite is my favorite tool, especially Adobe InDesign and Illustrator. I also use Sketch and Corel Painter. When I am working on videos I use After Effect and Photoshop, LightRoom, etc.

When I am designing I am usually in the flow. And I always feel very delightful and excited when I am designing.

I focus more on the aesthetic and function of my design.

My future plan is to become a fill package designer - not only a visual designer but also working on codling and web developing.
My dream project: I would love to create a branding design for my future design studio.

Be passionate, and be patient. Some design projects could be going pretty fast and smooth. Sometimes a great design project could be challenging and would take lots of amounts of research and learning, it would take longer to make it a nice design. It is always great to keep a passion for design and being patient. Practice makes perfect in design.

Keep practicing, always get inspired, and always thinking about the future of design. It is such a great experience expressing our creativity as designers. Good designs make our future life so much better. However, being a designer will work in a constantly changing field, the finish line is always moving so we will need to constantly learn and improving.

My day usually starts with a nice cup of coffee. I usually read my favorite of book in the morning and take photos of my cat. When I am feeling very inspired, I would start designing right away with my cat around.

Being a designer in the industry for more than 7 years, It was great that I have formed my own design style, I will also follow with my own style. However, I will keep my eyes open and always checking and learning the trading designs as I always get inspired by awesome designs times by times. I would also think about the future of design.

A successful design is clear, timeless and efficient.

I would say my greatest design project so far is the Chinese-papercutting Typeface design. The most unique aspect of this Chinese paper-cutting Typeface design is the idea to mix the very traditional Chinese patterns and elements into the 26 letters. It’s a fusion of my culture and root with my experience. As a Chinese designer, I am always thinking about my culture, I also love my experience to work and study here in the U.S.

My favorite designer is the Italian designer Massimo Vignelli. I lived in New York for 4 years, walking by and seeing the wayfinding design on the street every day in NYC, the incredible design makes me realize how a great design would approve people’s lives.

I was born and raised in China before I came to the U.S. After graduation from the grad shool, I lived in New York City for 3 years and I am now living in California, working at Apple.Inc as a designer. There's so much art impact from living in both cities. I love the dynamic cultural heritage of both cities and got a lot of inspiration from all the nice design and arts all over the place. I think great design would definitely affect people’s life and make lives better. Living in the city full of great arts and design will make people see the bright future of the society and lives.

I am passionate about design, present and support creative concepts. Proficient with Adobe Creative Creative Suite. I worked in a very systematic and diligent manner and proved to be an independent thinker, a faster learner, and a great team-worker. As a designer, I am dedicated to developing designs and branding with a conviction to quality.

As a graphic designer in the industry for more than 7 years, there are plenty of experience of contributions to society. I especially love to do poster design for non-profit organizations. I have done branding design for “House Society of Rabbits” and “Scottsville Veterinary Adoptions”. Working with all the cute dogs and cats are the most satisfaction to me. As a graphic designer, I feel proud and happy that we could contribute to society in the design way.

There are lots of positive experiences during attending the A' Design Award. I would say the most positive experience is the challenge of this project, which is to keep the authenticity of the traditional Chinese paper-cutting and visually pleasant while combing with the 26 letters as a typeface set. During the process, I also learned to make the traditional paper-cutting and hand drew & translate each exquisite element patterns into digital patterns, which is a fun challenge to my experience.

I love to do illustrations since I was little and my parents took me to the illustration class. Ever since then I always have crazy ideas and inspirations of “creating arts”.

Growing up I always wanted to be a designer. My parents are both artists and they gave me the great influence of the arts. I was very lucky to have their support learning design.

I mainly do digital design such as branding design, website design, UI/UX. I also do print design projects and social media design. I also do video design.

Always be passionate about design and be inspired.

A great designer thinks about the future of design projects.

A really good design is both aesthetic great and well functional.

The value of good design is timeless and can last forever.

I would love to design a book for my favorite Italian designer Massimo Vignelli.

I would love to create a branding design for my future design studio.

My passion for design.

My favorite designer is the Italian designer Massimo Vignelli. I got my MFA degree at Rochester Institute of Technology and that is where Massimo Vignelli used to work. I attended the design class that he had and got really inspired by his work.

My favorite design is the New York wayfinding system designed by the Italian designer Massimo Vignelli. I lived in New York for 4 years, walking by and seeing the wayfinding design on the street every day in NYC, the incredible design makes me realize how illustrations illustration would approve people’s lives.

I would say my greatest design is the Chinese-papercutting Typeface design. The most unique aspect of this Chinese paper-cutting Typeface design is the idea to mix the very traditional Chinese patterns and elements into the 26 letters. It’s a fusion of my culture and root with my experience. As a Chinese designer, I am always thinking about my culture, I also love my experience to work and study here in the U.S.

There's always room for improvement in design.

An illustrator.

Design is thinking about making a better future.

My parents are the first two-person that support me on designing. My mentors and all my mistakes are on the top of my head.

My passion, and all the time and effort in designing.

"How can this design be even better?"

In a systematic and diligent manner.

My next design project is a branding project extension of my Chinese Paper-cutting typeface. The Chinese paper-cutting Typeface design is a start point and there will be lots of potential for more illustrations visual design such as branding design, advertising design, and poster, etc.

To be able to see the future of design.

A great idea.

Good design makes a better life for people, therefore, it makes a better society.

My next project - the branding system of the Chinese paper-cutting Typeface.

The poster design for the non-profit organization Scottsville Veterinary Adoptions. Working with all the cute dogs and cats are the most satisfaction to me.

More and more eco-friendly designs.

VR and AR design.

1 month for average. It varies to different projects.

I always start with the design inspiration and brainstorm.

Thinking about the future.

Design sets the trends.

Technology is the way to go, it is extremely important in my design.

Adobe Creative Suite is my favorite tool, especially Adobe InDesign and Illustrator. I also use Sketch and Corel Painter. When I am working on videos I use After Effect and Photoshop, LightRoom, etc.

Graphic design is all about color, materials and ambient.

What is your inspiration?

It is very inspiring.

A designer who is passionate and innovate. I love the challenge and I think there's always something new with co-design.

My mentor and professor at RIT, Bruce Ian Meader. He is the only professor who stayed up till 3am helping and correcting our design projects. Together we designed and published a book. Professor Meader is a huge influence on my design.

"Design is One" by Massimo Vignelli; “Designing Japan" and "Weiss" by Kenya Hara 原研哉; "Things I have learned in my life" by Stefan Sagmeister.

Always passionate about design and keep practicing.

I would love to have a discussion about design with my favorite 3 graphic designers: Massimo Vignelli, Kenya Hara 原研哉 and Stefan Sagmeister.

I feel very proud when my design works are realized. The awards and recognition are the encourage for me to create more great designs.

Black, my home, miso black cod, spring, cups, MUJI.

I once draw a "black hole" in the design brainstorm class and my teacher was super impressed.

When a nice idea comes up, that's the golden moment of a day and which motivates me a lot.

Since I was little, I love to do illustrations and express my ideas. It wasn't so obvious until I start to realize that I could make designs that really change people's life.

I think our future is very bright as the techniques are growing up so fast. People in thousand years from now will be able to travel in space and the design process will be even more smooth since people will be thinking so much faster and there will be many more resources not only globally but in space.

Please be always passionate about design and looking forward to my new work.

Being an award-winning visual designer, I am dedicated to developing designs and branding with a conviction to quality. With MFA degree, AIGA member and member of China Designers Association, I am focusing on Graphic design, Digital design and Branding, Typography, Packaging, Web and App Design.

Design is thinking about making a better future.

I enjoy working on posters and ads for non-profit organizations such as pets adoptions shelters most.

My favorite design is the New York wayfinding system designed by the Italian designer Massimo Vignelli. I lived in New York for 4 years, walking by and seeing the wayfinding design on the street every day in NYC, the incredible design makes me realize how a great design would approve people’s lives.

My first project for a company is the poster and branding design for a non-profit organization, a pet shelter located in Rochester, Scottsville Veterinary Adoptions.

My favorite technology is VR and AR. It is a really functional and helpful technology not only in design field but also in lots of fields.

When I am inspired and lots of ideas came to me, that is the time when I feel the most creative.

I focus more on the aesthetic and function of my design.

When I am designing I am usually in the flow. And I always feel very delightful and excited when I am designing.

I feel very proud when my design works are realized.

A successful design is clear, timeless and efficient.

I would consider whether this design is functional and visual-friendly first. A great design will always make sense and easy to understand for the audience.

A designer would always think about people's future life, good design will improve our lives. That is the responsibility of a designer for society and the environment.

I think the "design field" is constantly improving all over the world. There are so many talented designers each year and so many amazing ideas. So many more amazing skills and techniques are helping with design nowadays. I'm sure there will be a bright future of design and our world.

My last exhibition “Here There” - 2019 New Year Exhibition was held in February 2019, at OCULUS Center, World Trade Center in New York, sponsored by Asian Culture Center.

I got inspired by a lot of people and things around me. I love to talk to other people and learn about different lifestyles. I also love to go out and explore, these are all my sources of inspiration.

Alice Zong is dedicated to developing designs and branding with a conviction to quality.

I used to live in New York City for 4 years and I am now living in California. There's so much art impact from living in both cities. I love the dynamic cultural heritage of both cities and I got a lot of inspiration from all the nice design and arts all over the place.

I work at Apple.Inc now as a graphic designer. I love the culture and design of Apple. All designer team members are super talented. Working at Apple is such an exciting and challenging experience. I get to work on lots of great projects with great designers and illustrators.

Always select a designer who is really passionate about designing and treat design projects as their babies.

My design usually starts from a simple inspiration and develops to a couple of ideas. I will then do research on the target audience to the project. After creating several draft ideas, I will focus on them and continue working on it until finished. After one project finished, I will usually make a customer survey to get feedback from my target audience.

HEKTAR floor lamp, VEDBO armchair, SMEG espresso machine, Lumio book lamp, and Polaroid OneStep+ Camera.

My day usually starts with a nice cup of coffee. I usually read my favorite of the book in the morning and take photos of my cat. When I am feeling very inspired, I would start designing right away with my cat around.

Always get inspired, and always thinking about the future of design.

There are lots of positives of being a designer. It is such a great experience expressing our creativity as designers. Good designs make our future life so much better. However, being a designer will work in a constantly changing field, the finish line is always moving so we will need to constantly learn and improving.

Be visually powerful, and intellectually elegant.

The skills of aesthetic and functional are the most important for a designer.

Adobe Creative Suite is my favorite tool, especially Adobe InDesign and Illustrator. I also use Sketch and Corel Painter. When I am working on videos I use After Effect and Photoshop, LightRoom, etc. I usually go to some very nice design websites such as Designspiration to get some ideas and inspiration.

I will always think ahead and do the background and research ahead of time. Good time management is also a great skill that a great designer needs to have.

It depends on the project. Some design projects could be going pretty fast and smooth. Some of the projects would take lots of amounts of research and learning, it would take longer to make it a nice design.

"How can it be even better?"

My most important job expereince is working on my project Chinese paper-cutting Typeface. The idea of the project began to conceive in early 2017, with all the traveling and researching back at Asia China, the typeface element in the pattern, and the finished production including book design in early February 2018, at New York, US.

I worked with Ralph Lauren, Gap Inc, Tom Ford International, Ann Inc, and Apple Inc.

I enjoy digital/visual design most because it's amazed to see how much huge potential of the digital and visual design in the future.

I will continue exploring the world and nice designs all over the world. I will never stop imporving my skills and aesthetic.

I work on design projects on my own most of the time. I also like to work as a team and I am also a great team worker. My published book "Human Health Book" which is featured in The Vignelli Center for Design Studies at Rochester Institute of Technology, is done by group designers. It was a great experience working in a team full of talented designers.

One of my works-in-progress now is a branding project extension of my Chinese Paper-cutting typeface. The Chinese paper-cutting Typeface design is a start point and there will be lots of potential for more related visual design such as branding design, advertising design, and poster, etc.

Contact me through my email and personal portfolio website.

I am passionate of design, present and support creative concepts. Proficient with Adobe Creative Creative Suite. Worked in a very systematic and diligent manner, and proved to be an independent thinker, a faster learner and a great team-worker. Being a graphic designer, I am dedicated to developing designs and branding with a conviction to quality.