Interview with Danyang Ma

Painting has been my passion since childhood. In middle school, I started using Photoshop to create art collages and design pieces. This experience helped me gradually develop a personal art style and realize I wanted to become a creative professional.

Most of my designs are branding projects, as well as typography and posters. I am a visual/strategy person in general so branding is a combination of both of my interests. If there is a type of design I wish to explore more, it would be designing for an exhibition. It's exciting to gather around brilliant artist and designers from multi-discipline, demonstrating the same topic through different medium.

It's really helpful to talk to people, especially peer designers, also to learn new design technologies, and observe innovative forms of art.

In my opinion, "good designer" serves people on their touch-points, and makes users enjoy it without even noticing its existence. On top of that, "really good designers" are the ones that make impacts on human behavior in a subtle and versatile way. Any designer that can positively affect a certain group of people is a great designer.

A "good design" always follows the pattern of nature, making the form pure and easy, and the product itself shall be reasonable and intuitive, dedicated to details, aesthetic, and precise. Furthermore, there is a purpose behind all "really good design", with an innovative approach embedded in long-term visions.

I am a thinking-and-feeling combined designer who believes every piece of good design is there for not only aesthetic needs but also for a greater purpose. Design is to help both clients and users find solutions and communicate their messages.

I have carried a bold, playful style throughout school and professional design works. It speaks simplicity and strong emotions at the same time. This visual language helps enrich dialogical communication among designers, clients, and audiences, provoking a double-way conversation.
The implicit, flexible, and delightful touch in traditional Chinese ink painting has also influenced my preference in design, along with the philosophy of elevating the art through blankness, the balance of emptiness and completeness, and the sense of breath. I try to carry that idea into my design pieces.

Paula Scher, Brian Collins, Michael Bierut, and Jessica Walsh

A packaging design project for a coffee pod brand called VOODOO HOUSE. The design is based on the concept of voodoo spells - one of the most mysterious and fascinating African cultural heritage. I tried to adapt different spells to represent coffee blends, from dark to light roast. Packaging illustrations are inspired by African tribal totem art, expressing handcrafts. I especially enjoyed working on illustrations that imply the concept of tribes, symbolic characters, and rituals.
I especially enjoyed working on illustrations that imply the concept of tribes, symbolic characters, and rituals. I have conducted plenty of research at museums and voodoo stores, taking photos and studying materials and ingredients used for the voodoo practice.It was my first time utilizing handcrafting and printing techniques in a design. It encourages me to keep practicing and exploring different mediums and design methods.

Design for me is a functioning tool, to advocate undergoing dramatic changes in culture, collective identity, leadership, cooperation, and new business model.

I get most of my motivation by simply talking to people. And once you're surrounded by encouraging and inspirational talents, the situation will push you to pursue a better self.

Being creative makes people excited. Designers are always trying out, looking for, and exploring new ideas. And consistency makes a significant difference.

It took me several years to find out what kind of design I'm good at working on, which are branding and social, and I'm positive they will switch to something else in the future.

I've always considered the actions designers can take in terms of fighting for climate change. I want to design something around the topic of food consumption. Maybe we could design some actual bars, or restaurants, featuring global warming themed foods/drinks, and of course, all of them are plant-based. Mold Magazine has been looking into the design of future food for a long time. They illustrate the possibilities of how humans would preserve and consume food in the future. If humans do nothing about the climate, what will the food be like in the future?

Changing its users' behavior from daily essential to a larger, longer-term basis, which can make a huge difference in society and the environment. I always believe that designers should feel a cultural obligation along the way in every design process.

Our studio is currently working on a comedic project addressing designers' insights and reflections on the coronavirus outbreak and quarantine life. We figured a little humor is at least what designers can do to support everyone under this difficult time.

I hope artists and designers can work together to improve the diversity in the design industries and provoke cross-cultural design conversation. We are primarily prioritizing European art and design histories as the key pedagogical source over non-Western design lineages. The minorities, the disabled, and females are not having enough voice in contemporary design discourse. It is great to encourage designers to practice using the visual language that is unique to their specific cultural heritage.

I personally believe that self-authorship is the future of design or even every creative industry. We are living under the age when everyone has such easy access to generate small pieces of media with the advantage of technology. Internet and portable devices have further established the acknowledgment of design by worldwide distribution. Design will become accessible to not only professionals but everyone who wants to participate.

The process starts with interpreting and identifying the message my clients want to convey through design. They were followed by researching for inspirations of logos, layouts, styles, etc. And then, I would create 3-5 sketches of the first draft. Let the clients decide which direction they prefer. And then proceed with designing the art direction and the rest of the deliverables.

I think it works both ways. Design swifts and drives social awareness and people's intention to build a life based on humanity and technology, which will benefit the development of design and stimulate it into a higher level in return.

In the next 5-10 years, it's possible to imagine technologies will take over more executing tasks, leaving designers more space to focus on ideation and conceptualization, also further enhancing digital effects to help designers create more impactful and stunning works.

People who I work and talk with everyday. I really appreciate the opportunity of producing my idea and getting to know so many aspiring creatives.

Designing Design, by Hara Kenya

Mel Chin, an artist who launched an art project generated by AR technology regarding the future of global warming in Times Square. I would like to have a chance to talk with him about climate change, and what designers can do to help with it.

I'm currently working at &Walsh, an amazing design studio in New York. Their works are always stunning and it's great working experience. Although, the projects that I release are only my personal projects. The studio projects should be credited to the whole team of course.

Design is a response, to the observation of human behaviors.

Helping to build a brand from 0 to 100, or renovating the design for some brands which already have a longer history.

The logo for Public Theater, and the whole series of posters made with the same visual language, designed by Paula Scher.

Some posters about the performance of a dance group in New York.

When I talk to inspiring people, or work with them, or sometimes, just walk on the street.

Visual always comes first to my design, I would also make sure the concept behind a project is inspiring and worth working on.

Any design that can affect a certain group of people (sometimes even negatively) is a successful design.

I'm a visual person so the look and feeling are the first two things to strike me.

Changing its users' behavior from daily essential to a larger, longer-term basis, which can make a huge difference in society and environment.

I personally believe that self-authorship is the future of design, or even every creative industry. We are living under the age when everyone has such easy access to generate small pieces of media with the advantage of technology.

I initially adopted some design idea from Swiss graphic style, and then developed it into my own mixed media over the years of practicing.

It's usually our professional team members to keep our clients in touch. Designers present their design progress to companies 1-2 times a week.

Don't be afraid to talk to people, introduce yourself and your work to the ones that you aspire to work with/for. Also, as a young designer myself, it's always more important for me to learn and absorb at the beginning than to get a big check.

Thinking, observation, communication, and empathy.

My first job after grad school working at Gretel. People working at are not only talented professionals but also kind friends. The experience there has taught me so much more in three months than all of my schools did in the past few years. I've always felt grateful for having the chance to work there.

Mostly the studio's clients, ranging from well-known worldwide cooperatives, start-ups, and emerging art/design organizations in New York.

Branding and ideation. The thought of making some mind-blowing ideas come true really excites me.

I was interested in user experience design and would love to explore more, as well as AR/VR oriented visual design.

Both. I do commercial works with the team, in support of my personal projects going.

Feel free to reach out to me via my email or social media. I'm happy to share my work with you!