Interview with Qianying Niu
Qianying Niu, a talented and dedicated designer who possesses exceptional skills in various mediums, particularly in packaging experience design within the FMCG industry.
Interview about Bamboo Slips Liquor Design Interview
Design Legend Interview
21 June 2023
I am a talented and dedicated global brand packaging experience designer. I excel in utilizing various mediums and have demonstrated exceptional skills in packaging experience design in the fast-moving consumer goods industry. I have interned at design agencies and renowned top 10 domestic and international FMCG companies in Connecticut, Chicago, Paris, Shanghai, and Hangzhou, giving me a broad perspective on the design industry.
In the FMCG field, I am an outstanding packaging designer. In my personal life, I am an independent artist. I formally define myself as an artist, which I discovered during my graduate studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. During my time at the school, I learned to become my authentic self. My design inspiration comes from my life experiences and the unconscious behaviors and actions of people around me, which I interpret from a unique perspective to create designs that address pain points. My art is influenced by my cultural background, upbringing, and my distinctive gender identity.
I have always aspired to be a creative designer and artist, and I believe these two roles are not mutually exclusive. Art is about self-expression, while design is about considering others. Both art and design prompt me to reevaluate and reflect on everyday life.
In the FMCG field, I am an outstanding packaging designer. In my personal life, I am an independent artist. I formally define myself as an artist, which I discovered during my graduate studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. During my time at the school, I learned to become my authentic self. My design inspiration comes from my life experiences and the unconscious behaviors and actions of people around me, which I interpret from a unique perspective to create designs that address pain points. My art is influenced by my cultural background, upbringing, and my distinctive gender identity.
I have always aspired to be a creative designer and artist, and I believe these two roles are not mutually exclusive. Art is about self-expression, while design is about considering others. Both art and design prompt me to reevaluate and reflect on everyday life.
Design, to me, is a magnifying glass through which I view the world. Even the smallest object or action can be made more rational through design. Additionally, design enhances my empathy, as warm and well-crafted designs bring a smile to people's faces and have a positive social impact.
I hope to become a designer because I want to use the power of design to influence others.
I hope to become a designer because I want to use the power of design to influence others.
I chose to become a designer myself and have grown to love design more and more on the path to becoming a senior designer.
I enjoy working on packaging design because packaging, though a small medium, is tangible and something people encounter throughout their day. I appreciate designs with warmth, unconscious elements, and rich cultural significance. I believe these aspects provide positive emotional value and a humanistic experience for society.
My only advice for young designers is to find yourself in your design works. If you haven't found it yet, keep searching.
Good Design Gives People What They Say They Want, Great Design Solves People's Problems In Unexpected Ways.
Design fulfill its purpose, Easy to understand the message, Aesthetically pleasing, Appropriate style for audience, Original design
The value of good design lies not only in its intrinsic product value but also in its additional values, which subtly affect our aesthetic sense, societal perceptions, and even our daily habits. People are willing to pay for beautiful things.
I don't like limitations; my audience can be anyone. I only care if my design itself can impact or touch the people I want to reach.
I want to create packaging design that resonates with teenage girls, and at the same time, I hope I can bring warmth to them through my design.
I sincerely feel and appreciate the ordinary things that happen in life and try to think about how to improve them through design, starting from a small starting point.
I enjoy reading the book "WITHOUT THOUGHT" by Naoto Fukasawa, a Japanese design master. It explores his understanding of unconscious design, which has greatly inspired me on my design journey.
Many internationally renowned packaging design studios have greatly inspired me, such as Backbone Branding, Landor, Mousegraphics, etc. The Chinese designer I admire the most is Professor Deng Xiongbo from ShenZhen Lingyun Creative Packaging Design.
One of my recent favorite designs is the RICEMAN packaging for rice, created by the independent brand studio Backbone in Armenia. "RICEMAN" was chosen as the name to pay tribute to the rice farmers. This packaging not only conveys emotional and humanized messages but also demonstrates functional design and usability. The incorporation of Asian calligraphy symbols on the packaging adds cultural characteristics, making it an exceptional design in my opinion.
Reading and Traveling. DesignBoom Magazine is the platform I use to stay updated on the latest design news. I follow the articles published there every day. I enjoy venturing into unknown territories and discovering various designs along the way. I consciously collect them. Photography is another passion of mine. When I capture interesting moments in life, it sparks my thinking. I also appreciate ethnic elements such as totems and murals.
Design, to me, is a magnifying glass through which I view the world. Even the smallest object or action can be made more rational through design. Additionally, design enhances my empathy, as warm and well-crafted designs bring a smile to people's faces and have a positive social impact.
Family, mentors, and my friend Yu Chen have provided me with great support on my design journey, and his design thinking constantly influences me.
Being recognized and discovered is important to me. When my designs resonate with more and more people. It's a magical way to build bridges with others through my work. It also motivates me to go further on the path to becoming a designer.
It can be quite frustrating when you can't come up with brilliant ideas.
To present their thoughts behind the work in the best possible way and express their creative points.
I am currently developing a conceptual design that I cannot disclose much about at the moment. I aspire to have my own packaging design agency and become the leading packaging design agency around the world.
I enjoy working on packaging design because packaging, though a small medium, is tangible and something people encounter throughout their day. I appreciate designs with warmth, unconscious elements, and rich cultural significance. I believe these aspects provide positive emotional value and a humanistic experience for society.
I hope that the designers of our millennial generation can revolutionize the design industry with the power of design, especially after the emergence of AI.
Design itself has strong communicative power. It is the designer's responsibility to express what they want, to convey positive meaning to society, and to have a positive impact on some people through their designs.
I founded a packaging design studio called niugraphiks, which brings together a group of young and innovative designers from the millennial generation. While each of us holds different professional roles in society, we come together to share resources and leverage our individual strengths to provide clients with high-quality visual and packaging designs. You can find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/niugraphiks/
Bamboo Slips Liquor project. This design centers around Zen, using black as the main product color to emphasize purity and profoundness. The package uses bamboo slips as material. It’s the first Chinese liquor to use a non-label design. This award-winning design is a motivation for me, encouraging me to create more packaging designs with Chinese cultural characteristics and to establish a presence for excellent Chinese packaging designs in the world.
I hope the design industry in this technologically advanced era can remember the original intention of design, discard some formalism that relies too much on technology, and think about what design itself is and how to use artificial intelligence reasonably.
Design is evolving towards more artificial intelligence. In fact, I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing; perhaps things have both positive and negative aspects. However, I believe the essential aspect behind design will remain irreplaceable, involving interdisciplinary thinking. The boundaries between different media will become increasingly blurred, leading to more diverse forms of design expression.
The duration of projects varies depending on their type. For small projects, it can take around two weeks if fast-paced, while large projects may take one to two months if more time is required.
I am currently developing a conceptual design that I cannot disclose much about at the moment.
Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.
Design influences trends, and trends influence design.
Technological assistance helped realize the conceptual work in the best possible way.
I used design tools such as AI, Photoshop, Cinema 4D, etc.
They are important components of design. I appreciate the tactile qualities of all materials and maintain an open attitude towards them. As a good packaging designer, I believe it's essential to have broad acceptance of the materials used in packaging. I also enjoy the tactile experience that different materials provide. Colors are like the palette of design; they can represent the emotions the design intends to convey. The environment serves as the background of the design.
The meaning behind the design.
How did he/she come up with this design? And how did he/she express it through design?
I usually maintain independent thinking and judgment, but teamwork is also important to me.
Emily Larned, Cristiana Grether, KHyal, Karl Heine, Yu Chen
"WITHOUT THOUGHT" by Naoto Fukasawa
Continuously learning and maintaining a passion for design.
To my past self, I would say, "Let go and pursue design, be yourself, do what you love. I unconditionally support every decision you make."
Awards are a form of recognition for me, and becoming famous is certainly not an easy task. I want to take the time before gaining fame to settle down and gradually accumulate my portfolio. The Italy A' Design Award is internationally renowned, highly recognized, and attracts significant attention. I hope that through this platform, more people will be able to see my design.
I like the color blue, pure yet carrying a hint of mystery. My favorite cuisine is Spanish. The brand I like is Le Labo.
I was born in China. As a Chinese designer and artist, Chinese ethnic culture bears many historical traces, such as the totems and murals I mentioned earlier. These are valuable visual assets left by our ancestors, deeply imprinted in my memory, and invisibly influencing my later visual style. For example, I incorporate creative calligraphy into packaging design.
I visit Pentawards and A Design Awards to find inspiring works.
At one point, I thought I might become a cartoonist in the future.
The boundaries in the field of design will become increasingly blurred.
I hope to connect with more friends through this platform. If you like my design, you can follow my social media accounts: https://www.instagram.com/niugraphiks/
Designer Interview
19 June 2023
I am a talented and dedicated global brand packaging experience designer. I excel in utilizing various mediums and have demonstrated exceptional skills in packaging experience design in the fast-moving consumer goods industry. I have interned at design agencies and renowned top 10 domestic and international FMCG companies in Connecticut, Chicago, Paris, Shanghai, and Hangzhou, giving me a broad perspective on the design industry.
In the FMCG field, I am an outstanding packaging designer. In my personal life, I am an independent artist. I formally define myself as an artist, which I discovered during my graduate studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. During my time at the school, I learned to become my authentic self. My design inspiration comes from my life experiences and the unconscious behaviors and actions of people around me, which I interpret from a unique perspective to create designs that address pain points. My art is influenced by my cultural background, upbringing, and my distinctive gender identity.
I have always aspired to be a creative designer and artist, and I believe these two roles are not mutually exclusive. Art is about self-expression, while design is about considering others. Both art and design prompt me to reevaluate and reflect on everyday life.
In the FMCG field, I am an outstanding packaging designer. In my personal life, I am an independent artist. I formally define myself as an artist, which I discovered during my graduate studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. During my time at the school, I learned to become my authentic self. My design inspiration comes from my life experiences and the unconscious behaviors and actions of people around me, which I interpret from a unique perspective to create designs that address pain points. My art is influenced by my cultural background, upbringing, and my distinctive gender identity.
I have always aspired to be a creative designer and artist, and I believe these two roles are not mutually exclusive. Art is about self-expression, while design is about considering others. Both art and design prompt me to reevaluate and reflect on everyday life.
I founded a packaging design studio called “niugraphiks”, which brings together a group of young and innovative designers from the millennial generation. While each of us holds different professional roles in society, we come together to share resources and leverage our individual strengths to provide clients with high-quality visual and packaging designs. You can find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/niugraphiks/
Design, to me, is a magnifying glass through which I view the world. Even the smallest object or action can be made more rational through design. Additionally, design enhances my empathy, as warm and well-crafted designs bring a smile to people's faces and have a positive social impact.
I enjoy working on packaging design because packaging, though a small medium, is tangible and something people encounter throughout their day. I appreciate designs with warmth, unconscious elements, and rich cultural significance. I believe these aspects provide positive emotional value and a humanistic experience for society.
One of my recent favorite designs is the RICEMAN packaging for rice, created by the independent brand studio Backbone in Armenia. "RICEMAN" was chosen as the name to pay tribute to the rice farmers. This packaging not only conveys emotional and humanized messages but also demonstrates functional design and usability. The incorporation of Asian calligraphy symbols on the packaging adds cultural characteristics, making it an exceptional design in my opinion.
The first design I created for a company was the packaging design for Oriental Leaf's Osmanthus Oolong. I was an intern designer at Nongfu Spring Co., Ltd. at that time.
I appreciate the tactile qualities of all materials and maintain an open attitude towards them. As a good packaging designer, I believe it's essential to have broad acceptance of the materials used in packaging. I also enjoy the tactile experience that different materials provide.
When I am alone, especially at night or when I am feeling down, I find it easier to observe my surroundings and raise questions and thoughts.
Without a doubt, packaging design. If there were other options, I might add experience design (specifically in the packaging field).
I am willing to devote myself entirely to my work, sometimes forgetting to eat as I become engrossed in capturing and clarifying my ideas.
The happiest moment. Being recognized and discovered is important to me. I hope my designs resonate with more and more people. It's a magical way to build bridges with others through my work.
I'm not sure how to define the word "success." I believe good design is successful if it effectively communicates the intentions of the author. Many times, I define design from an artist's perspective. Of course, being acknowledged by the public or by client companies is another form of success.
What I see at first glance > Social value of the work > Narrative of the work itself > Cleverness of the creativity > Whether it is a warm design > Functionality > Aesthetic appeal
Design itself has strong communicative power. It is the designer's responsibility to express what they want, to convey positive meaning to society, and to have a positive impact on some people through their designs.
Design is evolving towards more artificial intelligence. In fact, I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing; perhaps things have both positive and negative aspects. However, I believe the essential aspect behind design will remain irreplaceable, involving interdisciplinary thinking. The boundaries between different media will become increasingly blurred, leading to more diverse forms of design expression.
My last exhibition was the graduation exhibition at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Traveling. I enjoy venturing into unknown territories and discovering various designs along the way. I consciously collect them. Photography is another passion of mine. When I capture interesting moments in life, it sparks my thinking. I also appreciate ethnic elements such as totems and murals.
My design style is more simplicity. I aim to achieve the best visual impact with minimal design elements. I don't like cluttering my designs with unnecessary visual elements. This might be related to my personality. My style tends to cleverly combine aesthetic and functional aspects.
I was born in China. Chinese ethnic culture bears many historical traces, such as the totems and murals I mentioned earlier. These are valuable visual assets left by our ancestors, deeply imprinted in my memory, and invisibly influencing my later visual style. For example, I incorporate creative calligraphy into packaging design.
The goal is to achieve good design through co-creation, respecting the demands of others while courageously expressing one's creative ideas through critical thinking.
Based on my past experiences in both large FMCG companies and design studios, when companies select suitable designers, they focus on the style showcased in their portfolios and specifically look at their areas of expertise. Therefore, designers should maximize their strengths.
My design process is not significantly different from that of most designers. The only difference is that I have a habit of creating mock-ups. I believe that when you start physically producing designs, it inspires a different dimension of thinking.
Porcelain cups, books by the bedside, a minimalist desk lamp, a world map, and a toilet (strange, but it was my first thought)
"Trying to create ripples in calm waters" (a metaphor).
My only advice is to find yourself in your design works. If you haven't found it yet, keep searching.
As a designer, creating artwork is like walking on a tightrope. You face restrictions and questioning from all sides. However, when you complete a piece of work you are satisfied with and receive recognition within those constraints, it brings a tremendous sense of accomplishment.
"Have Fun" and continuously explore and innovate.
Sharp insight into things around you and the ability to innovate with the times.
DesignBoom Magazine is the platform I use to stay updated on the latest design news. I follow the articles published there every day. Additionally, I enjoy reading the book "WITHOUT THOUGHT" by Naoto Fukasawa, a Japanese design master. It explores his understanding of unconscious design, which has greatly inspired me on my design journey.
I create a clear timeline for myself, completing different stages of tasks at different time points.
The duration of projects varies depending on their type. For small projects, it can take around two weeks if fast-paced, while large projects may take one to two months if more time is required.
“Tell me about the projects you're most proud of and why. What was your role?”
I have internship experience at Danone's headquarters in France.
My clients include Nongfu Spring Water, Danone, Evian, and so on.
Packaging design. I enjoy focusing on designs that are within reach in everyday life. Packaging is a small medium but essential. We come into contact with design through packaging almost every day. I aspire to infuse soul into packaging through the power of design for these ordinary things in daily life.
I aspire to have my own packaging design agency and become the leading packaging design agency around the world.
I usually maintain independent thinking and judgment, but teamwork is also important to me.
I am currently developing a conceptual design that I cannot disclose much about at the moment.
My email: niugraphiks@gmail.com, or you can find me on Instagram: @niugraphiks.
I hope to connect with more friends through this platform. If you like my design, you can follow my social media accounts: https://www.instagram.com/niugraphiks/