Interview with Tianyi Qi

Design is "problem-solving" for me. Many people consider design as merely making products beautiful, however, that's only part of the outcomes of design practice. As a product designer, I started my process by understanding the problem space, followed by exploring innovative solutions and transferring concepts into digital products that are not only aesthetic but functional and easy to use. The most important part is the connection between all the stages, especially how the final solutions tackle the problems we are aiming to solve.

I enjoy projects that involve complex systems or challenging problems. For example, I worked on a security-related project in my current job, it was very complex and technical. Our team was challenged to understand the domain well enough in a few weeks to come up with a solution. We made it! We were able to let the client understand the problem from a design perspective and even engaged them in the ideation process.

I feel the most creative when I am chatting with other designers. It is extremely helpful when I get stuck in the design process - I get inspired and am able to think of other solutions that I wasn't aware of.

In retrospect, I have focused more on the problem exploration stage of the design process. I am not a professional researcher, but I do enjoy talking to users or doing literature reviews to get an understanding of the problem. And I believe only when the problem is well defined, can a solution be successful.

Anxious? Only a little bit. I am worried that I can't come up with the "best" solution. But I do get very excited when a good idea hit me, which is my favorite moment during design.

As a product designer, I am aware of the importance of teamwork, so when I saw my designs were realized by my amazing teammates, I always thought "Wow, I am so lucky to work with them!"

Even though I have emphasized the importance of defining the right problem, when it comes to judging a design, I consider the look and feel of a design first. Aesthetics is as important as the quality of the solution and is way easier to tell. If a design even doesn't look good, it is very unlikely to be liked and used by users. So what's the point of solving the problem right if no one uses it?

I worked with organizations in the public sector and the humanitarian industry. I was surprised by the fact that the demands of design in those areas were huge - many organizations were trying to do more design projects but they didn't have the resources. I was also impressed by how much impact design can have when it is applied to social impact areas, which made me feel very rewarding. I would like to do more of this kind of work in the future. And I would encourage other designers to do the same - especially since many organizations have low-demand volunteering opportunities.

Everywhere in my life! From an app that I started using recently to a childhood memory. I think this is the fun part of product design - it is truly a field that encourages wild innovations, and there were many examples of crazy ideas being a huge market hit. So the ability to connect unexpected dots and allow innovative solutions to emerging is important, and it starts by not limiting the sources of inspiration you bring to the work.

I am currently living in New York City but I grew up in China and spent most of my life there. I appreciated my privilege of living in two countries of very different cultures, it made me see the complexity of society, culture, and people. This experience for sure helped me be more empathetic, which is an extremely important skill for a designer.

I always start with building trust and relationships. I want to know everyone I will be working with and let them know about me. I value collaboration and trust is the foundation of great teamwork. My second step is understanding their design needs - what they want the design to accomplish at the end and along the process. Sometimes, especially if a company that doesn't know much about the design process, will not fully understand what they need from design. In that case, I will have to come up with my suggestions on design outcomes and discuss them with them, hoping to get buy-in. Once the design process officially starts, I always work closely with the team, to conduct design activities together, like research, brainstorming, and quick sketching. I want to leverage everyone's skills in the team, to make the design outcomes truly belong to the client.

Find what type of designer you want to be! I have met a lot of different types of designers in my career - some are nerdy in craft skills, some love doing strategic work, etc. Design is a very complex and multidisciplinary subject, it's very normal for a designer to be good at, or more into specific skills. There is no right and wrong answer on what you should be good at, but it all depends on which direction you want to go. And once you figure that out, it's time to plan your career. Or the other way around, try different types of jobs and see what you like the most.

I really value my experience working at NYC Opportunity, which is a part of the Mayor's Office. I worked there as a product design fellow for 10 months and it was the experience I built up skills as a product designer. I learned so many things from that experience, including craft skills, software, the product development process, and communication. Without that experience, I would not have landed a job in my current company.

I really enjoy working with nonprofits or community organizations. In most cases, they are so lack design support and my work will have a huge impact on them. I also in general like working with organizations that are working on social good-related projects.

I am working at a design consultancy, my current client is a big tech company. I am helping them with their internal incubator project, helping teams to navigate the design process and create final design deliverables. In the future, I am planning to do more volunteer work with nonprofits or community organizations in my spare time.