Jin Zhang

Professional in Design.

Jin Zhang

About Jin Zhang

Jin Zhang, also known as Sanbu, has been continuously engaged in brand and product packaging strategy, design, and practice for 15 years. In 2020, he founded the Wuhan Sanbu brand design and also served as the chief designer, He is the most popular design force in central China. He also serves as Vice President of Wuhan Designer Salon, National Member of the Design Committee of the China Packaging Federation, Member of CDS Chinese Designer Salon, and Practical Mentor of Design Majors in Four Universities in China. Jin Zhang excels in creating brand and product packaging designs that combine aesthetic and commercial value by combining cultural and emotional elements to create core differences. He has long provided services to well-known brands such as Yellow Crane Tower, Yingbo Jinlongquan Beer, and TsingTao Beer, and his design works have won more than 130 professional design awards at home and abroad. including New York TDC Awards,Communication Arts, Graphics Gold Award, MUSE Platinum Award, A'Design Silver Award, IDA Silver Award, the DNA Paris Design Award, the German Best Brand Award, New York Product Design Award Silver Award, the Taiwan Gold Dot Award, Red Cotton Design Award, China Star Silver Award, Central South Star Gold Award, etc.

  • Winner of 12 A' Design Awards.
  • Professional in Design.
  • 12 Featured Original Designs.
  • Highly Creative, Very Diligent and Super Innovative.
  • All Designs
Yellow Crane Tower Water Packaging

Yellow Crane Tower Water Packaging

Design

Passion Fruit Beer

Passion Fruit Beer

Design

Jinlongquan Beer Packaging

Jinlongquan Beer Packaging

Design

Hao Prawns Seasoning Packaging

Hao Prawns Seasoning Packaging

Design

Huanghelou Beer Packaging

Huanghelou Beer Packaging

Design

Jinlongquan Beer Gift Box

Jinlongquan Beer Gift Box

Design

Tsingtao 9 Degrees Beer Packaging

Tsingtao 9 Degrees Beer Packaging

Design

Golden Cat Beer

Golden Cat Beer

Design

Xiaoxiancao Tea Bag

Xiaoxiancao Tea Bag

Design

Ying Hua Qing Su Packaging

Ying Hua Qing Su Packaging

Design

Zhu Xixi Gift Box

Zhu Xixi Gift Box

Design

Jinlongquan Yanzhi Packaging

Jinlongquan Yanzhi Packaging

Design

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Interview with Jin Zhang

Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?
I have been engaged in design work since 2008, and have done automobile publicity design, real estate promotion design, and in recent years, I have focused on the overall design and packaging design of the brand. Seeing the beautiful visual performance of products can make me feel very comfortable, which also attracted me to join the design industry, hoping that the works I design can bring people a better experience.
Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
My studio name is: Wuhan SANBU Brand Design, we are in China, is an extremely small studio, I am the founder and chief designer, all the design works are completed by myself as the main designer. The studio mainly does brand design and packaging design, involving many industries, such as food, wine, tea, coffee, dairy products, catering, education and training, clothing, automobile and so on.
What is "design" for you?
I think design is a very broad term, not just using design software to design graphics or fonts, but from the meaning of the product, how to enhance the experience of the product, how to create an emotional connection with consumers, how to express the personality of the brand and other multi-dimensional to solve some business problems, design is a systematic project. Of course, the final need to impress consumers is a successful design.
What kinds of works do you like designing most?
I prefer the most common products in people's daily life, whether it is eating, drinking or playing. Only the products that most ordinary people can buy, through our design to enhance the visual performance and experience, so that people can live in the environment of high-quality goods, the design is truly meaningful.
When do you feel the most creative?
I like to think and create alone in a very quiet environment. The time is not fixed, but most of the time tends to be in the morning and late at night.
Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
The current design is very rich and colorful, but compared to the expression, I pay more attention to the emotion conveyed by the design, because I firmly believe that a good design must be able to impress consumers for a long time and have an intersection with consumer emotions.
What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
At the beginning of the design, it is relatively cumbersome at the beginning of the design. I need to understand the product-related information as much as possible. The design process will become more and more clear and exciting. When our creativity is satisfied by Party A, we will only smile and face the relative calm. During the design process, it is most exciting to turn ideas into reality.
What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
When my design goes from the design draft on the computer to the production of the actual product, I will be very proud, and I will share it with my friends in a timely manner. I also hope that more people can enjoy this product. In short, I am excited.
What makes a design successful?
It is difficult to use a unified standard to measure whether the design is successful or not. Of course, sales volume will be one of the measurement standards, but sales volume will be affected by many factors such as price, sales channels, and the brand's own popularity. And I think that the key to the success of a design is whether the user is attracted and whether they will take the initiative to share with friends around them. Only if more people spontaneously share because they like the design, then the design will be successful.
When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
The difference between good design and bad design will be very large due to people's own artistic accomplishment, so there will be no uniform standard. When I look at the design, the first thing I have to do is to see if it can attract me to take a few more glances. Whether it is because of color, or graphics, the first thing is to attract the eye; the second is to see what the design wants to express, and whether it is clearly expressed; and the last is whether it is practical and whether there is excessive waste.
From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
I think that people's living standards have been continuously improving, and people's requirements for all aspects of goods are also increasing. As designers, we have the responsibility to take a lot of products that are not good enough, and let them bring a better experience to people through design, and reduce waste and pollution through design, so that our resources can be used more rationally.
How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
Design will change with the development of the times, because design is to serve people. From the need for functionality from the very beginning, the design slowly needs to reflect the brand value, and now we need more to reflect the connection between the consumer's self-worth and the brand, so that every group can be respected. Design will always be people-oriented and increasingly personalized to develop.
Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
Before each design, I will go to the supermarket for a walk. Sometimes I will take the bus to see the people and shops on the street. This will allow me to feel in the living environment. When I am a consumer myself, I will buy what kind of designed goods. This can restore the consumer psychology to the greatest extent. It can also break the original design ideas of the product and achieve breakthrough changes.
How would you describe your design style? What made you explore more this style and what are the main characteristics of your style? What's your approach to design?
I don't have a fixed design style. If I have to say what style, I may personally prefer the Chinese style, because I like Chinese traditional culture. Although I know very little, when I do design, I will learn more interesting Chinese culture and world culture through different projects. It is very interesting to transform and integrate through design.
Where do you live? Do you feel the cultural heritage of your country affects your designs? What are the pros and cons during designing as a result of living in your country?
I am from Wuhan, China. Chinese culture is profound and profound, and its influence on my design is very great. I like Chinese culture very much. There will be many interesting cultures in different regions. It may take hundreds of years to fully understand, so it will always have a fresh feeling.
How do you work with companies?
We have several principles for cooperation with Party A: 1. Do not participate in any form of comparison; 2. We need to pay before we start designing; 3. You must meet the brand manager or founder for in-depth communication.
What skills are most important for a designer?
I think the most important thing for designers is "empathy," and we need to think about ourselves as consumers, not as brands, because ultimately it is the consumer who pays the bill. And we need to tap the potential needs of consumers, and surpass the products that consumers expect, in order to survive longer. Software skills are also important, but those can be developed with practice.
Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
In order to make better works, our studio only accepts about 10 cases each year, and controls the number of projects as much as possible to ensure the quality of design. Although this will lose a lot of economic benefits, we still do it, because only good works can make us decide to be worthy of our own hearts.
How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
The time required for different projects is also different, such as a product packaging, generally we need one month to two months to complete.
What was your most important job experience?
The most important and most difficult work experience is that I founded my own studio, and everything needs to be done by myself, including connecting contracts, finance and so on. However, it also made me grow a lot, especially in the ability outside of design. It also made me know that it is very difficult to be a brand. It also made me have better tenacity.
Who are some of your clients?
My customers are basically concentrated in Hubei Province, China. For example, Wuhan's most famous scenic spots: the Yellow Crane Tower; Hubei's largest brewery: Jinlongquan Beer; China's number one beer: Tsingtao; Hubei's largest decoration company: Aohua Decoration; Hubei liquor brand: Jiang Jun Hong; Hubei children's milk brand: Cool My Dairy; Hainan Shan Lan Wine Brand: Lijiang
What are your future plans? What is next for you?
Continue the current steps, and only do about 10 projects every year to ensure the quality of design, speak with solid works, and let more brands see us and choose us. We only do brand design and packaging design.
How can people contact you?
If you want to contact us, you can email a59345@qq.com. You can also call 13207121305 in China. Or follow our wechat official number: SANBU-BrandDesign

Extended Interview with Jin Zhang

Could you please tell us about your experience as a designer, artist, architect or creator?
I have been engaged in design work since 2008, I have done car publicity design, real estate promotion design, and in recent years, I have set up my own design studio, focusing on brand design and packaging design.
How did you become a designer?
Seeing the beautiful product visual performance can make me feel very comfortable, which also attracted me to join the design industry. The image of everyday consumer goods in every place also reflects the aesthetic level of local people. I hope that the works I design can bring people a better experience while improving people's aesthetic level, so that we can live in a better environment.
What are your priorities, technique and style when designing?
I entered the design industry with a very longing heart, full of beautiful visions for the future, and it turned out that my choice was very correct, because I have been doing design for more than ten years, and I can still get a great sense of accomplishment and happiness from design.
Which emotions do you feel when designing?
My main work content is: brand case design and packaging design. The industries that I dabble in are very extensive, including food, wine, tea, coffee, coffee, dairy products, catering, education and training, clothing, automobiles, etc. They are all industries that people eat and wear on a daily basis. I also really like these daily consumer products that are integrated into people's lives. Because design is to serve people, it is only meaningful when the products we design actually reach every consumer.
What particular aspects of your background shaped you as a designer?
I think that the most valuable thing for designers is to have the ability of "empathy," to truly experience the emotions of consumers, and to integrate this emotion into the design, so that consumers can imagine and be moved after seeing this design, and to maintain curiosity about the world, and constantly discover many beautiful details that are not easy to be discovered. These are very helpful to the design.
What is your growth path? What are your future plans? What is your dream design project?
Excellent designers may pursue the height of the design itself, such as how the use of materials can make products more gorgeous, and how design techniques can be used to make designs more cool. And great designers will pay more attention to the inner emotional needs of consumers, so that consumers have the feeling of touching the heart.
What are your advices to designers who are at the beginning of their career?
Good design should be memorable, touching the heart, touching the emotions, imaginative, and positively guiding the society. If I were to evaluate the quality of a design, I would probably care more about whether it is different and memorable.
You are truly successful as a designer, what do you suggest to fellow designers, artists and architects?
A good design must be a bonus for the brand, which can make the brand have a higher premium, and at the same time can bring a better experience to consumers, both in terms of visual experience and the feeling of the use process, and even make people inexplicably moved. In today's consumption upgrade, consumers have higher and higher requirements for goods, which is not only reflected in the better quality of the product itself, but also requires a better sense of experience and value. This needs to be achieved through design, so more brands have begun to attach great importance to good design.
What is your day to day look like?
I spend most of my time designing for my clients, and if I have time, I will also design for my own interests. For example, in 2018, I used the characters from Chinese myths and legends to create a series of designs of IP images and related items. I was also liked by many friends, and I was very happy. From mobile phone cases, stickers, fans, cloth bags, mouse pads and many other daily necessities, they were all designed and made for some friends to use. Everyone liked it very much and was very happy.
How do you keep up with latest design trends? To what extent do design trends matter?
I hope to bring a lot of very good products from China, but because there is no brand and no packaging, they are slowly forgotten. I hope to bring a lot of good and old products through design, so that they can be rejuvenated and more people can know and own them. And I hope that one day I can have my own brand products, which are daily consumer goods and products that can be integrated into everyone's life. I hope it continues to spread.
How do you know if a product or project is well designed? How do you define good design?
The success of a design is actually accompanied by a very large number of factors, and as far as the design itself is concerned, I think that in addition to being beautiful and unexpected, a design needs to be able to impress people, to be able to experience the emotions of consumers, and to design with emotions.
How do you decide if your design is ready?
Compared to observing the design masters, I prefer to go to the streets, supermarkets to see pedestrians and shops, and feel from life.
What is your biggest design work?
I like to look at some older designs, such as things from the 1980s, maybe I am more nostalgic and like more quaint things.
Who is your favourite designer?
I like most of my design works very much. If I have to say which design I think is the greatest, I may choose the works with local characteristics or national characteristics in my own works, such as Jinlongquan beer, Ying Hua Qing Su gift box, etc., because these designs not only show the products, but more importantly, let people know and like a city. I think that such designs have accomplished a greater mission.
Would you tell us a bit about your lifestyle and culture?
Design to improve oneself from two aspects, the first is to constantly learn technology, so that what you can imagine can be made; the second is to maintain your curiosity, often go to the supermarket and walk in the crowd, to observe life, experience life, integrate into life, and maintain the breath of life, in order to make an emotional design.
Would you tell us more about your work culture and business philosophy?
If I wasn't a designer, I would probably want to be a racing driver or a mechanic because I have a soft spot for cars.
What are your philanthropic contributions to society as a designer, artist and architect?
For me, design is a very interesting thing. It is both traceable and ever-changing, with infinite possibilities. It can be high-end fashion or daily nostalgia. In short, design is a game that makes me happy.
What positive experiences you had when you attend the A’ Design Award?
The most supportive of me is definitely my family, they will always encourage me and praise me, which makes me have more confidence, with confidence to do one thing will naturally do better.

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