I am interested in design as industrial art, not only limited edition, but also mass production. --Michael Young

Michael young
Michael Young
An internationally renowned British designer
Born in England in 1966
Sunderland, an industrial city in the northeast
Graduated from Kingston University in 1992
Founded Michael Young Studio the following year
In 2006, the studio was opened to Hong Kong, China.
Today, MYS Studio has been recognized
One of the most exciting and powerful design companies in Asia
And he is recognized as the European designer who "has the most say" in Chinese design.

First contact with Michael Young
It was at an event in 19 years.
At that time, this interview was agreed.
This time we talked together
Some of his ideas on design
And how he sees it
China's Market and Suggestions for Chinese Enterprises
Let's take a look at it together.

Design is my last choice.

"Because of dyslexia (not formally diagnosed), I have performed poorly in all exams since I was a child and often failed. Therefore, I think the chance of a bright future through academic channels is very slim..."

But at the same time, I am very lucky that I have a good talent in painting, and I am imaginative, like art, music and fashion. However, it is a pity that even if I am very creative, my English and math test results are not enough to make me admitted to the school even in the art school, so I have nothing to do at that time, so I will entertain foolish ideas... so I spent several years, using points, shapes and colors to build my own world.

Design was once considered the lowest art form.

Even though the development of the design industry is very good now, in the late 80 s, the design industry was not as large as it is now, and it was even considered to be the lowest art form. So, for a long time, I kept drawing my own things, until finally I was seen by an enthusiastic art school professor. Out of compassion, he let me enter the design school and embarked on the road of design-of course, this is also a big part of luck...

After graduating from university in 1992, I did once again face the moment when I had no chance to open the door to me, so I began to design, weld and make things by myself to create my own opportunities. Only then has we established our own style and opened up our own market.

Create meaningful products

Old worker: As a designer, you can be said to be very successful now. What is the force that will promote you to continue to rise in the next time?

Michael Young: What is often missing in design is the connection between culture and science, the connection between thinkers and enterprises, and the connection between manufacturing and market. Our studio is now constantly evolving and designing to make these connections possible so that we can create more meaningful products. This is my greatest interest at present.

Design is not just for survival, but for the world in an achievable way. I have never questioned my ability, but this does not mean that it can be easily achieved.

Nowadays, new design techniques make young people complacent. This is not their fault, it is created by the times. My father was born during World War II, and today's young people were born in an era of takeaway and rapid change. All of us need to face up to new challenges.

Change in the design world is imminent.

The "Big Brother" Apple in the scientific and technological field has become a weather vane for the new generation of product design styles in the Greater Bay Area 95%. And my mission is to turn that upside down, as I did globally in the '90s. This time we are facing a bigger problem that needs to be challenged and solved-we are forced to make changes and use them to motivate ourselves and develop. Just as punk and Protagonist have impacted the music industry, change is necessary.

Old Worker: What will you do to make a breakthrough when there is no inspiration?

Michael Young: If I retire, I will stay on the beach and pile sand castles and keep looking for new ways to pile sand castles. This is part of my DNA. The problem is how to make creation meaningful. The design community needs to go beyond simply transforming concepts into figurative shapes of different materials. Human beings are accustomed to and take for granted to use technology and technical products every day. Design needs to consider and respond to needs beyond form and aesthetics. At the moment, the Greater Bay Area is a great place to nurture these thoughts and practices, just like London when I first started. From Darwinism to Tesla... what's next? I'm very much looking forward to it.

Old worker: You have been engaged in the design field for many years. You are involved in product design, fashion design, interior design, etc. What do you think is the relationship between various design fields?

Michael Young: The design is like a big "supermarket" that inspires each other ". Everything inspires everything around you. There is no overnight change, only "step by step", and the various fields of design inspire and evolve like bees cross pollination. Before that, you must clearly understand what you are doing and ensure that you and the studio can survive. After that, when changes come, there will always be a group of people who come out to support each other, promote changes, and create new cooperative relations.

Old Worker: When you get a project, how do you usually start designing? What do you value most?

Michael Young: The most critical point in our design process is to fully understand the customer's needs and then ensure that our preliminary research can help customers establish forward-looking design requirements.

We hope to cooperate with customers who have market appeal but also want to lead the market with forward-looking design. This requires a lot of association and research without practical restrictions to create a vision. Designers are free to create shapes, but the understanding of the connotation and potential needs of design should not be regarded as just icing on the cake, but the core of design.

Old Worker: Why did you choose to set up a studio in Hong Kong? What was the biggest problem you encountered during the development of the studio? How to solve it?

Michael Young: Hong Kong is my first "home" in China ". I have made many friends in Hong Kong. It is a good base for me to get close to China. Now we have also opened branches and offices in Shenzhen. Therefore, Hong Kong is now more a window for communication with international customers and the location of my personal life. China has become the focus of our work.

The biggest difficulty is actually to make Chinese enterprises in various industries understand the way to cooperate with me. They sometimes find it difficult to understand the forward-looking design and unique value that I and the studio can provide. But after 10 years of hard work, with the help of more and more team members and the support of friends in the design circle, the studio began to interact with more domestic industries and industries. It is hoped that such a start will establish longer-term cooperation opportunities and bring about more changes in the future.

Old Worker: Your studio has cooperation with many countries and regions around the world. What do you think Chinese companies have in common and different from companies in other countries and regions? What is the most important part of Chinese companies to strengthen now?

Michael Young: Many of the international brands we work with are family businesses with a long history and local handicraft characteristics, which are very local... such as furniture companies around forest areas and shipping companies around ports.

For Chinese companies, the most important thing at the moment is to know how to identify their own uniqueness and convey it to the market and consumers, instead of simply using Apple's design style as the only shape language, how to quickly iterate In the market, culture and passion are integrated to create value for design, and even how to keep up with the pace of technological development... How to embed humanized elements similar to the touch, make the product not only meet the functional needs of buyers, but also further meet their emotional needs.

Old worker: You have designed many products and won countless international awards. Have you ever considered them to be so successful at the beginning of your design?

Michael Young: I have never designed to win awards. I don't trust them. Most of the awards are set up by a small number of companies, and their aim is just to make as much money as possible from more companies to make them appear important on the global stage.

I hope that there will be more responsible awards in the design industry, taking into account the true meaning of the word "commendation", not just paying bonuses. Many companies in China have told me, "We don't need you to design products, but hope you can help us win the grand prize"... Awards have short-term value in the marketing sense, but in the long run, they must have real value based on the new rules.

Old Worker: Some people say that you are the European designer who has the most say in "Chinese design". What do you think of this title? What do you think of "Chinese design"? What is your impression of China's industrial design environment?

Michael Young: In the past 14 years, I have made many friends in China. No matter I attend forums or awards in any city, I will meet acquaintances. But this does not mean that I have more say in Chinese design.

I am only a member of the design field. We work hard, support each other and share knowledge and experience here. We/I am here to do everything we can to help the younger generation in the design world.