Written by Cassia Wang
What made you want to pursue design career, education?
Since I was young, my mother wanted me to have a hobby, so I picked up many hobbies in elementary and middle school, and drawing was one of them.
When my high school teacher knew I had experience in drawing and painting, she suggested that I should consider applying for art or design related majors in university.
My dad also runs a furniture and interior decorating related company, which led me to firmly believe that I wanted to study and pursue a career in interior design.
Of course, choosing a major that I am interested in is the most important thing.
How do you start the design project? (Especially When you have blank sketch book starring at you and have no idea what you are going to do)
As someone who wants to work in a design-related field, my design inspiration is NOT always there!
Whenever I start a new design project, the first thing I do is to read through the basic project requirements and then give myself a little time to do a few activities that are relaxing and not related to design, such as reading books.
Reading books is a hobby I found after coming to Canada to study.
Each book has different characters, and they have different personalities, while reading these stories allows me to experience the writing preferences of authors from different countries.
The books often contain descriptions of interior settings, and whenever I read them, I would unconsciously imagine the interior scenes in my mind.
I would pick up a blank sketchbook to draw some sketches, which may or may not be related to thedesign project.
This can also be used to help me prepare for the following design process.
What is the enjoyable part of design work? Or is there one?
The part of design work that gives me the most pleasure is when I build 3D models and renderings.
Whenever I do this part of the work (especially the renderings) it makes me feel that my design has moved from an idea to something more realistic.
Also, when I go offline to visit furniture stores is one of the most enjoyable things for me because I can see, touch, and select furniture in person to meet the design I want.
What is the most frustrating part of design work?
I think the most frustrating part was that I couldn’t design the result I wanted.
In my last year of university, I was anxious and often in tears because I couldn’t produce a thesis project that I was satisfied with.
But this is normal. If you have a problem or are not satisfied with something, don’t be afraid to ask for help!
Try a few more times and you will get a good and satisfying result.
What do you do when you are not “in the office”? Your leisure activities?
As I mentioned earlier, reading is one of my leisure activities.
Making myself a latte is the perfect companion for reading a book.
I prefer to read fiction because each fictional story is like a safe place for me to rest when I feel sad or tired.
I have also created a Bookstagram (@cassia.reads) to share my thoughts on my reading and to find book lovers who share my thoughts or to discuss with people who think differently.
Life Outside of Design Studio 