#li zeng

[rojaloca]

This woman is amazing in every drama I have seen her in no matter how big or small the part she always delivers

[filmonizirani-net]

Yu Feng Xing (2024) - #JunweiZhou, #KennyLin, #LiZeng, #LuXuan, #ZaniliaZhao https://filmonizirani.net/yu-feng-xing-2024/

[lizeng]

The Power of Ask

I learned so much about asking these several years studying and working in the U.S. If I didn’t get chance to prepare for the Design Thinkathon, I would never experience the second definition of ask, which I am so grateful for. So, here I want to talk about two kinds of ask, one if asking questions, the other is ask (inquire) for something.

The person that I knew who knows how to ask good questions and continue a very good conversation is Daniel Disselkoen. He used to be an exchange student at MCAD from Netherlands. I have seen him interacting with strangers and carry incredible conversations with his endless questions. I actually accidentally came across him on the street last year at SXSW in Austin, where he speaks about his new App design concept to a huge audience. Of course, he is a designer who has natural curiosity and want to figure out things. I learned so much about how to getting to know people and ask good questions through many of my interview experiences with companies and academic settings like critique for students’ works. My collague Dr. Ron Duggins also told me he used questions as a powerful way to communicate with his 9 year old daughter. From those questions he asked, he actually persuaded her to continue finishing her pinion lessons without quitting all of a sudden. We can ask questions with strangers, friends or closet family relatives, communicating through questions and trying to understand each other is the best way to practice empathy and build trust. 

Another kind of ask is to ask for something. Here I want to thank Kristian Andersen from Studio Science. I was lucky to carry a phone conversation with him and Nathan during my early stage when planning for the Design Thinkathon. The hardest thing planning for the event in the very beginning is to raise fund as I never had any experience doing that. I never had the courage to ask for money because I was fear of rejection.  However, I have sent some inquiries about the event and have gotten quiet a lot of emotional support. Then, what’s the next step? How can I keep bugging people and organizations about the event that they will come to me or call and say: “Hey, that’s a very cool event, do you want any sponsors? How much do you want?” Sounds ridiculous isn’t it? That is how I think sponsorship happens, just wait until magic occurs...

I was so glad that I asked Kristian about how to raise fund. His words was so direct, straightforward and impressive that stuck in my head ever since. Needless to say, that was one of the most effective piece of advices that I got because I was able to complete the total fund raising in a speedy and successful way within less than a week! 

Basically, Kristian told me something exact like what Steve jobs says below from Inc. “ You will have to ask, boldly and specifically. No one can avoid specific asking, since they have to say yes or no answer. You have to tell them how much you want, for what and how can they help. The worst is to be rejected, but that helps too, because then you are avoiding the wrong person and can move on to the next target. If you only chat about your event, everyone will support emotionally, and when they get back home, forget about it, no one remembers anything!”

I have to say successful people don’t just share one or two things in common. Mr. Andersen’s words resonate so well with what Steve Jobs put together. 

"Now, I've actually always found something to be very true, which is most people don't get those experiences because they never ask. I've never found anybody who didn't want to help me when I've asked them for help.I've never found anyone who's said no or hung up the phone when I called-I just asked. And when people ask me, I try to be as responsive, to pay that debt of gratitude back.Most people never pick up the phone and call, most people never ask. And that's what separates, sometimes, the people that do things from the people that just dream about them. You gotta act. And you've gotta be willing to fail, you gotta be ready to crash and burn, with people on the phone, with starting a company,with whatever. If you're afraid of failing, you won't get very far”——Steve Jobs

To summarize, the power of “ask” is two level of concepts: one is about asking good questions, because we all need to learn (new people, things, field), the second level is know what we want and ask for help. We have to set plans for our goals. With specific plans, ideas and knowledge in mind, in combine with such great power of asking, we can achieve anything we want to. 

 问的力量

在美国呆的这几年，得益于学会了这个“问”字，均是从身边的朋友和自己身体力行的经历中总结出来的。说来碰巧，若不是最近在筹备一些活动的经历，恐怕一直都只会理解“问”的一层含义，而这里我想谈两种问的方式，一种是“提问”的问，另一种是“询问”的问。

首先说的是提问的问，我见过最会问问题的是一个来自荷兰的设计师，他初来美国，对任何人与事情都充满了好奇，也就在他这狂轰滥炸的问题当中，他不仅短时间内交到了很多朋友，了解了各人的文化背景，还为他的设计点子奠定了好奇有趣的基础。因此我也从这位朋友身上学到了问问题的艺术。

和任何人对话时，一定要仔细倾听，学会提问。对话，重点其实在倾听，那也代表了整个谈话过程不是只顾自己说，重要的是要关心并且认真的听别人说。我有见过非常能讲，内容也丰富，形式也眉飞色舞的非常能说的人，可是说的再有意思，几个小时过去了还是自己一个人在讲，不学会去倾听别人，那样的社交也只能用失败来形容。而用外语对话，只有听懂了，知道他们在讲什么，真正关心内容的细节才能问出好的问题，即使是没有听懂的地方，最好能问出来，而提问的出发点其实又是教我们去聆听下一个内容。

接着是询问的“问”，我和一群志同道合的伙伴准备在当地举行一个工作坊，是专门让此州不同学校，不同阶段，不同领域的学生和当地公益项目合作，通过设计思考的训练一起解决社区问题。前期需要申请基金，邀请导师，寻找评审，接着要开始拉赞助，找学生，定场地。其实我也不知道活动最终看起来是怎么样的，但是觉得中间最难的是可能是拉赞助，怎么说服人家说我们的活动就非常有意义，需要他们给钱让我们举办起来呢？

说到这个，总觉得自己毫无经验，毫无信心，毫无资本把事情继续做下去。做这些事情有什么诀窍呢？我得问问有经验的人，于是我写邮件给杰瑞爷爷，一个自己开公司还为当地发展做了许多贡献的人，见面回来之后，他答应帮我联系他熟知的人，比如把我的活动方案发给当地商务总会的负责人，看看他们想不想支持。几封邮件过去，石沉大海，个把月都没有回音。

我还得问问我们领域的人，看办这种活动有什么诀窍。于是我找到另外一个我甚是崇拜的设计师／创业者／投资人克瑞斯先生，他穿梭于各州，在他百忙的时间表里，正是他在纽约候机期间，我和他还有他公司的总管展开了电话聊天模式。

“怎么才算一次成功的活动啊？”我问道，

“这个问题应该问你自己啊，你期待什么，你想看到活动变成什么样？是啊，我还期待从这些有经验的人那里得到我需要的答案，可是我最想要的活动目标是什么呢？”

“我希望通过这次活动，学生有所收获，社区的人也能得到他们需要的东西！”

“那你得从各方面考虑这件事了…”克瑞斯先生和他的总管举了一些他们办过的例子，谈了各个方面，我知道克瑞斯先生是当地非常具有影响力的一个角色，我真心希望他能支持这个活动，最好能赞助我们，可是我就是不知道从何开口。

直到他们讲道末尾提出来说“那你还有别的问题吗？”，我只能把自己思考已久的问题抛给他们“我非常想办好这次活动，但是我们需要资金支持，怎么拉赞助啊？”

这里就是我学到的“询问”精华之处了，克瑞斯先生说“那你就只能找合适的人和公司一个个询问了，要大胆的问，具体的问，详细的问，说你们需要什么，多少钱，拿来干什么，大不了就被拒绝，那样也好，少了一个错误目标嘛，然后接着找，不能每次做一个什么活动和人家说说，希望能得到别人的支持，那他们肯定说，你这活动好啊，我真心支持啊，回去两天后就忘了！”

我心里暗自神伤，这不就是我找杰瑞爷爷的整个过程吗？他们都支持，可是就是没有人主动给我赞助啊，那可不就是因为我没有问啊！当即立断，学了就用，在电话里我便开始大胆的问克瑞斯先生，他是否可以周末来给我们做评委，完了问他的总管，看他们有没有赞助经费可以支持我们1千美金。

结果是，克瑞斯先生看了他的日程之后当场答应，总管先生一周后和我确认成为赞助商。就是那通电话之后，在那一周之内，我以同样的口吻和方式，将活动的具体益处写出来，就光用发邮件的方式给不同的部门，公司和个人，拉齐了所有需要的赞助。连当初渺无音讯的当地商会，在我列出这个活动如何公益于当地，和具体需要的资金数字发给他们的时候，居然也得到了赞助的回复。事实上，因为我联系的人很多，那一周之后还有陆续答应赞助的，也有听说了我们之后主动赞助的，于是我们得到了比预期经费还多的支持！我是茅塞顿开，大彻大悟的感受了一回“询问”的力量啊！

总结一下，这个“问”字，第一重意思是不懂要学，通过问题来了解自己想的到的知识／答案／故事，第二重意思就是知道了要去做，只有清楚自己想要什么，具体详细的说出自己的需求，才能得到他人慷慨的帮助和支持啊！所以，不懂要问，想达到目标也要问，说到底，只要你想好了自己的方向，学会了基本的知识，知道了具体的步骤，每个阶段都会吸引过来贵人和机遇相助的，最终做成自己想做的事情！

去谷歌搜索“power of ask”第一个弹出来的网页是Icn杂志对乔布斯的一段名为“问的神奇力量”视频采访的描述，给大家中英文版本的文字，算是本文最后献给大家的福利啦！

“现在，我终于明白了一个真理，大多数人都没能实现他们想要的，因为他们从来不问。我却发现了只要我问，就会有人帮助我.当我问别人时，从来没有人直接说“不”或者直接挂掉我的电话。当别人问我时，我也尽可能地做到有求必应，以此感激帮助过我的人。大多数人从来不敢去联系他人，更多的人不敢去询问，而这正是“做白日梦的人”和“实践梦想者”们的区别之处。你得行动，你得愿意失败，你得准备好玉石俱焚，无论是打电话被拒绝，创办公司破产了，或任何其他的失败，你都得愿意和勇于承担，如果你害怕失败，你不会走得太远”——乔布斯

[lizeng]

They do have an individual video about me from the fellowship program. Love the experience from last summer in Indy. Thanks Kristian, Nathan and Studio Science fellows.

[lizeng]

Africa Trip | Don’t take everything for granted

Seeds Academy

I saw the kids in many pictures before I met them thus I thought I am prepared to experience everything. The fact is, standing in real site, seeing the real people and hearing the real voice is a total life-changing experience that I would never be able to feel from just pictures. The first day when we just arrived at Seeds Academy, every kid and teacher from the school was lined up singing songs to welcome us. That bright and clear voice penetrated through air and reaches deeply toward our heart. Our team was joyfully clapping our hands with the melody, letting the kids shine and glow under the bright sunshine.

This is Seeds Academy, which located in the center of slum area, and every kid who goes to school here is from the slum. When school finishes, those who lives in the slum goes back to where they are from, those who are orphans goes back to the Orphanage which is called Seeds Children’s Home.

Hellen told me she cannot bear the idea of letting a kid going back to the slum after he stayed at her house for weeks. When they go back, it will be a hopeless condition again without food, shelter and care. Hellen thought education is the key to change a kid’s life, the more a kid knows, the more he/she can change his/her life. The Seeds Academy started with several kids, now it has grown to be the top primary and middle school that consists of more than 200 kids. I was told by a team member that Seeds Academy ranked top 3 in Kitale in terms of students performance, however, Hellen has updated this number to 1 when we hear the report. The teacher was working very hard in this school though only receives half of what a regular teacher receives. This is amazingly uplifting since a lot of times we think growing in rich families are key to a students’ success. Those kids from the slum seemed understand the reason behind studying and has been trying very hard. In Kitale, students have to pass a national exam to attend high school. Out of 500 total score, one must reaches at least 350 to get in. There have been 6 students getting in high school from last year, but this year they said the number will reach to at least 25, which gives the academy a lot of finance burden if it intend to support the kids’ tuition in high school. Though equipped with simple and tatty facilities, Seeds Academy has every component that makes a school work. They have libraries though with worn-out books, sewing house that makes kids’ uniforms, cafeteria that has a rooftop and brick walls though with gigantic holes in each side of the wall, clinic tough placed with only two old wooden benches and classrooms though with broken window and dusty floors. In the back of cafeteria, there is a kitchen, and in the center of the dirt playground, there is a very old rusty basketball hoop that I saw nobody played. However, every kid we saw in the school seemed enjoy such a place that teaches them knowledge and gain them wisdom. This definitely reminded my childhood growing up in a small village in China and going to a school that only has 4 classes (One in each grade before middle school). However, I still see our conditions way better in a tiny village back in the 80s than what I have seen here in this school. Not to say that these old facilities does not worth, it is the opposite, this is the place that changes many kids’ life, this is where they grown to be a future lawyer, doctor and engineer.

Despite that, what the kids love seeing the most is pictures from our phone, camera or ipad. They are so hungry for knowledge, a bigger world and outside scenes that they have not known. Whenever someone shows their photo, a full circle of kids would be packed to surround the person and wishing to see a glance of what they show. I cannot help to think how much imagination, inspiration and vision that has been cultivated in their head. This image reminds me of Steve Jobs’ say “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish”, and I know these kids will keep grow intellectually, spiritually as they grow physically.  

Seeds Children’s Home

Every afternoon, after we finish our main activity in the school, we will visit the Seeds Children’s Home, where most orphans from the school live. Every kid that lives here has a tough story with whose parents died or left due to different reasons. However, thanks to MightyAcron Foundation, each kid was sponsored with $125/month from people across the world. That sponsorship ensured a kid’s food, shelter and school expenses. Many of our team members who visited are actually sponsors who were being called Papa and Mama by these kids. Hellen mentioned that when somebody told her to start such an orphanage, she had refused it to begin with as she thought only business man and big foundations can do these things. But in order to make adopting orphans legal, the orphanage seemed to be the next move.

The excitement continues when we visit the Seeds Children’s Home. We hear singing and melody as we walk down our van. Kids stand in circles, big kids forms a outside ring and small kids forms a inside one. This is called “Devotion”, which they do everyday before sunset with songs and hands clapping in joy. I took so many photos and videos during such devotion as I have never seen such beautiful faces and have never heard of such tuneful sound. When praying, kids close their eyes and hold their hands crossed, I can see angel’s emotion flowing through our circle. Looking from my camera, some kids seemed confused to begin with, but as soon as my camera faces toward them, their face lighted up with joy, happiness and excitement. So much attention were given to us that everyone in our group was surrounded by a handful lovely spirit. “Can you believe these kids came from the slum?” Pastor Lee McDowell expresses his delight and confidence for the kids. “From their faces, you don’t see orphans from the slum, you see angels from heaven.” This is exactly what we feel when surrounded by those incredible kids. No wonder Doctor Larry Stone, a 60 more year old man would be standing outside and tearing after seeing the kids’ welcome performance the first afternoon. I also cannot help myself tearing more than three times during different times after interacting with the kids. “Every time we go back, we fall into the same routines we do everyday. When thinking about the trip, It is those faces that stuck in your head that you can never forget and have to come back. Just by seeing where they are from, and what they are doing now as happy, healthy and cheerful kids touches me so much… ” Doctor Larry explicit his feeling and memory of visiting this place for more than 5-6 times. These kids grown up in the orphanage understands gratitude, hard-working and love for others. I sure deeply feel that when I encountered this following experience with a girl named Loice.

During the visit, I would wear some different necklaces, so that whenever any kids points it out and showed fondness, I would give it to them. One time I was wearing a hand-made paper needs necklace that I bought from Kenya.

“Did you buy it here?” Loice asked.

“Yes, Do you like it?” I asked her.

“Yes.” She answered with certain affection.

“Do you want it?” I was about to take it off from my neck.

“No.” Loice was very sure.

“Why?  I can give it to you!” I asked.

“Because you bough it here, you should take it home and remember Kenya.”

This represents the pure spirit of those kids. They are orphans, yes, they lack of daily supplies, yes, but they have a truly kind and authentic heart that touches me deeply. They were raised in a Godly way, and they are independent, considerate, loving and humane. Everyday, kids from different dorms were arranged to wash their own clothes using the water from the fishing pond and dry them naturally from hanging them on tress and bushes; kids were trained to work on the field to help plant seeds and vegetables; whenever we move to another location for activity and events, the bigger kids will help stacking chairs and transport them to the proper place; they play in the natural field and I never seen any kids here fighting for anything during my visit. This is a charming, sweet and lovely group that everyone will feel in love with. All kids deserve to receive such blessings from God.

This orphanage worked so hard to become self sustaining. The Makani’s tried every way that can feed the kids and sustain the operations of the orphanage. As far as I see, they have corn fields that both feed the kid and for sale; they have fish pond that raises big fishes; they have built chicken coops with hundreds of chicken laying eggs; they have greenhouse that grow tomatoes and other vegetables; and they also have cows that produces natural fresh milk for the kids everyday nutrition intake. Not to mention that they also have a wood shop that train boys to be wood workers and produces benches, desks and cabinets for self-consuming or donation purposes. So many churches, non-profit organizations and individuals has worked so hard to make everything happen. I cannot believe what kind of advanced equipment they possess in the wood shop (Carpenter Joe’s Wood Shop). Growing in a bamboo and wooden crafting family in China, I saw my grandpa and uncles suffering from crooked back after bending too much, lung problem due to overspread dust and hands & body injuries from direct interact with sharp cutting machines without protections. This wood shop equipped all advanced machines from the U.S. and every detail was designed by carpenter Gary Wilkes who has decades of experience in wood industry. Gary said when they were trying to deliver books to the orphanage, they figured out there are much space left in the container. “We cannot ship air to Kenya!” Gary recalls and thus completed his wish of building a wood shop in the Orphanage. Not only do they have easy-to-use machines and tools, but also every procedure is U.S. standard controlled, thus a dust-collector is placed to reduce dust pollution and add as fuel for kitchen oven.

Though without electricity in the Children’s Home during our visits, I saw big dorm rooms with comfortable mattresses and layered bedding settings. I say this because I have seen dorm rooms in Chinese universities worse than what I have seen here. Even though there is no cabinets for storing personal clothes, most kids’ bed are tidy and well-organized. The girls who showed me her room were so proud of what they have. They also decorated their walls with pictures they drew and photos sent by their sponsors.

This is Seeds Academy and Seeds Children’s Home, the place that touches everyone who visited. After seeing the glorifying faces and gratitude heart from the orphanage, all we can think is how much gratefulness we should have toward the easy life that we live. Our daily access to basic food, clean water, hot shower, bright light and new books are luxury to these kids. What we think is a norm, to them is life-comforting richness. As Christy Vermeer, our organizer said: “When visiting Africa, we thought we are here to help the kids, but the truth is that we are here to be helped. They brought us so much more than what we did for them. When I return, I will be grateful for every hot shower that I take, for every glass of clean water that I drink and for the electricity that I have access for. We are so spoiled that we take everything we have for granted.”

Seeds kids, I am grateful for what you all have taught me during this trip.

[lizeng]

Now, I am a designer.

Image source from http://visual.uclaextension.edu/category/design-thinking/

A business professor sent me this article “Design Thinking Comes of Age” by Jon Kolko to see if I understand design the same way as what has been proposed in the article. I said, YES!!!! That’s exactly the vision that I have and for years that meaning of design I have been seeking for. I am so happy to be in this age, otherwise I will change my profession!

I guess this has to start with my background growing up in a small village in Southern China. Though felt in love with art, drawing and painting since a very young age, I found myself not a real artist after all. The reason I say that is because I was in a very prestigious fine art college in China, have seen great artist, knew the life that they live and devotion that they are willing to put. For me, I cannot live the life they do, I cannot think conceptually without worrying practical issues that I share deeply with the people from where I grown up. I found it meaningless for me to show an artwork in a gallery. It makes more sense for me if I give that painting to a friend as a gift, or sell that painting and use that money to help build a shelter for a homeless.

That being said, 6 years ago, I also don’t view myself being a designer.

In my original understanding, a designer is someone who have very sensitive eye for beauty, very critical mind for details, and very intriguing concepts for products/services. My strength in design learning is that I am a sponge that absorbs knowledge, skills and concepts, but I care about functionality more than beauty, I care about big system more than details, and I was too practical to understand ambiguity. While comparing myself with many excellent classmates who think conceptually and enjoyed every detailed in materials, medium and forms, I have thought about quitting design and being a Public Relations agent in a AD agency after graduation.

But now, I know I want to be a designer for the rest of my life. Because the way how I define design has completely changed since graduation from college.

I view design as a way of thinking, a problem solving process that anyone can apply, a mindset that can contribute to complex business and social issues.

“Because design has historically been equated with aesthetics and craft, designers have been celebrated as artistic savants. But a design-centric culture transcends design as a role, imparting a set of principles to all people who help bring ideas to life.”

Designer in nature, deals with all kinds of industries while being am amateur of every industry (besides design:)). That outsider role of the organization give us perspectives as users, that is the empathy side of designers. We care about users because we put ourselves in users shoe, thus we can express the best of how users might feel in every stage of their involvement.

“The focus on great experiences isn’t limited to product designers, marketers, and strategists—it infuses every customer-facing function.”

Designers are makers. Every great designer that I know of are good at visualizing ideas and making things. When hand, heart and head has been applied together, creativity was most expressed as well. Even with some business ideas in mind, my first reaction is to write it down, and play it in design softwares and see how that will lead my thoughts.

“Those models—primarily diagrams and sketches—supplement and in some cases replace the spreadsheets, specifications, and other documents that have come to define the traditional organizational environment. They add a fluid dimension to the exploration of complexity, allowing for nonlinear thought when tackling nonlinear problems.”

Design thinking is valuable. I thought I was more of a executor, I used to hate the ambiguous feeling I had when coming up with an idea. After my graduate thesis on study ambiguity in design, I accepted it as a normal form that exist everywhere in life. I don’t know what design education has done for me through these years. Maybe in schools in China, I was trying to please what the teacher thinks, now I am all independent on creating and doing what matters to me the most. After acquiring the design skills and knowledge, I start embracing the ability to think, connect dots and coming up with ideas. It is like the mind is on fire, so fierce that nothing can stop it. Have you seen seeds growing between the gaps of cement? That is life, strives to find a way to grow. Some seeds turned out to be big trees that contribute on earth. Thinking and creating is the best gift God has given us as human being. Being able to feel that power of mind and life growth inside is the best experience design thinking can provide!

When my mentor in college told me, “Design only exists in big cities”, I concerned how would I be able to bring my skills and knowledge back to my hometown and contribute to the poor if it only applies to big cities. Now, I am in a small town in the south, applying design thinking in every aspect of my work, teaching, community engagement and life in general. And I am sure now, design definitely exists everywhere - as long as we still have the ability to think and make!

此时，我才认定自己是个设计师

商学院的一个教授发给我一篇乔恩.科尔克的文章——“设计思考到来的年代”，他想知道我对设计的理解是不是和文章中提到的一样。读完后我很肯定的回答，是的！这正是我对设计的看法，也是我这些年一直在寻找的设计的意义。我很高兴我生于这个年代，否则的话我会放弃设计选择其他专业。我在南方一个小村子里长大，虽然从小就钟情于艺术，热爱绘画，但是我发现我毕竟不是真正的艺术家。之所以这么说，是因为我大学是在国内一个非常著名的美术院校读的，在那里我看过很多优秀的艺术家，也知道他们在生活中一直忠诚于自己的内心，坚持做自己喜欢的事情。对我来说，我不能像他们一样生活，因为我不能总是天马行空的思考而不关心成长过程中的一些实际的问题。对我来讲在画展上展示我的作品是毫无意义的，相反，更有意义的是可以把作品当作礼物送给朋友，或者卖掉作品，用赚来的钱给那些无家可归的人提供一个歇脚的地方。

六年前，我不认为自己是一个设计师。在我最初的理解中，设计师的审美眼光非常敏锐，对细节性的东西非常挑剔，对产品和服务有着独到且有趣的理念。在设计学习中，我的强项是像海绵一样，不断的吸取知识，技能和理念，但是我更注重作品的功能而不是美观，更在乎整体而不是细节，除此之外我认为自己太过注重实际以至于总是出现理解偏差。我曾拿我自己和那些更注重作品材料，媒介和形式的每一个细节的优秀同学比较，也曾经想过放弃设计，毕业后在一家广告公司当一名公共关系代理人。但是现在，我知道在我的余生里，我更想当好一名设计师。因为从大学毕业后，我对艺术的看法已经完全改变了。我知道艺术不仅是一种思考方式，一个可以用来的解决问题的途径，更是促进复杂的商业社会进步，帮助解决各种社会问题的明智选择。

“因为设计历来等同于美学和工艺，设计师也一直被称为艺术天才。但是设计的中心文化才是主角，它远远超越了设计本身，为那些给生活添加新意的人传授一套信念。”

 一般的设计师，穿梭于各个行业，但在每一个行业中都是业余者（除了设计）。局外者的角色让我们会以用户的视角处理问题，这就是设计师具有同理心的一面。我们关心用户是因为我们把自己当做一个用户，因此我们可以准确地表达用户在每一个阶段最真实的需求和感受。

 “产品设计师，市场营销人员以及战略家不要局限于优秀经验本身，而要把它倾注于面向客户的产品功能上。”

设计师是制造者。我知道每一个伟大的设计师都善于运用可视化思维和创造东西。当手，心和大脑并用的时候，创意才会表达的淋漓尽致。当大脑里有一些想法时，我的第一反应是写下来，然后在设计软件中演示出来，看看它将会给我带了怎样的思想火花。

“这些模版图表和素写的应用在某些方面取代了电子表格，说明书和其它文档。他们添加了一些流体维度来探索复杂的问题，并且允许用非线性思维处理线性问题。”

设计的思想是宝贵的。我认为原来的我只是一个执行者，当大脑里有一个想法，又不知道是否可以执行时，我会陷入纠结。久而久之，我开始讨厌这种飘忽不定不能自主的感觉。在我做完有关设计不定性的论文之后，我明白它是一种存在于生活中的正常形式。我不知道这些年设计教育给我带来了什么，抑或是改变了我什么。在国内的学业中，我会跟随老师的思维方式进行艺术探索，但现在我可以完全独立的创作，做一些对自己而言重要的事情。掌握设计技能和知识后，我开始开发思考、联想和提问的能力。这就像大脑里熊熊燃烧的大火，如此的强烈，没有什么可以阻挡。你曾经看过一颗种子穿破坚硬的水泥地破土而出吗？这就是生命，拼尽全力只为找到一条生存的路，长成一颗参天大树，为大地添上一丝绿意。思考和创新是上帝赐予人类最美好的礼物。感受内心的力量和心灵之花的绽放是提升设计思想最好的经验。

我的导师告诉我“设计只存在于大城市”。我担心的是如果它只适用于大城市，那我怎么才能把我的技术和知识带到我的家乡服务于贫穷的人呢。现在，我生活在美国南部的一个小镇上，把设计思想运用到工作，教学，社区活动和生活的方方面面。现在我很确定只要我们还有思考和创造的能力，设计就无处不在！

[design-china]

More on Li Zeng

Designer, visual strategist and educator Li Zeng was born and raised in China, though she presently teaches graphic design at the University of Central Arkansas in the US, promoting design as a powerful tool for social change. We spoke with her to find out more about her journey to date.

Where are you originally from, and where and what did you study? I am from Hunan Province, China. I lived in the countryside with my grandparents until I was 9 years old, and then transferred to a middle-sized city, Zhuzhou, where my parents worked. I took art classes and learned how to draw since the age of 10. Upon being admitted to the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), I selected visual communication (a better way to define graphic design) as my major.

How did you initially develop an interest in design? Actually, I started through drawing and art practice in general. Through years of training in middle school and high school, I was capable of drawing and sketching in a variety of mediums. This is what the entrance exams of most art colleges in China request from applicants. Even for the first year of college, we focused on general foundation skills. It wasn’t until the second year that I selected graphic design as my focus. So, since I had a genuine interest in art from a young age, moving to design was not a big shift.

Why did you decide to pursue further study in the US? Interestingly enough, I developed my interest in English since middle school, as well. Sometimes, I see my interests in language overweighing my art - I had even thought about going to a professional language university to study a foreign language at one point. I am glad that I didn’t though, since I learned that language is just another tool for communication. Being able to speak and communicate with foreign friends helped me to develop my knowledge in Western culture, and so I decided to pursue a master’s degree in the US after I graduated from CAFA.

How do you feel that this has challenged your work? I don’t see interactions with another culture as a challenge; it can be better described as “exciting inspiration”. The change in environment and culture gives me so many fresh ideas and interesting things to think about. The first project that I did in graduate school, for example, was based on the cultural differences that I found between China and the US. This research interest continues even until now.

What projects are you currently working on? I am working on an app design called Mount Merchant. It’s an outsourcing app that allows people to recommend products to others. I am collaborating with a designer from Minneapolis and several developers from China on this project. After 9 years of design experience, I have decided to focus on branding and user experience for my future career.

Which of your projects are you most proud of so far? I guess I can talk about two projects here. The first relates to discovering Chinese landscapes on people’s palms. I did that just for fun when I was in college; however, I found it spread pretty quickly on the Internet after I had my first interview with a design magazine. I guess people in China find it interesting to combine a traditional concept with more usual things like our palms.

Another project is my graduation thesis work. It’s a self study on the uncertainty of design. It’s a little conceptual and a little hard to understand for regular audiences. I have been interested in a variety of incertitude relationships that coexist in the design process: rational and emotional, complicity and simplicity, certainty and ambiguity etc. I found it meaningful to look at problems within this co-relationship context. Through the interaction of two extremes, the results reach the level of balance and harmony.

Where do you hope to be in the future? I am very interested in design as a strategy in business and I would like to become a professional consultant in this area. Instead of only making beautiful designs, I am devoted to deciphering how design connects different sections in business, industries and society. I want to see the inner structure of design thinking and how that influences different industries. Overall, I always seek for a purpose behind an idea and look at how design can contribute to shaping a better world.

Images courtesy of the designer.

[design-china]

Li Zeng

Originally from Hunan Province, Li Zeng is a graphic designer and former graduate of CAFA, Beijing. She is currently studying at Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

www.lizengdesign.com