Aiqi Zhang shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Aiqi, really appreciate you sharing your stories and insights with us. The world would have so much more understanding and empathy if we all were a bit more open about our stories and how they have helped shaped our journey and worldview. Let’s jump in with a fun one: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
Lately, I’ve been teaching myself how to make jewelry, experimenting with different materials, tools, and techniques. It’s been surprisingly inspirational. There’s something fascinating about turning dynamic, raw elements and meaningful personal memories into something you can keep permanently. While researching, I also explored jewelry brands’ design journals and was amazed by how thoughtfully they choose their colors and shapes. It’s been fun to get a glimpse into their creative process, which even overlaps a bit with my own industry.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
As a senior brand designer, I work across brand, spatial, and digital experiences to create cohesive and immersive visual languages and systems. Before this, I was at TBWAMedia Arts Lab, developing creative concepts for Apple’s brand system design and campaigns. I had the chance to collaborate with talented teams across art direction, typography, and motion. I’m fascinated by bold ideas and unusual media types, always seeking ways to break out of traditional formats. My work blends visual storytelling with strategic thinking to create experiences that aren’t just seen, but truly felt.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who taught you the most about work?
I’ve found that my biggest teachers have been clients and reality itself. Clients challenge your ideas, push your boundaries, and sometimes make you rethink the entire proposal from a different perspective. Reality shows you how to adapt when timelines shift, how to stay grounded when plans change overnight, and how to keep going and make decisions when there are no clear directions. Textbooks can give you theory, and mentors can offer advice, but fully immersing yourself in the industry, with its unpredictable deadlines, budget constraints, and the need to let go of some preferred design choices, teaches you far more than any textbook or mentor’s tips ever could. And while clients and reality have taught me the most in real cases, I’ve been lucky to have colleagues whose support and generosity made those lessons far easier to face.
When did you last change your mind about something important?
Last year was one of the toughest periods in my life, marked by unexpected turbulence and major personal challenges. It was overwhelming at times, and I realized I couldn’t control everything or just snap back to how things were before. But going through all that forced me to rethink how I approach life. Instead of trying to fix everything at once or resist change, I learned the importance of taking things one step at a time. This shift helped me become more patient and compassionate with myself. It also made me more open to accepting unexpected changes, knowing setbacks are just part of the journey. Gradually, this new perspective helped me find balance and get my life back on track. It might not be exactly as before, but it came with more calm and resilience.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What’s a belief you used to hold tightly but now think was naive or wrong?
I used to be very focused on the idea of “ownership” — who owns the project and who is responsible for it. I often measured my value by how much responsibility or role I took on. But after a conversation with my mentor, Miles Mazzie, I began to see ownership differently. He explained that the projects we work on are, in many ways, owned by the community and by all of us together. In the best scenarios, there is an ongoing dialogue in which designs grow and change. They shape the spaces and people around them, and in turn, are inevitably shaped by all who see and use them. Over time, designs become living, evolving entities.
Building on this, I’ve realized that because much of our design work happens digitally, it’s easy to overlook how a design’s meaning accumulates once placed in real environments and public spaces. Time adds layers of meaning that designers cannot fully control, and sometimes the work takes on a life of its own within the community and culture. This is especially evident in environmental graphic projects, but it actually applies to most design disciplines. People interact with, discuss, and attach personal emotions to the work, making ownership hard to define.
Ultimately, ownership in this context feels less important than the ongoing cultural contribution and shared experience the work creates. The real value lies in the collective impact and dialogue that continues long after the design is completed.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What will you regret not doing?
Before I knew it, life seemed to speed up every year, not only with work but also with all the big life decisions waiting in the background. It’s easy to get caught up in the rush and completely miss the little things that actually keep my creativity alive. For me, that might mean wandering in a previously unknown (to me) part of the city, experimenting with sun prints using found objects, or making a heat-transfer tote bag with custom stickers that blend design and ideas… Those moments may seem small but are deeply motivating, and they sneak back into my work in unexpected ways, adding depth and variety to my ideas.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://aiqi.me
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aiqi-zhang/
Image Credits
Aiqi Zhang
