Today we’d like to introduce you to Chenchen Fan.
Hi Chenchen, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
“There are three responses to a piece of design – yes, no, and wow! Wow is the one to aim for.” — Milton Glaser
I loved paintings and designs when I was a kid. I always remember the ‘wow’ moments when I, as a kid, received the first Gundam toy or when I found myself surrounded by the graffiti I painted on the walls. I want to share with thousands of people the joy that those designs have given me as a kid and bring them wonderful experiences when they are using our designs. But when I was in high school, I barely had time to develop my passion. I had to spend a lot of time on doing homework and course exercises. After graduate from high school in China, I decided to pursue my college study in United States.
I started my Art journey in Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York. During my study in RIT, I found my passion about Science and Art and found that the industrial design allows me to cultivate my artistic side but also with my need of critical thinking which is logical problem-solving.
After one year, To seek a better-blended learning of art and science, I transferred to the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. During my undergraduate studies at Art Center College of Design, I was trained in Product Design with eight terms covering the whole design process from research to verbal presentation and different themes such as medical products, electronics, and brand design. I have thus prepared for my future career with thorough understanding of the whole process of product design, design skills from smooth sketching to 3D rendering, and better time management skills.
After graduate, as a professional industrial designer, I worked for companies like Tesla, Smart design, Indeed Innovation. Right now, I’m an industrial designer at Etekcity, which is a home appliance developing and manufacturing company.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been a bumpy road I guess 🙂 When I was in high school in China, I had a really hard time. Everyday I had to spend a lot of time on doing Course exercises in order to improve my test score. The high score is the only key to the good college in China. At that time, I really struggled on what do I do in the future and what kind of person I want to be. The situation started to change when I had college in the US. I found my passion about to be an industrial designer. At the beginning of my college life in Artcenter, I had a really struggle time in presenting my ideas and design to the professor and other classmates. Selling your ideas and design to the clients is always crucial for industrial designer. But English is not my native language. Every time I have to write all my presenting ideas on the paper and recite them before the presentation. With more practicing, my presentation becomes better and better.
I remember Kobe Bryant asked “have you seen the morning at 4:00 AM in Los Angeles?” Yes, I really often see that 🙂 I don’t really remember how many times I worked through the night, especially when meet the design deadlines. I think those countless hard times really shape my skill and make me stronger and bring the best out of me.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Industrial Design (ID) is the professional practice of designing products, devices, objects and services used by millions of people around the world every day.
Industrial designers typically focus on the physical appearance, functionality and manufacturability of a product, though they are often involved in far more during a development cycle. All of this ultimately extends to the overall lasting value and experience a product or service provides for end-users.
Every object that you interact with on a daily basis in your home, office, school or public setting is the result of a design process. During this process, myriad decisions are made by an industrial designer (and their team) that are aimed at improving your life through well-executed design.
As a member of growing award-winning industrial design team at Etekcity. I’m leading some of design activities from concept development to product realization and collaborate with a team of designers, engineers and marketeers to create and deliver innovative, human-centered product experiences for the home that delight consumers and drive business results. As an industrial designer, my job duty are providing:
• A human-centered design approach to translate consumer insights into meaningful product solutions that will delight consumers both on an emotional/experiential and functional level.
• Understand Cosori and Levoit brands in order to help define the company’s future product development strategies.
• High level of knowledge and understanding of bringing products from concept to production and ability to navigate through engineering and cost constraints to achieve the best possible quality outcomes.
• Create visual and functional prototypes for research and internal review.
• Challenge assumptions and think innovatively to solve complex problems creatively.
• Communicate design intent to factories by creating Technical ID Specifications detailing fit, finishes, color, graphics, etc.
• Maintain quality assurance standards for design and color integrity throughout the product lifecycle.
• Have knowledge of current trends, materials and innovations within the design and small appliances.
• Explore new market opportunities and portfolio propositions.
• Collaborate with Engineering and Product Marketing to innovate, design and implement simple and elegant design solution
I’m really proud of my work experience when was working in Tesla, I always enjoy pushing myself beyond my limitations and constantly exploring a creative way to solve the problems. During my work at Tesla, once after a blizzard in the eastern United States, the snow was blown into the charging pile, causing the slot to freeze and users could not get the charging handle normally. Our design team immediately started to work out a solution after receiving the feedback. I believe that in this situation, the solution must be simple and easy to implement. Thus, I first adjusted the tilt angle of the charging handle, making it difficult for the snow to be blown into the slot; then I added a small hood over the charging slot to further block the snow and ensure the tightness of the charging handle and the slot. This proposal was tested and finally chosen by our team, solving the problem quickly. With high professional efficiency, I am able to find the users’ demands in a very short time after analyzing the problem, even under pressure when the deadline is very closed.
At this time, my work efficiency and communication skills have been greatly improved. I experienced the complete process from conceptual design to product production, including the next-generation Tesla Wall Connector project, the Powerbank, the Inductive Charger, and so on. I was able to communicate smoothly with production engineers and interact with other designers to improve the rationality and feasibility of the design.
It is also important to recognize my significant achievements in the field of industrial design. I received a Red Dot Award in the Design Concept category for my design “Vocam,” a digital camera specifically designed for vloggers. I have also won a Bronze A’ Design Award in the Video and Broadcasting Equipment Design category for my vlog camera design “Vocam,” and an additional Bronze A’ Design Award in the Home Appliances Design category for my functional pour-over coffee maker design “Eli.” The Red Dot and A’ Design Awards are both highly respected competitions acknowledged throughout the industrial designing industry, and my awards are significantly recognized by industrial designing experts as significant achievements. I’m truly believe the designing philosophy that “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works and how to influence the world.”
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Social media like Instagram and LinkedIn is always a convenient and effective way to find a mentor or connections. The strategy is important. For example, when you trying to connect or social with someone on LinkedIn, it’s necessary to make a research about someone you would like to connect, using that research as a breakthrough, and to deeply discuss and explore your common interest and things perception, etc.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.chenchen-fan.com
Image Credits:
Chenchen Fan, Albe, insulin therapy system Chenchen Fan, Vocam, digital camera design for vloggers Chenchen Fan, Lavida, Chair and ottoman design Chenchen Fan, Eli, automatic pour-over coffee maker design Chenchen Fan, Adour, smell printer design Chenchen Fan, Tesla supercharging Chenchen Fan, Lotu, smart lamp design Chenchen Fan, “Reel” wireless earbuds design Chenchen Fan, “Aido” children bike design
