Today we’d like to introduce you to wuqiong shang.
Hi wuqiong, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve been working as an industrial designer for 15 years, though my original career aspirations were to become a programmer or mechanical engineer. Once I began studying industrial design, it opened the door to a new world for me. It merges art with science, creativity with engineering, and the digital with the tangible. As industrial designers, we get to find that perfect balance between these elements. When I started my journey in industrial design, I quickly realized this was the path I was passionate about and wanted to dedicate myself to fully.
I studied industrial design at school for 7 years (bachelor and master degree) and worked around 8 years until today.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
For me, the path hasn’t always been smooth. As I mentioned, my original dream job was to become a programmer or engineer. Learning how to sketch was a real challenge for me even in the very beginning. The hardest part was changing my mindset. After graduating, my next big challenge was learning how to navigate the real world. School taught me enough to get started, but there was so much more to learn on the job. I had to work with real people in real teams on real products that needed to deliver real benefits for real companies. Fortunately, with tons of help from my director and teammates, I was able to overcome these challenges, and I truly enjoyed the process. Looking back, all the problem-solving experiences have turned into priceless memories and valuable lessons.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I work as an industrial designer, but I also participate heavily in the engineering process. Typically, in a general R&D process, once the industrial designers hand off the concept to the engineers, they are not involved much beyond that point. However, I like to stay engaged throughout the engineering process and often share my ideas about the mechanisms. It’s a great experience collaborating with engineers, and sometimes my suggestions are taken into consideration and implemented.
My favorite moment as an industrial designer is when a product I designed gets launched and receives positive feedback from users. That validation of my work makes everything feel worthwhile.
How do you define success?
It’s actually pretty hard to define success because different people have different perspectives on it. For me, success means being better than I was before.
Contact Info:
- Website: wqshang-id.com
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wuqiong-shang-859514128/
