Meet Jiangying Guo

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jiangying Guo. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jiangying, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.

For me, creation is a self-reflection of life driven by curiosity. Much of my inspiration comes from daily life, and creating feels like an impulse to realize my inspirations. Whenever I have new ideas, I can’t help but act on them. This feeling is like seeing something novel, interesting, or beautiful and feeling the urge to capture it, thinking, “I must record this quickly, or I might miss seeing this scene again.” I still don’t know why I always have this feeling, but the recording process is like collecting, it is a hobby. Looking back at old photos from time to time is very interesting, and sometimes seeing the same things again can inspire me anew.

Sometimes this recording turns into creation, like redrawing some discontinued vintage beer cans, and this became my illustration works. For instance, when I saw a friend’s pants that could transform from long pants to shorts with a zipper, I wondered if it was possible to create modular pants, where each segment is a different color, allowing people to mix and match colors and adjust the length for more flexibility and personalization. I often have many such interesting ideas. Another example is seeing some beautiful interior designs in magazines and wondering if changing the carpet color or adding an extended space would make it look better. These ideas then turn into my illustrations or 3D digital art.

I especially enjoy these interesting attempts and explorations. Many times, it’s because I like something but can’t find and buy anything similar, so I have to make it myself. This includes a lot of furniture and home decor items. As I want to realize more ideas, I learn more skills to achieve them, creating a cycle that fuels my curiosity and innovation.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I am a multidisciplinary designer with a diverse design background, having worked in commercial space and high-end residential interior design, brand visual design, and experience design. Currently, I focus on multidisciplinary design, integrating different branches of design, especially space, visual, and experience design, to solve complex design problems and present work more perfectly.

In 2023, I founded my own design studio, Mud Silk Studios. Here, I collaborate with experienced designers from various fields, including fashion designers, visual packaging designers, architects, and traditional craft artists. Through a multidisciplinary design approach, I integrate everyone’s design concepts and ideas into our own products. These products revive endangered traditional cultures and crafts through the fusion of modern design.

In a time when more and more people desire to preserve traditional culture and design and pursue sustainable living, we address the issue of traditional clothing and household items not meeting modern daily needs. We provide new solutions for those who wish to continue traditional culture and lead an environmentally sustainable lifestyle.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I am a multidisciplinary designer, though I studied interior design in college and minored in sustainable studies. After graduating and gaining some work experience, I realized that many ideas in my mind face numerous practical limitations when trying to bring them to life. This led me to want to realize these ideas in a virtual environment, so I pursued a graduate program in integrated digital media.

During this time, I was exposed to various design fields, from cutting-edge technologies like AR and VR experience design to graphic design and brand design. I gradually came to understand how crucial it is for a designer to master multiple design skills. The products available in the world are always limited. If my design requires a specific type of furniture or wallpaper that isn’t available on the market, using alternative designs to meet these basic needs can significantly diminish the overall visual and experiential quality of the space.

However, when an interior designer can’t find products that meet their design needs but has the ability to create these additional elements themselves, the final presentation of the work will be more complete and unique. This makes it difficult for others to imitate and helps distinguish the design from others. Regardless of the type of designer, I believe having multiple design skills, great curiosity, and passion for learning are extremely important.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I have always hoped to collaborate with people who have diverse design backgrounds or those who have extensive experience in their own industry but are also interested in and have some experience in areas outside their primary field. For example, these individuals might be biologists with a passion for creative cooking, gardeners who are also amateur photographers, or user experience designers who enjoy making their own clothing.

I seek to work with curious and innovative people because they usually have a more open mindset and design philosophy, are more accepting of new ideas, and possess deep professional knowledge and understanding in their own fields. I believe that collaborating with people from diverse backgrounds can lead to the creation of more interesting and valuable things across multiple disciplines. If this sounds like you, please feel free to reach out!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mudsilkstudios.com/
• Instagram: jessieloveslife_