We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Hanyang Yan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hanyang, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
I believe that maintaining a keen sense of observation is crucial for sustaining creativity. During my time at SCI-Arc, I noticed the cumbersome process for booking equipment and took the initiative to research and propose improvements, ultimately enhancing the user experience.
From architectural design to product design, staying updated with the latest design trends, technologies, and methodologies through reading design blogs, articles, books, and attending industry conferences and seminars has been extremely beneficial. For instance, attending the annual Config conference is an excellent opportunity to gain insights into cutting-edge industry developments and engage with a diverse group of designers from around the world.
Additionally, not limiting my creativity is essential. SCI-Arc fosters a highly tolerant environment for creativity, where everyone is talented and follows their unique paths. Interacting with designers from various disciplines in such an environment has significantly boosted my creative thinking.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
My name is Hanyang Yan, and I am a UX designer with a background in architecture from SCI-Arc. After graduation, I will be joining a large technology company as a product designer.
I am an innovator and explorer, never confining myself to a single field. My exploration spans from architecture to UX design. My design projects range from traditional architectural design and industrial design to robotic arm-assisted design, XR, and product design from 0-1 for the virtual currency startup, and specific needs for products that are already really mature in the big tech company. I believe that the commercialization of design and creativity are not opposites but complementary forces.
What I am most proud of is my XR interactive space project, “Blind Box Space,” which has won several awards and was featured at the LA Design Weekend exhibition. “Blind Box Space” creatively explores the future of retail user experiences in the XR era, integrating physical retail spaces with virtual products to achieve a seamless, comprehensive shopping experience. I find it incredibly exciting to use my design thinking to create future experiences.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Resilience: The journey of exploring design is not always smooth; there will be challenges and setbacks. Becoming an excellent designer requires tenacity and perseverance.
Insight: Having a deep understanding and keen observation skills are crucial for identifying needs and opportunities for improvement.
Continuous Learning and Communication: Constantly learning and engaging with users and outstanding designers is vital.
My advice for those starting their journey is to develop these qualities through practice and experience. Resilience will help you push through difficult times, insight will guide you to better solutions, and continuous learning will keep you at the forefront of your field.
What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?
As a designer, I believe it is more important to maximize your strengths. While improving your weaknesses can make you more well-rounded, focusing on your strengths leads to more efficient and outstanding design outcomes.
For example, during my time as a product designer at AmazeWallet, our team was tasked with building a digital currency mining product from scratch. My strengths lie in understanding product requirements, constructing user flows and experiences, and designing with empathy. Other team members excelled in detailed gamification aspects, making the details more engaging. By deeply understanding and mastering my strengths, I could explore new design ideas and solutions, providing unique and innovative designs for our clients.
Focusing on my strengths also enhanced teamwork. In a team, each member has their expertise and strengths. By leveraging our individual strengths, we formed an efficient collaboration, collectively achieving our project goals.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://hanyangyan.framer.website/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hanyang-kevin-yan/
Image Credits
All non-portrait images are copyrighted to Hanyang Yan and Gao Sun.
