We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer Naai-Jung Shih about their original and creative Tea Set design work. Naai-Jung Shih is an award-winning creative designer, that makes our world a better place with their original tea set works.
Naai-Jung Shih ("NS") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work Vapor Breeze Tea Set. Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
NS : The concept of this design was originated from the rolling and rising configuration of vapor out of a cup of tea. The steaming mist is so elegant and imaginative that it has created a rising dynamics of essence. The lights and shadows seem flowing around the body and switching constantly. The elegance of essence needs to be captured and frozen into a form that we can enjoy every day.
NS : The enshrouding mist is now substantiated by a rolling surface. The entire set can be put on desktop or any flat surface for pleasant visual and touching experience. The entire body reveals a mysterious conversation between vapor and lights. The symbolized vapor strips circle entire body with a streaming effect. The holes let people see the depth of the vapor in a mist. The pointed base is designed purposely to make the set look like floating in the air. The pot and cup share the same vocabulary of geometry and visual language. Cup shares the same dynamic theme in a more open-up manner.
NS : Promote it, sale it, or keep developing it in different scales, materials, or under different themes.
NS : This project started as early as 2016 in Taipei. Various types of configuration were explored in several on-and-off preliminary tests without s particular function in mind. The specific set was finalized as how the parts were shaped and assembled in 2018. The duration of last presentation was about two months of intensive works.
NS : This design is not commissioned and acts as a pursuit of an inspiration.
NS : This design was not produced or used by another company. To sell or lease related production rights are welcome, although I prefer to produce this work myself.
NS : A dynamic interpretation of geometries and spaces is always the focus of my design. This is a pursuit of an inspiration and re-interpretation of a form that has been in my mind for a while.
NS : No other designs and designers that helped the influence the design of my work.
NS : The potential target customers include interior designers and architects to be added as part of design or decoration, or for private collectors for personal collections.
NS : here might be design with similar concepts, but it’s the manner of interpretation in terms of configuration that makes difference.
NS : The concept of this design was originated from the rolling and rising configuration of vapor out of a cup of tea. The steaming mist is so elegant and imaginative that it has created a rising dynamics of essence.
NS : This configuration was made by applying a thicken function to a thin layer of hyperbolical surface instead of sculpting from a cube primitive. The curve was modified by a mathematic equation. This shift of design paradigm offers me a great freedom and opens up a whole new set of vocabulary during the creation process.
NS : The enshrouding mist is now substantiated by a rolling surface. The entire body reveals a mysterious conversation between vapor and lights.
NS : Nobody collaborates with me for this design. The 3D printed parts were made by paid output service. The finish was made by paid coating service.
NS : This shift of design paradigm offers me a great freedom and opens up a whole new set of vocabulary during the creation process. The complicated shape can only be made by 3D printer followed by a delicate painting process in white. It makes me believe there is a strong connection between the order of mathematics and daily life aesthetics.
NS : Researches were made to the composition of materials with sufficient heat resistance to temperature. The shape with continuous effect was also studied to ensure a smooth dynamic order occurred between vapor, water, tea, and essence.
NS : The most challenging part of all was to create a vapor vocabulary that lets the edges and surfaces of the cube being self-evolving. The selection of color was also a challenge that has to make the opaque body look light-weighted like the mist in the air with a sense of transparency. The answer is a white color that can use light and shadow to enhance the product image during tasting. The passages through the teapot and cup body create 3D channels inside as a pattern interlaced with tea. The composition makes the looks inside interesting too.
NS : It is a self-promoting or self-evolving process to become part of an international design competition.
NS : A design work was improved through stages of development in a recursive loop of examination under different scales. That’s why some design works were made more than one year.
NS : There is always issue to be addressed. Let’s keep it open for next year or next
