In the second installment of Storefront Chats designer interview series, we had the pleasure of speaking with Zi Ning, the creative mind behind the book – SHINE. This conversation offers a glimpse into her artistic journey, exploring the inspirations, challenges, and the vision that shape her designs. Read on to uncover the creative process and stories behind her work, bringing you closer to her artistry.

1. What first sparked your interest in having books as your medium of focus for Shine?

“[It] was something that I never expected because I didn’t really like to read books when I was young.”

It’s the first time that my end-product was a book, which was something that I never expected because I didn’t really like to read books when I was young. However, as the nature of the project went along, I felt that a book was the best medium to represent the idea.

The brief was to think about a product starting from a shadow. Shadows are like *Wayang Kulit in which you can tell a story even though there are no colours and I thought that was pretty interesting

*Wanyang Kulit – a traditional form of puppetry performance in Southeast Asia

2. What kind of products do you find yourself creating? Is there a specific theme around the things you design? 

“…there should be very clear intentions behind why the product is the way it is”

Usually I have no idea where I’m going, as with every other design project. Sometimes the final outcome can be very clear e.g. if it’s a screen or a poster. However, there should be very clear intentions behind why the product is the way it is, be it through user interviews or explorations before settling on the most suitable medium for it. 

3. What does creativity mean to you? How do you maintain your creative energy?

“I think creativity to me is being able to make people feel surprised or curious.” 

I think creativity to me is being able to make people feel surprised or curious. A good mix of being by myself and with others. One where I can have some space and silence but also to talk to people like my colleagues or my family. Everyone is from different backgrounds and that in itself is very interesting to me. 

4. Can you walk us through your typical design process, from initial concept to final product for Shine? 

“How do you make something so abstract become tangible?” 

Shine started from a semester-long Y3 studio project. The brief was to think about a product shadow and work backwards – How do you make something so abstract tangible? 

I first went through massive amounts of research and learning from my peers research on what shadows are and the opposite of shadows, light. 

The next part was to do analysis of finding the right medium and intention to make these shadows come alive. When I eventually decided that the best way to represent the idea was through a book, there were several parallels that I had to run on. 

The first was to figure out what the story should be about. If we google children’s books, there are many different ways of telling the story. It could be by using analogies or from a first person point of view and thinking through was the most applicable way to tell the story. 

The next was to think about the content of the story – the messages and lessons that would be great to share with the young ones who are afraid of the dark. 

The third would be what kind of shadow effect would be the best – playing with transparency, indents on paper. There are so many permutations and combinations and thinking about the pairings which would serve the story the best. 

5. Was there an area you found yourself gaining a lot of inspiration from Shine?

“…speak[ing] to parents and children to find out what they thought of the book.”

The inspiration came from conversing with people. Back when I was still in Y3, I didn’t manage to get a lot of feedback from parents or children. It was only after graduation where there were more opportunities to speak to parents and children to find out what they thought of the book. Learning from the actual users and continuing to look up existing stories and words that resonate with people. Then, I managed to make the necessary edits before the mass production. 

I would sometimes go down to the library to read children books and see how other people do it. The books that tend to catch my attention are often not the most colourful or detailed in graphics but are ones which are simple to understand. If we provide a lot of details, parents will be able to understand and read into the graphics. However, when we use simple details, it is also up to the parents’ imagination to convey what they are reading to their children.

6. What was the biggest lesson you learnt in your journey as a designer? 

“…there are a lot in between and it is how we make use of the experience.”

Wah, a lot of lessons. The biggest lesson is in life, a lot of things are not in black and white. I tend to see things as either good or bad but there are a lot in between and it is how we make use of the experience. When I think about situations where I didn’t manage to get a project or as a visual communications designer, when the print didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to. It is not necessarily a bad or good thing but to treat it as a learning experience because things will not always turn out the way we want them to.

7. How do you see your work evolving in the future? Is there anything you see yourself exploring? 

“Perhaps it could be a collaboration with a chef…”

I’m looking forward to seeing how ideas can be represented in different ways. I usually work with softwares such as Figma, Adobe or on paper. I’m thinking what are the other exciting ways to present ideas to others, to the team, to the clients, to the world. 

Perhaps it could be a collaboration with a chef instead of just showing merely graphics, we could cook something together. I’m throwing out some random ideas. 

8. What is one advice you would like to give to aspiring designers?

My advice is to create your own advice. What might guide me now might not do so in the future. I hope for myself and others to be able to hold on to pieces of advice tightly at that moment but to be prepared to let them go as you progress.  

Zi Ning is currently a Visual Communications Designer at Studio Dojo – a creative design firm where she works on translating ideas onto the screen or onto paper.  The SHINE book is available for purchase through Greydient Store.