What is this about?

On a Saturday night, I happened to be in a design workshop with Matthew Kwong. I remember he spoke to the whole room: “I think what makes a really great designer is the ability to learn over time, to not be afraid of trying new things, exploring new processes, and coming up with unique solutions.” Later, I discovered that Matthew - the speaker, my design mentor - is not just a designer. At the age of 26, he is the youngest in his team who has been a leader, manager, director of various start-ups and social enterprises. At the moment, he is fully committed to exploring and experimenting with new experiences to create innovation and make a difference as a product designer.

 

Back in his school years, Matthew was excited to develop unique ideas and bring to life his own creative projects in the design workshops. Yet, he realized what he made had already existed in the market at the end of the day. “I feel like a copycat. I’m not a designer”, he thought at that time, “Everything has already been made, so what’s the point?”. That sinking feeling caused a mini-crisis when he was 16 years old. Not long after that, his design teacher pulled him aside and told him that great designers had experienced, executed, and interacted with their own ideas. The process was there for us to try and implement in our own projects. What he was doing back then is an essential part of learning. It is crucial to know what works and what doesn’t, apply that knowledge wisely, and make well-informed decisions. Having been enlightened, Matthew shifted his focus towards the journey and exploring, experimenting, and creating to satisfy his own curiosity rather than trying to be unique.

 

Since then, he has developed a significant interest in the design world and has dreamt of becoming an architect. In year 11, he brought up this burning passion to his parents and teacher during a career counseling session, hoping they would say “Yes!” Instead, they said: “Hmmm, this is not a good idea,” You will have to spend 8 years settling for a license”, “This is gonna take forever,” “How are you gonna support your family?” Later that day, Matthew went home with his heart and dream crushed. Yet, his determination didn’t let reality beat him. He found a way to turn things around by doing a double degree in design and business to pursue his passion and, at the same time, fulfill his obligations.

 

Matthew’s creative journey continues with great joy and amusement. “I learned CNC milling, and there’s also laser cutting. So, I experimented with all these new and innovative processes.” He wanted to make art out of paper-cutting techniques because he sucked at drawing. Having seen the video “cutting paper with silhouette,” he decided to make a 3D dimensional art piece. Based on the model of NIKE “Back to the future” sneakers, Matthew designed the graphic using Adobe Illustrator. With the help of a vinyl cutter, he put pieces of paper together like a puzzle, layering different parts on top of each other, replicating the depth of the sneaker’s materials. After staring at his artwork for a few seconds, I almost felt like the image gradually emerged from the page. That sneaker was coming to life. He had arranged all the paper layers to create a unique visual effect on human eyes. Matthew’s effort was apparent since every cut of line and curve was so elegant and precise. I am not the only one who appreciates his endeavor with that piece for sure. Many people fell in love with Matthew’s version of sneakers. Eventually, he managed to sell one of them.

 

Another time, his idea brought him joy, along with a small business on Etsy called EikyoStudios. When he was sitting in a dumpling restaurant, he had a vision of drawing those tiny buns in the steamer, then putting them on a tote bag. People would probably be interested in having it. So, he went home and immediately got his hands on the notepad, drawing simple illustrations of the dumplings. From his design, I can tell Matthew is a minimalist. He always goes for a pastel palette, using basic shapes and around three fonts as a golden rule in the design world. His work then came to life in the form of a black tote bag, with 3 little hand-drawn dumplings and a lot of the word “bao” (a kind of steam buns) written in white. So, it’s a bao bag. And since Matthew grew up in Hong Kong, he told me it’s called “bao bao” in Chinese. It definitely looks cute, graphically and verbally. He chirped: “It’s basically got validated by my friends and family. I posted the picture on Instagram, and many people said they would buy one. To me, getting validated feels like what I have created is something people care about.” It encouraged Matthew to start up EikyoStudios on a small scale. Every now and then for the past 4 years, he would get random orders from Korea, America, Japan, Canada... and all over the world.

 

Having his own business running and a great full-time job as a service designer at OneTwo Home Loans, Matthew is still pursuing his own passion and venturing into the world with his ideas. He uses his design thinking skills to create better customer experiences for his work. Matthew laughed nervously when I asked about his definition of success, claiming success is a tricky term, especially for someone juggling design and business. Some days, he feels like just putting in the effort to create a minor impact, which leads to a difference in the long term, is good enough. Then he told me the story of a micro success. Everything started when Matthew ran his own business called Morning Roast. With the skills of a designer, he had all the freedom to craft his own brand assets. Yet, there are too many options to design a login portal for his customers. He explained to me: “Creativity is an iterative process. You discover a problem, consider alternative options, put everything together, test it out and bring it to the market. Then, you constantly have to think how to make it better”. And it took Matthew 4 months to make a portal that satisfied him and brought his customers’ utmost convenience.

 

Back to the topic of success, Matthew feels like, on other days, he can change the world. So, I asked out of curiosity, “How can a designer change the world?” Matthew patiently looked at me and spoke in a humble tone of how powerful the designer mindset and skillsets are. While people don’t really care about a product once it is done, he and other designers have to constantly learn and understand different processes to apply new ways of doing things and adapt to the fast-changing world. They are well-trained with the idea that things should be iterative and constantly improved. It is also a common practice used widely in business and social enterprises nowadays - the design thinking skill. There are hundreds of design thinking skills delivered in extracurricular programs and online courses in many prestigious universities in Australia and worldwide. It is considered a powerful asset of designers, which allows them to acknowledge inclusion, empathy, and diversity in the design and execution process. As a result, the outcome will empower others and support those in need. Many people see it as an advantage of designers to apply the human-centered design approach and their creativity to create a meaningful impact on the world around them.

 

“I’m not gonna entirely segment just designers because I think a lot of people can do it.” Matthew commented when I asked his opinions about design thinking, “But designers have this ability to assess global problems like climate change, poverty, accessibility for people who are disabled, ... Those are the common themes that I’ve come across in the design community.” And collective efforts are needed to tackle these issues. Designers can’t do it independently without a team to collaborate and execute such impactful ideas. Yet, designers would be vital team players with their skills and mindsets.

 

Having collective experience and different skill sets, he called himself “Matty do-the-thing Kwong.” He will greet you with a full bright smile and friendly, cheerful gestures if you ever meet him. Matthew can show you some of the best designs and products he has created as a designer, but he can also talk to you about a problem within his business and all the ideas he has as an entrepreneur. At the end of the day, I still remember his voice echoing a belief of what designers are capable of. “As a designer, you can fix so many different things out there.” It is a reminder and an encouragement, a declaration of the power of arts, curiosity, and creativity. They can lead us to serve a better cause in this world.