Interview with Rui Ning, Co-Founder & Creative Director of GND N+ DESIGN, China

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Rui Ning

As Creative Director of GND N+ DESIGN, Rui Ning leads her team in the creative process and provide professional consulting and design services with unique nights to clients all around the world.



Interview with the 2020 MUSE Design Awards Winner - Rui Ning

1Please give us a brief bio of yourself and your background.

I graduated from Harbin University of Architecture with a degree in architecture and worked for Vanke for eleven years in the interior design department before joining GND Design Group and founding the sub-brand of N+ Design.

2What made you become/why did you choose to become a designer/artist?

Love of design and respect for people, nature and life.

3Tell us more about your business/company, job profile, and what you do.

I joined GND Design Group in 2013 and founded the N+ Design brand, providing professional consulting and design services to clients around the world with unique insights.

In 2018 N+ Design set up an independent original gallery, original sculpture art company, with a high-end decorative painting custom factory and high-end art sculpture production factory. It can independently undertake large-scale art projects, as well as artist derivatives and artist-specific curatorial services. The company integrates strategic cooperation resources, including interior design, soft furnishings and landscape design, to create a full range of first-class space design for clients.

I mainly lead my team to do the design together, but it should also be a co-creation process. Every now and then, I go to the site to see the materials and enjoy the creative process.

4What does “design” mean to you?

It means "life" to me, because I am learning as I create, and it grows with me and as we get better and better together, and I hope that I am always classic and young, like "design".

5What’s your favorite kind of design and why?

"There are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people's eyes”, so I have no favorites, and I accept and like different styles and different kinds of good designs.

6To you, what makes a “good” design?

Fit. Just like people's five senses, they may not look good on their own, but when combined together, they look good.

7Describe your design style and its main characteristics.

My design style and philosophy are very simple, that is, to better serve my clients, I do projects by communicating with the clients for a long while in order to understand the needs of my clients. A good interior designer does not have to use the most expensive materials and the trendiest elements to make a good work, but must know the needs of the client, with my own professional ability to deliver the most suitable design to create a customized space for the client.

8Tell us about your design process.

Start with understanding the needs, then analyze, gather information, first draft, second draft, final draft, confirmation, order material, deliver. During the process, we will constantly communicate with the client to optimize the solution.

9Do you think your country and its cultural heritage has an impact on your design process?

The cultural heritage is actually reflected in our works, because you are an authentic Chinese, you have the Chinese aesthetic, and you have received the Chinese education, so it is definitely the Chinese culture that is reflected in our works. Modern design is an expression of the interior designer's thinking, which is based on Chinese culture.

10Congratulations! As the winner of the 2020 MUSE Design Awards, what does it mean to you and your company and team to receive this award distinction?

It means that we're doing great, that my team is great, and that we're all great designers, and thanks to MUSE for recognizing us. I hope to be recognized by you again in the future.

11Can you explain a bit about the winning work you entered into the 2020 MUSE Design Awards, and why you chose to enter this project?

This project has been done with great care, and we hope our work can be recognized by MUSE.

12What was the biggest challenge with this project?

The biggest challenge is myself, because I have been in the industry for so many years, it is hard to break my design habits and experience to design a brand new project.

13How has winning an Award developed your practice/career?



The more people who recognize the MUSE award, the more people will recognize me and my team.

14What are your top three (3) favorite things about our industry?

Creativity, energy, and aesthetics.

15What makes your country specifically, unique in the design industry?

The Chinese culture that has been passed down for over 5,000 years.

16Where do you see the evolution of design industry going over the next 5-10 years?

The standard of living will improve and so will the aesthetic, so I think the design requirements are going to get higher and higher.

17If you were a student entering this industry or an aspiring MUSE Design Awards submitter, what advice would you give them?

Cherish every opportunity to create.

18Who has inspired you in your life and why?

I'm inspired by my team, which is mostly female, and probably as a woman would be more attentive to what the client thinks and more willing to listen to the needs of the space users. Female designers have a deeper and better understanding of the home. In the design of residential hard and soft furnishings, women are naturally sensitive to the texture of fabrics and other materials, and the design of storage space is a natural instinctive need. However, there is no particular difference between men and women in the industry of interior designers, each with its own advantages.

19What is your key to success? Any parting words of wisdom?

The foundation of success is completing the design work one step at a time. I hope to use our own strengths and skills to show more people the value we create for them. With our unique vision and skills, we turn the N+ (means infinite in Chinese) possibilities of aesthetics and people's desire for a happy life into a beautiful reality.

20Do you have anything else you would like to add to the interview?

Great thanks to 2020 MUSE for recognizing our work. This accolade is more than just mine, it is an honor and recognition that the entire company has been working hard to receive over the past year. It is also an important milestone for us to insist on pursuing excellence in products and using the spirit of rigorous craftsmanship to realize the design ideals. We will, as always, do a good job of each product with a sense of awe, cherish every social resource, respect every customer's needs and the pursuit of perfection.



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