My name is Tzuhsiang Lin. I am a product designer currently based in New York. I am currently a second-year graduate student at Pratt Institute where I specialize in product design, furniture design and accessory design.

I have a passion for design. Design is a personal understanding gained through keen observation of life and the surroundings and a rigorous process of considering oneself, the objects around us and social responsibility. I enjoy and am enthusiastic about seeing the joy and emotion on people's faces when they see a design creation that took hundreds or thousands of hours to create.

Design is a deliberate process that stems from personal observations of life and surroundings.

This is a great question! I believe everyone has a different definition of what they consider good design. For me, a design that touches me emotionally is a design that I love.

I believe that good design not only combines practicality and feasibility but also showcases the designer or brand's unique style. To me, a good design is one that can evoke emotions, even if it's only for a small group of people.

Many individuals may find a design to be fantastic, as it solves their problem or they simply must have it! This is because the design and the designer have shared similar life experiences and journeys as you, which truly moves people.

My designs revolve around my life experiences and the things I care about. I hope that my designs can first move myself before moving others. As I mentioned earlier, I believe that good design must be able to touch people emotionally.

As for the style or main characteristics of my designs, many friends have told me that they can recognize my work when they see it. However, I am still exploring and developing my personal style.

As I mentioned earlier, my designs are derived from my observations of life around me. I start by discovering inspiration from my own life experiences and then proceed with the design development process, which involves conducting research, sketching, creating prototypes, and ultimately finalizing the design. This process follows the fundamental steps of design, including research, sketching, prototyping, and finalizing the product.

Certainly. As a foreigner studying in the United States, I have had a profound experience of understanding and constantly reflecting on how my own culture influences design in different ways. Besides language, there are subtle differences in design preferences, or more precisely, in the attention given to specific details.

I believe that my cultural background and diverse upbringing enable me to bring forth a different perspective in the design process, focusing on how design impacts people's emotions and points of engagement.

This is wonderful news for me, as it acknowledges and recognizes the time and effort I have invested in my work. I chose to participate in this competition primarily because I greatly admire the previous award-winning designs and coincidentally, being in New York, I felt it was imperative for me to take part in this prestigious event.

The greatest assistance would likely be increasing exposure opportunities! It allows more people to see my design.

Fast fashion has caused serious pollution and negative environmental impacts. Rebirth is a project that adopts the concepts of “recycling used clothes” to produce furniture. By giving a new life to used clothes, the project hopes to encourage people to cherish resources and take actions to solve the environmental issues people are facing in the industrial times.

Despite donation or abandonment, Rebirth tried to show the used-clothes new appearance, by using various methods, such as ripping off, stitching together and re-arranging, Rebirth changes the colors and materials to create the heart-warming feeling and reverse the stereotype of used- clothes.

The biggest help should be to increase exposure opportunities! I can let more people see my designs and increase my confidence in designing products.

First and foremost is a diverse and inclusive space. A healthy design environment should embrace diverse expressions and different perspectives. Additionally, respecting one another is crucial. I believe people should respect each other's varying viewpoints and interpretations of design, as it allows for the development of design products with greater possibilities. Lastly, there is mutual learning. It is a joyous experience to be able to see products designed by different designers and learn from one another.

As a designer from another country studying in the United States, I believe the most distinctive aspect lies in the background and character shaped by my own culture. I find that many designers from my country are known for their efficiency and ability to quickly identify key points, which results in products that are highly competitive in terms of pricing and innovative capabilities.

There is a greater emphasis on the development of green design. Particularly, there is a higher reliance on electronic product design, especially in terms of portability or wearable electronic products.

Believe in oneself's ability to accomplish tasks and to stand firm in one's design perspective.

Take the time to look at the award-winning works from design competitions and explore various rendering or computer modeling techniques available on Google.

Design is a lengthy process that involves constantly pushing oneself forward and exploring the possibilities of each design along the way.