Qiran Zhao

The designer was inspired by tactile paving and used plaster to replicate the shape of the bottom of the bottle.

Qiran Zhao

As a lover of art and design, Qiran does not set herself a fixed role. Most of the time she works on design-related matters, but some of the time she is also a fashion blogger, an observer. She has a jumpy mind that allows her to think outside the box from time to time.

Rather than thinking about design in terms of problem solving, Qiran tends to redesign objects that already exist in the world. She is interested in the unassuming objects in life and uses them as a starting point for thinking. She likes to wander the streets of the city in search of beauty that has been overlooked.

Experiences:

BA Camberwell College of Arts (3D Design / 2018-2021)
MA Architectural Association School of Architecture (Performence Design / 2021-2022)
MA Royal College of Art (Design Products / 2022-2023)

Qiran worked on collaborative projects with Stockwell Community Centre and the St. John Museum in London (2018-2020).

Rather than thinking about design in terms of problem solving, Qiran tends to redesign objects that already exist in the world. The designer is interested in the unassuming objects in life and uses them as a starting point for thinking. She likes to wander the streets of the city in search of beauty that has been overlooked.

Qiran likes to keep a design development diary, notebooks that clearly record her thoughts on each stage of a project. The designer likes to present products in a handmade way. The process of hands in contact with materials is a time to increase experience. This process draws the designer closer to the design.

pavement texture

pavement texture 1

Bottoms 1

Bottoms

Bottoms 1 – The bottom of the bottle is combined with the cap, and the top view angle shows another new bottle.

Qiran's so cute sketch book

cute sketch 1

cute sketch 2

cute sketch 3

cute sketch 4

process

process 1

D.011

D0.1

D0.21

D0.2

D0.3

D0.4

No more deep

The focus of this project is on the use of redesign to uncover the buried beauty of the city. As the designer wanders around the city, he discovers that there is not only the beauty of an area but also the beauty of its details. For this project the designers focused on redesigning the surface of the city's streets, the tactile paving is a common texture found on city streets and when the foot is placed on these raised dots the designer's imagination is stimulated. The designer took the photographed surface texture of the street and refined it to create new patterns. These patterns are rendered by floating on the surface of the tiles. As the designers develop the project they are also encouraging people to have a new way of looking at the urban environment.

In Collaboration with:

Qiran Zhao/Designer

Medium:

Plaster tiles

Size:

8cm*8cm*1cm

product-design

hi dudu 3

hi dudu 1

Dudu body parts

hi dudu 2

Dudu body parts

hi dudu 4

DUDU PROJECT

Product design has evolved in recent years, and even now, away from problem solving as an end in itself. When we know that water cups exist, we no longer seem to be concerned with the way we hold water. We start to care about what kind of container will give us a better feeling when we drink. Today, product design is more about how to upgrade a design so that people can think about it. This is designer's view on design.

The dudu project is based on a quote by designer Hella Jongerius: "Inspiration can only fly when the heart is free". In this project Qiran wanted to give people who have been sitting in the office for a long time a chance to 'escape'. In this project deisgner enjoy using the shapes of plants and animals that she observed and make use of. She wanted to find a way to allow organic design to co-exist in human life.