Audio Interviews

Xu Ming - Q & A with Andrew Senior

Welcome Ming. What I wanted to do was to start off by asking you a little about your company because it's unusual in the sense that you've already started a business which has an immediate international flavour because your partnership is with somebody from France. How did that come about?
click here to download

Looking at your work there's obviously a strong narrative there, what I'm interested in though is the way in which you've managed to create a bridge between an ancient civilisation in China and an ancient civilisation in France, how do you go about creating something where design works between those two environments, where there are cultural references going backwards and forwards. Is that a difficult process?
click here to download

What I want to ask you about now is the experience of being here in the UK and also applying for the programme. What made you decide to apply for the programme?
click here to download

What about the experience of being here in the UK, taking the tour to Glasgow, meeting people in the sector there, meeting people in the design sector here in London - has that been useful for you personally?
click here to download

Can I ask you then about the experience of being here with nine other people from the design sector in many different countries? How important has that experience been to you?
click here to download

I'm getting also from you a sense that actually the issue around ecology is very important for you personally, the notion of recycling things. How important, from what you're saying - China is going through a rapid period of industrialisation and growth - how important is the issue of climate change in China today?
click here to download

I want to ask you now about Shanghai and the Expo in 2010. How important do you think that is going to be for the design sector in Shanghai and in China broadly?
click here to download

But do you think that the Expo is going to have a big impact on the design sector in China?
click here to download

I wanted to just ask you, because the other person who is a furniture designer on the programme this time is Gunjan from India. Do you see a lot of similarities between the two of you in terms of what you are trying to achieve in your own countries. Two countries - India and China - that are seen as emerging economic giants but can you see similarities in terms of what you are both trying to achieve?
click here to download

It sounds to me though that in part what we're talking about is a difference of approach, in that it is an imperative within India to talk about culture and the local culture in terms of design, to recognise the extraordinary levels of artisanship that are there in India. Whereas in China the emphasis is somewhat different, the emphasis is far more on the notion of industrialisation. That actually consumers, the market in China, is different from the market in India; so that for you, looking at working in an urban environment like Shanghai, the issue of modernism and the like is actually a prevalent issue. Consumers are looking for Western influenced goods in many ways, which have that Chinese twist to them. Is that fair?
click here to download

Finally Ming, on Friday you'll find out who the winner is. I know that everybody who has come here is a winner because they won their national competitions, but how confident do you feel about Friday?
click here to download

And are you excited about going to 100% Design?
click here to download