I am Qiang 嫱, a Chinese multi-disciplinary designer and researcher within Colour, Material and Finish (CMF), Communication Design and Branding.
I have participated in many interior projects such as for Danzhai Jin and Crowne Plaza Wuxi. In these projects, I curated sensual experiences, balancing aesthetics with function. In the hotel project Danzhai Jin, I thoroughly researched the indigenous culture of Hmong, in which the worship of nature plays a great role. I showed my respect and support for indigenous culture and local community by making the best use of traditional crafts such as indigo-dyed fabric and hand-made bird-cages. These past experiences furnished me with sophisticated knowledge about the relationship between art, craft and culture, which has led to my more comprehensive study of archaeology, especially the connection between human sensation and the material world.
At the RCA, I have focused on our most underrated sense – smell – and worked with perfumers from ISCIPCA to make scents that might be seen, touched, heard, and even created imaginary scents such as that of the MOON. Film, photography, painting, and craft are now my main approaches to non-verbal communication. Fundamentally I explore how our human sensations interact with the material world, and bring immaterial language to the CMF context.
I use a poetic and aesthetic way of storytelling to create multisensory experience and evoke universal emotions, “…teaches human beings how to become more human.”
