On September 16, 2021, designer Zhang Fei's brand experience store is about to open in Shanghai. In the future, he will continue to operate his own brand direct store. 

In 2012, during his startup brand stage, he started from scratch and accumulated his initial wealth and network with the help of DOD. 

Ten years pass in a blink of an eye, time changes, but the spirit of originality remains unchanged. 

When it comes to his latest children's building block design, he still gets excited, subtracting from the practicality of the design and adding to the diversity of identities. 

The purpose of building offline experience stores in shopping malls is to enable us to have a more direct contact with the market demand side and to balance some things. 

However, even if the products are balanced, they still need to be original.

No matter what the market is like, I believe that what is right must be persisted in Zhang Fei said.

Q ： Please discuss your understanding of "original design" or "original spirit".

A ： I have found that people often have two opinions about original design in their daily lives:

 one is to pursue so-called originality too much and want to create designs that are not available in the world. 

I don't agree with this approach. If you create a new way or processing method, it is also considered original. 

The second issue is that the term 'original design' is ubiquitous, 

which is problematic and can make it difficult for the general public or ordinary consumers to understand the situation. 

If your design breaks through in any aspect, users will eventually feel it, although some may not. 

The product itself can reflect some of the original design content, without the need for literal advertising.

Q ： What do you think is the biggest opportunity or dilemma facing Chinese original designers at present?

A ： The opportunity lies in the formation of a mass consumer market, and the younger generation of consumers is running around the world, admiring things everywhere, 

and their horizons are getting higher and higher. This is a great soil, which means that more and more people are willing to pay for the things you make. 

In the early stages of our original design, there were relatively few people in this group. 

Therefore, when your design needs to be commercialized, it is either over hyped or perceived as a work of art. It's different now, 

I feel like an opportunity has come. Regarding challenges, I believe that Chinese original design will inevitably embark on a path of exploration towards pure design. 

Some very skilled designers manage design in order to take original design to a higher level.

Original design is not just about a few young people designing a few products, 

but requires continuous investment from designers - especially when it reaches a certain level of development, 

designers need to be original and know how to persist in where they should.

Q ： How did your collaboration with DOD begin? What is its greatest help to you?

A ： I participated in the first DOD. At that time, it was 2012, and we were nothing and had little opportunity to showcase our products to the public and media. 

Actually, more than a decade ago, I thought about the issue of product sales reputation - starting from 2012 and moving forward a few years, we would also provide some design services for companies. 

Some companies would say that we would be great in the future because we knew how to make products. 

However, we feel that there is no way forward. How can we sell our products and how can we sell them? 

So, when DOD appeared, I think first of all, this platform was particularly good, it could open up a path for the products of these start-up small brands or designers at that time - there was no path before; 

Secondly, it also allows more media, the general public, and the market to know and understand you, which is important for a startup grassroots small brand. 

It not only helps us build confidence, but also directly brings us orders and sales. So, in the early stages, DOD was very helpful to us, and the same goes for many other small design brands.

Q ： This year, the fourth RED Red Design Exhibition of DOD, with the theme of "Design for Need", invites designers to enter furniture companies and create designs based on the existing products in the factory,

helping companies accelerate their competitiveness in the domestic market. Please share your thoughts on this.

A ： I think this is a very good path because these designers have drive and ideas, but they lack resources in the factory sector. 

Factories are traditional enterprises that have experience, capital, and equipment, but their ideas are often outdated. 

The first DOD once held an exhibition with mahogany furniture as the theme, curated by Zhao Yun and others. I found it quite attractive at the time. 

It used young people's methods to showcase the freshness of mahogany, a traditional material, and entered the market in a new form, winning new consumer groups. 

At present, it is a transitional period, and combining various strengths is a good approach. For example, as an original designer, he lacks the funds to develop products, 

and even if he creates a product, how to sell it is a problem. After cooperating with the factory, some problems were solved, so I think this method is particularly good. 

In addition, the act of designers entering factories can also show society that the industry is undergoing some changes. However, a few days ago, 

I had a video conference with several designers at the RED Red Designer Exhibition, and they also had a lot of troubles. Their enthusiasm for cooperation with the factory was very high this time, 

and they put forward many ideas. However, the company raised some doubts and concerns, which made them feel a little disappointed. 

This is also a problem we are currently facing. However, the organizers have been working hard to help both parties reconcile and coordinate efforts in areas such as benefit distribution, 

design and manufacturing rationalization, and promoting cooperation.

Q ： What is your definition and future plan for your independent brand's "original design"?

A： Its future is definitely related to our initial choice of the name 'original design'. It is very simple and relatively rustic. What it gives us is an essential and impactful thing, 

so we cannot do very complex and fancy designs. We hope to present the product to everyone through simple design and simpler processing methods, that's all.