DI: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
ZYG : I want viewers to experience the passage of time when they look at my sculptures through the ice melting. I think that time is more like a concept. It is something we know but can't touch in person. It is precious, and everyone can only pass through the time once. So, I hope people can think about time through my work and bury the seeds of the belief to cherish and live in the moment.
DI: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?
ZYG : My instructor Olga Mezhibovskaya inspired me a lot. She is an interdisciplinary artist, and the way she teaches students is exceptional. She never limits students' imagination and expression, and she encourages us to experiment with different materials and forms. She leads us to integrate different disciplines. So, I will observe and perceive everything happening around me, think and try to express my ideas with some unique materials.
DI: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?
ZYG : Physically: Water, Fridge, Silicon, Wood, Paper, Fabric
Digitally: Photoshop, Indesign
DI: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?
ZYG : My typographic sculptures are made with ice; they will start melting at the moment when they leave the fridge. So, I need to keep a low-temperature environment when I bring them to the group discussion. It was also a bit challenging when I wanted to stand the sculptures up. Because the bottom facade of the letters T and I are more minor, especially the top of the T is larger than the bottom, it is not easy to maintain balance. When I want to get all four letter sculptures up, it's hard to get them all up simultaneously.
DI: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?
ZYG : I received the invitation to nominate.