Fabric8 Finalist Profile | Melissa Wang

We kick this week off with the sixth interview of our series profiling our 8 finalists in our Fabric8 Design Challenge! Today we share a bit about Melissa Wang, a designer from Singapore. Stay tuned for our last 2 interviews and voting to open on Thursday!

Describe your typical day as a designer.

A typical day in the office starts with a briefing of any new projects and updates for present projects before we all settle down to our various duties.

Where do you interact most often with your design community?

I work in an advertising company and have been with them for over eight years. I also do freelancing when the opportunity comes up. I have a deep passion for all forms of art and enjoy challenging my creativity. I was very happy to have discovered the design community through several websites like FFFFound! and Behance. The design community on these sites offer lots of ideas and I have met people who are always willing to share whatever they know.

What do you do to meet a tight deadline?

Working to meet a tight deadline often means having to work late. When this happens, I have a support system to depend on. My helper looks after my three children during the day. If I work late, my husband is there to help with the children at night.

Cosmic Discovery

How did you come up with your Fabric8 design?

For my Fabric8 design, I started by sketching on paper. After browsing through different websites, ideas started flowing and I started creating my design using Illustrator and Photoshop. When deciding on colours for my design, I looked at Colourlovers to help me with my colour palette. My inspiration for my design came about because of my children. I have 3 children, a girl and two boys. We had been reading about space, the planets and talking about aliens and astronauts as well as doing arts and crafts based on this.

What's your favorite art medium?

I like to create handmade embroidery in almost any fabric – including denim, upholstery and silk. I would like to learn the embroidery art work of Yumiko Higuchi, Takashi Iwasaki and Maricor/Maricar. They are so skillful at embroidery, and their colourful patterns and project ideas are so impressive and it is all done by hand!

What is your favorite song, album, or artist? Do you listen to music when you design?

One of my greatest wishes is to be able to hear so that I can enjoy all the wonderful music the world has to offer. However, since that is not possible as I became deaf when I was a toddler due to an unknown illness, I have to depend on my hearing-aids to allow me to experience music. I really enjoy the song HAPPY by Pharrell Williams. It just makes me feel so happy whether I am eating, thinking or drawing with its lively beat.

If you could meet any character from a film, who would it be?

I enjoy all Disney and Studio Ghibli characters. The characters are so beautiful and entice my fantasies and imagination for all things ethereal. It allows me to improvise my drawings and dress designs.

Where would you go if you could travel anywhere, and what is one thing you'd most like to see or do there?

When I was younger and single, I had the opportunity to travel to Europe, Hawaii, Australia, China, Thailand, Japan and Hong Kong. Japan is my favourite place. This was where I explored art and visual culture, and made many Japanese deaf friends. Fortunately, I’m working in a company which has its headquarters in Japan!

What do you think next year’s theme should be and why?

I think next year’s theme, should be about SPORTS LUXE like the Olympics or any other kind of sports. These sports luxe characters really get into the winning spirit of the Olympics. In today’s world, where most people are very health conscious, it has become very chic to be involved in sports. We love watching and playing competitive sports.

What are your plans if you win?

If I win (I have always wanted to be one of those talented designers of fabric and fashion), I would like to have my winning piece printed on fabric and used in my children’s room – as curtains, bed sheets, towels and even pajamas. I would also take the next step to sell my ideas for fashion and bags on-line.