We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative Jintao Zhai ("JZ").
Will&Tao Design was founded in New York in 2024 and quickly became a pioneer in the creative design industry. With a broad portfolio of innovative projects, proficient in a wide range of design disciplines from branding and digital media to experience and architectural design. The diverse achievements of Will&Tao Design combine artistic vision and technology, providing solutions that not only meet customer needs but also set new industry benchmarks. A team of visionary designers and industry experts is committed to breaking through creative boundaries and redefining modern aesthetics.
Jintao Zhai Designs
We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by Jintao Zhai.
Jintao Zhai Design - Jiangmen Tech City Mixed Use Architecture
Designer Interview of Jintao Zhai:
DI: Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?
JZ : My journey began at Fuzhou University (2014-2019), where I earned a Bachelor of Engineering in Landscape Architecture, grounding me in the interplay between nature and built environments. This inspired me to pursue a Master of Architecture at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (2021-2024), where I explored avant-garde design methodologies. Becoming a designer wasn’t a childhood dream—it emerged from witnessing how design silently shapes human experiences. A pivotal moment was realizing that a thoughtfully designed public space could transform strangers into a community. That’s when I knew design was my language for change.
DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
JZ : Co-founded in 2024,Will & Tao Design Inc.is a New York-based trailblazer fusing art with technology. We operate across scales—from branding to architecture—driven by a belief that design must transcend aesthetics to solve real-world challenges. Our team of interdisciplinary innovators merges algorithmic thinking with cultural narratives.
DI: What is "design" for you?
JZ : Design isempathy materialized. It starts by listening—to people, sites, and ecosystems—then synthesizes needs into forms that elevate function into poetry. Great design doesn’t shout; it whispers solutions that feel inevitable.
DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?
JZ : I gravitate toward‘boundary-dissolving’ projects: installations that blur digital/physical realms, or buildings that become ecological actors. For instance, our award-winning community hub integrates wastewater recycling into its sculptural facade—proving sustainability can be visceral, not just visible.
DI: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
JZ : Jiangmen Tech City, this A’ Design Award winner, embodies my core ethos. We transformed a derelict industrial site into a climate-responsive cultural incubator. Its kinetic roof adapts to weather patterns, while modular interiors foster impromptu collaborations. It’s architecture as a living system—not a static monument.
DI: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
JZ : Mycelium compositesandreal-time 3D simulations. One offers biodegradable structural intelligence; the other allows us to test designs against climate scenarios—like seeing how a facade performs in 2050’s predicted heatwaves.
DI: When do you feel the most creative?
JZ : Creativity ignites inthe ‘liminal space’ between focus and rest—often during predawn sketching sessions when the city sleeps, or on cross-continental flights where time zones blur. Disruption of routine forces the brain to make unexpected connections.
DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?
JZ : Three layers:Ethics(Is it regenerative?),Emotion(Does it stir the soul?), andEvolution(Will it adapt over time?). A building should outlive its original purpose.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
JZ : A pendulum betweenfrustration and flow. Early stages feel like wrestling with ghosts—ideas are elusive. But when research, intuition, and technology suddenly align? That’s euphoria. Like catching lightning in a bottle.
DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?
JZ : Terrified exhilaration. Buildings are living entities—once realized, they belong to the world. Watching people inhabit a space we envisioned is like sending a child into the wild: proud but vulnerably aware it must now thrive beyond our control.
DI: What makes a design successful?
JZ : When it becomes abackground hero—seamlessly improving lives without demanding attention.
DI: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
JZ : First,honesty: Does it pretend to be what it’s not? A concrete facade mimicking wood grain fails this test. Second,empathic resonance: Can a 5-year-old intuitively interact with it? Great design communicates across ages and cultures.
DI: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
JZ : Designers arestewards of fragility. We must combat ‘solution pollution’—creating things that solve one problem but create three others. Every project should answer: How does this heal, not harm, our planetary home?
DI: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
JZ : Three shifts:From authorship to curation: Designers will orchestrate AI, bio-materials, and community input;From sustainability to regeneration: Buildings must actively heal ecosystems;From static to sentient: Spaces will learn and adapt via embedded sensors.The future isn’t about prettier objects—it’s aboutdesigning relationships.
DI: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
JZ : Non-design sources are richest:Poetry(e.g., Wislawa Szymborska’s metaphors for materiality);Failure(collapsed structures teach more than theory);Marginal spaces(NYC subway tunnels where moss grows on concrete).I collect ‘micro-observations’—a phone gallery of cracks, shadows, and makeshift repairs.
DI: How would you describe your design style? What made you explore more this style and what are the main characteristics of your style? What's your approach to design?
JZ : My style is‘Contextual Futurism’—respecting cultural memory while prototyping tomorrow. Growing up in China’s rapid urbanization, I saw ancient alleys replaced by generic towers. Now, we embed vernacular wisdom into tech-driven designs, like using AI to optimize courtyard wind flows inspired by Fujian tulou. Characteristics:Adaptive, Narrative, Invisible.
DI: Where do you live? Do you feel the cultural heritage of your country affects your designs? What are the pros and cons during designing as a result of living in your country?
JZ : Based inNew York, I absorb itscollision of histories and futures. Chinese heritage anchors me inyin-yang balance—our firm’s projects often mediate between density and emptiness. The pro? Endless cultural stimuli. The con? America’s obsession with ‘newness’ sometimes overlooks ancestral wisdom. I counter this by using parametric tools to reinterpret traditions, like digitally weaving bamboo weaving patterns into structural systems.
DI: How do you work with companies?
JZ : We reject the ‘genius designer’ myth.Co-creation is key.We’re mediators, not dictators.
DI: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
JZ : Hire for curiosity, not portfolios.Ask: ‘What fascinates you outside architecture?’ A designer obsessed with fungal networks or jazz improvisation will bring radical innovation. Avoid those who only showcase glossy renders—seek ones who document their iterative failures.
DI: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
JZ : Be a ‘T-shaped designer’—dig deep into one discipline (the vertical bar), but branch horizontally into ecology, sociology, even poetry. Andprotect your ‘creative ignorance’: sometimes not knowing ‘how things are done’ leads to breakthroughs.
DI: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?
JZ : Pros: Permission to reshape reality; Collaborating with neuroscientists/poets; Seeing your work become someone’s ‘memory anchor’.Cons: Eternal imposter syndrome; Sleep sacrificed to deadlines; Knowing even sustainable design consumes resources. We combat this by donating 5% studio time to repairing existing buildings.
DI: What is your "golden rule" in design?
JZ : Design for the ‘unseen user’.Beyond the client, who else is impacted? A child playing nearby? Birds nesting in the area? Soil microbes? If the design serves them, it serves everyone.
DI: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?
JZ : From3 weeks to 3 years. Pop-up installations take weeks; buildings demand years. But critical paths differ: A museum facade might undergo 200 digital iterations in a month, while community consultation for a park could span seasons to build trust.
DI: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
JZ : ‘How do you balance art and function?’ My answer: False dichotomy. A rainwater harvesting system can be a dazzling kinetic sculpture. Design dissolves such binaries.
DI: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
JZ : Hybrid infrastructures—e.g., a bridge that filters river water while hosting night markets. These projects demand dissolving boundaries between engineering, ecology, and social choreography. Why? They prove design can multitask as public service.
DI: How can people contact you?
JZ : Jintaozh@umich.edu
DI: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
JZ : To fellow designers: True glory lies not in newness, but inhealing the designed world.