The Big Interview: John Wai

Ahead of the LIV-BCN exhibition, opening tonight, Liverpool-based exhibiting designer John Wai gives us the lowdown on taking inspiration from different cultures, and loving each stage of the project at hand…

Designer John Wai has called Liverpool home since the early 1990s, originally hailing from Hong Kong. His passions lie in digital and creative application, producing work that is accessible, aesthetically pleasing and driven by simplicity.

Wai is multi-talented: a professional web developer and designer for more than 10 years, and a computer science graduate, he has worked with some of the best arts, music and culture organisations in Liverpool and around the UK. His diverse clients include EMI Records, The Guardian International Television Festival, Ian Brown, Liverpool Biennial, The Maccabees, A Small Cinema, Just Got Made and The Double Negative magazine.

He has been featured in Taschen publications twice (In their Icons of Web Design series) and has won accolades from the Roses Design Awards, the Big Chip Awards and the London International Advertising and Design Awards.

Taking inspiration from his Chinese heritage, Wai has created paper cut works for the LIV-BCN exhibition, using G. F. Smith Colorplan papers and Liverpool John Moores University’s Fab Lab laser cutting machinery.

You’re about to show new work in the LIVBCN exhibition, and this is very exciting for me, a0 as I’m curating it, and b) as you were the key partner in developing the look and feel of The Double Negative. Can you talk me through the new work you’re making: how did you approach the brief? 

I thought long and hard about what had been asked of me. I spoke at length about what Liverpool meant to me, and finally managed to narrow it down to some key phrases that I felt really harnessed the spirit of Liverpool. From this, I matched the words to concepts. From that, my art work was born.

The LIVBCN festival is about two cities meeting in the middle. I am interested in what your first impressions of Liverpool were? And now that you have spent more time in both cities, what you think Liverpool and Barcelona have to offer that is truly unique or alternative? 

I moved to Liverpool from a very fast-paced environment, it felt almost like a sleepy village to me! The longer I spent here I realised the opportunities Liverpool had to offer. The city is a welcoming city, it embraces diversity, houses strong, unwavering communities and is increasingly embracing culture and arts. It offers so much to every generation, a wealth of opportunities.

I visited Barcelona one summer, and was struck by its beauty. It was similar to Liverpool with its welcoming population; everyone greeted us with a smile. There are many differences between the two cities, but also many similarities that unite the two.

How did you get started in the design business? I know you studied Computer Science at Liverpol John Moores University; what turned you onto design?

Art and design was always my passion from a young age, as well as maths! When I moved to the UK to attend school, I was a little out of my depth. I ploughed myself into my artwork and spent much of my time sketching and painting. I combined this love of the creative with my mathematical brain, and worked on website research and design projects during my degree.

Through this, I was introduced to Simon at Smiling Wolf, and our working relationship began. Although my work with Smiling Wolf focusses mainly on web development, my personal projects touch much more on my experience of art and design.

You are as adept at web design and branding as you are illustration; how did you get to work in such a variety of styles and disciplines do you think? 

I never stop learning.

What do you really enjoy about your work?

I enjoy the variety. My craft is ever shifting, no one day is the same. I love to see each stage of a project, and then present the final product. I encounter a real range of people, who never cease to amaze me. I love the challenge of problem solving, of seeking new solutions or methods to a task.

Are there any artists/designers that you look up to and learn from? If so, who?

I seek inspiration from everywhere. I constantly look at the work of other artists and designers as a bid to improve my craft, I aim to be the best I can be, and plan to never stop evolving.

What is currently on your radar in terms of influences, for both personal projects and client work?

Me! Or the client…

What’s the best piece of design advice you’ve had so far?

“Design is everywhere, you just have to open your eyes”.

Laura Robertson (curator, LIV-BCN 2015)

See more on John’s website and on Twitter: @JohnWai_ and Insta: johnwai_

Close up photographs — second and fourth down — courtesy Gemma Manz, with thanks

Exhibition Launch Party Friday 10 July 2015 6-10pm. Open weekdays 10-6pm (weekends closed), 13-24 July.

Exhibition Research Centre, Liverpool School of Art and Design (LJMU), 2 Duckinfield Street, Liverpool, L3 5RD – FREE

Music: The Kazimier Gardens (daytime) and The Kazimier (8pm-3am), Liverpool, Saturday 11 July 2015 – ADV tickets £15, available to buy now from Skiddle

Read our Big Interviews with Mariadiamantes and Marnie 

More on A Small Cinema Liverpool here