My Palace in Taiwan - Yang Shi-Ching (楊士慶)

“Solitude requires you to move past reacting to information created by other people and focus instead on your own thoughts and experiences – wherever you happened to be”

— Cal Newport, Digital Minimalism

Hello everyone, happy 2025! I hope each and every one of you had a great start to the year, I know I did! The Asia trip was fun and fruitful and it’s so good to be back on my home turf!

One thing about me is I am a proud Taiwanese, and one thing about interiors in Taiwan is, that our options for interestingly built houses are a little more limited than in the states. Since we didn’t go through architectural movements like how Chicago did or the nationwide Art Deco era, our hyper-fixation on efficiency and measures to counter humidity within interiors made most homes available extremely simple and uninformed. This phenomenon leads to one thing, people with a vision will often need to start fresh and alter everything down to the structure of a home before they could even fill it up with things they love. I find this particularly interesting because, unlike the West, to make a home uniquely yours, you don’t stumble upon your dream home but build it out, quite literally even if it’s a condo, and I want to document cool places like these because that’s so cool, we, are so cool because of that.

Without further ado, let me introduce you to Yang Shi-Ching, a talented graphic designer with amazing works from album design, film festival visuals, and national award ceremony visuals, to concerts and magazine covers. We’ve been in the talks for years since he first moved into his new home, and I’m so excited we got to make it happen while I’m in town and talked about his journey, inspiration, and what he discovered while creating a space he is proud to call home.

Hi Shi-Ching, it’s been a long time coming and I’m so glad I finally have the opportunity to witness your gorgeous space! Now before I bomb you with my questions, could you tell me who you are and what is it that you do?

My name is Yang Shi-Ching and I am a graphic designer. My area of expertise goes from album design to key visuals for major events, festivals, and concerts.

From album design, festival, and event visuals to now taking on key visuals for GMA( Golden Melody Awards) and nationwide concert visual design for Amei, your work is diverse in scale and medium on a whole different level, how was that journey like for you? How did you get to where you are now?

It was pretty unexpected, to be honest. I started taking photos with my point-and-shoot after graduating college, just odds and ends and things that interested me until I met Aaron Nieh, a very important person in my life who changed my career trajectory. He approached me and asked if I’d be interested in joining him for a project he had going on. I said yes without asking what the project might be, and boy was I nervous because if it was about graphic design, why would he need me since he's already a well-established and talented designer?

Turns out he wanted me to photograph a zine for Yoga Lin’s upcoming album. I finished the project with him without any experience in photography and with a simple point-and-shoot in my possession. After some time, I was approached by the same project manager after knowing graphic design was my main focus besides photography to work on the Yoga’s concert DVD design.

I plunged headfirst into album design and stuck around in the music industry ever since. As time went on people mostly knew me for my work in the industry and later, I started working on visuals for concerts and playwrights or events.

Were there moments you had to adjust your design approach after working in the music industry where I imagine had more input and comments in the process?

Before working on albums, my direction has been designing what I want, what I deem fun, and what I think is interesting. But when artists and labels are involved, you start thinking about how I can use my design to help push them to another level visually. As a photographer, you would know, that when someone new is put in front of you, you need to think about how to use their vision as a vehicle and help them look the best your subjects can be. That was something I had trouble finding at the beginning of my career, still, once I had more experience I began to notice the flow and created a process that works best for me in finding that delicate balance between self-expression and curating well-tailored imagery for my clients.

We’re often our own harshest critics. Instead of thinking I could’ve done better, was there a moment in time when you’d like to tell your old self, "Good job, thank you for doing that?"

I think I’ve been doing that quite often *laughs. There were many moments throughout my career when I’d find myself saying thank you for not giving up, especially during frustration or setbacks. I like to tell myself no feelings are final and power through crucial moments where I thought about giving up, with that, I’m grateful for my past self.

Funny enough, I do miss that raw creative energy at the beginning of my career, it’s easy to lose that sense of creativity and feeling when you’re designing for the first time as time goes on, and I’m excited to warm back up to it someday.

I’m sure album design and events are very different in scale, regardless of the artist's size. Were there any projects that you felt you might be ready for but still took on?

I think a lot of my projects were like that. My best example is the DVD design and photo zine for Yoga Lin as my first introduction to this format without prior experience in portraiture or album design. Often times I believe in taking things on even if you don’t feel ready, nobody, not even yourself can really say whether or not you’re ready for certain cases, if any, you’re never really ready because we’re constantly improving and growing.

When you’re presented with an opportunity, I try to not overthink whether or not I’m up for it, accepting in this moment I am the best I can be and just got for it. I do regularly revisit my old projects though, I like to examine my past work after a few years have passed and see was there are components or designs I could’ve done better, and incorporate my learnings into my current practice.

As a designer touching on so many different genres from festival flyers, event key visuals, album covers, and zines, where do you get your inspiration from?

I enjoy shopping a lot.

I don’t mean shopping for something, but it’s more the state of mind and things I look out for when I’m out simply, browsing around. Not only am I more relaxed when I’m shopping but I pay extra attention to design elements around me and keep those details of inspiration in my brain, so when the right project comes along I can pull them off the top of my head.

I would say the process of shopping is a huge source of inspiration for me.

It’s almost like accumulating references and pieces for when you finally have a space to fill it up! Have you ever noticed the correlation between those two as you’re designing or creating your own home?

I think many might be hesitant to buy the things they love for fear of what others might think of them or if it’s even a good fit for their space, but I truly believe if it’s something you truly enjoy and am excited to see incorporated into your living space, why the hell not?

Originally, I told the interior designer I was working with on my home that I wanted that Wabi-sabi style, but now as you can see not just the furniture but the bone of this home is so far off from that style. I think that’s the best part of curating your own space and finding what you truly like without the constraint of trying to stick to a certain style, you might go in having a certain style in your vision but once you truly envision yourself living there, what you want is often subject to change and just like my design process, it’s adding your personal touch to make it extraordinarily you.

Speaking of extraordinarily you, one thing I’ve noticed is you tend to add very whimsical, non-structured designs while maintaining a structured foundation in your work, how did that signature look come to be?

Thank you for that! I’ve had many clients and friends tell me there's a signature look to my design, but oftentimes they couldn’t put a name to my style or pinpoint exactly what it was. I find that very interesting, just like within the realm of interior design, you can tell if something is uniquely you without labeling an existing style to it.

Having a signature look can be a double-edged sword, so whenever I’m working on projects I like to ask myself if I want to spin it in a way that is so recognizable or let’s go for something brand new to fit the client’s narrative.

To your point, I think it has a lot to do with my personality. I never did well in school or wanted to get good grades, “Why do I HAVE to study, why can’t I just go after things I enjoy?” was a question I had in mind growing up. My rebel personality would compel me to create 5 squiggly lines and 5 straight ones when asked to draw 10 straight lines, and I think that reflects a lot on my design process to this day. I can work within the structure but I don’t like to be stuck in a rigid box if it doesn’t feel uniquely me.

Graphic design often fascinates me, and if there’s one thing in common with photography is knowing when to stop editing, how do you decide when the work is done and when it’s time to step away?

Realistically speaking when the deadline hits you just have to step away and send it back to your clients for review *laugh.

Of course, there will be times when I finish a project early and to be honest, knowing when to step away from my station only ever comes with experience.

I’ve had my students ask me this too but I never had a good answer for this, it really is an accumulation of your taste, experience, and how you nurture your work process that helps you determine when something is truly done.

It’s been four years since the pandemic hit and for some reason, we all came out alright, if not stronger. What did you do to stay centered and sane? Have any of those new habits carried over now that things are back to normal?

For designers, the impact of the pandemic or shelter-in-place wasn’t that severe because our work can exist outside of physical location and most of my ongoing projects kept on going throughout. I’m already a huge homebody outside of shopping as I mentioned before, so I had no problem staying in for a long period of time whether it’s scrolling, reading, or drawing just for fun. Interestingly enough, having a space that was undergoing construction while working on the project at hand was enough to keep me busy, I don’t think I really developed any specific habit to cope with the world shutting down.

Surprisingly, I didn’t feel like I got to slow down and breathe during the pandemic, instead, it wasn’t until the past few years I finally got to go on vacations or actually have a change of pace and relax.

I’m sure you have your fair share of traveling, seeing designs from around the world left alone working on foreign projects. As a graphic designer, what do you think it is that makes Taipei stand out as a city of design?

I can’t really tell you what element is uniquely Taiwan because we’re such a diverse city, but in recent years, our work and designers have gained visibility around the globe and that’s something I loved seeing.

As far as Taiwan designer goes, I, for example, we’re really dedicated to our work to the point where work-life balance can seem pretty blurred. We are a loving, passionate, warm, and non-confrontational bunch, which often leads to us putting our best interests on the sidelines for the greater good. Unlike in other countries, striking or walking away from a project doesn’t happen often, but because of our dedication to every project, quality work is always a guarantee from Taiwanese designers.

Like many, me included, we moved out of our hometown and came to Taipei and made it our home, what do you think of the city?

I was born and raised in Hsinchu, and ever since I could remember Taipei has always been a city I longed to live in. If you ask me what I think of this city personally, after living in Taipei for a few years you’ll realize like many big central hubs, Taipei is just as lonely and realistic as it is fun.

Lonely because it’s filled with transplants so whenever a holiday drew near the city is the quietest it’s ever been, and if you choose to stick around during the holidays that sense of loneliness can be pretty intense, and to be honest I don’t like that feeling.

Realistic because before coming to Taipei I firmly believed your work should do most of the talking, but to survive or make it in this city, your social skills and connections are equally important if not more than how good your work is. I still had trouble getting used to this phenomenon happening in this city to this day. Not saying other people are less talented because they have more connections or do well in social settings, but it has become a requisite on top of your expertise when it comes to landing a job or building your reputation in the industry and city. I choose to make Taipei my home because I love it here, but with most metroplex, it’s something I’ve learned to get used to and embrace along with all that I love about this vibrant city.

As I look around I can see a lot of your taste in a tangible form! Now the hard part is, what would you say is your favorite thing about your home?

I have two favorite corners in this house.

First I’ll lead you to the open shelving behind my work desk, originally I wanted a full wall for my books but I ended up having this spot for displaying my personal collections.

My second go-to spot is the kitchen. I made sure my kitchen was a space for slowing down, a corner I could remove myself to after designing all day. The funny thing is I don’t cook as much despite having an extensive cookware collection *laugh, I think the kitchen was also the first completed section when we were working on this house.

Something special about this space that I love is this coral-orange pillar. During the designing process of this home, I mentioned wanting a pop of color on top of the grey and black base palette, and we ended up keeping this pillar, shaving it to give off a brutalist vibe, and painting it orange. I think this pillar really reflects who I am as a person, a pop of vibrant personality within a more muted palette.

This is a fun corner too, I don’t own a vinyl player but I do have a vinyl collection wall in my dining room since music is an industry I work very closely in.

And we are almost at the bottom of my list of Qs for today, for those who are interested in getting into this business or starting something of their own. What suggestions or advice you would like to give them or wish you had known sooner

I often tell myself and my students if you’re lucky enough and find something you genuinely enjoy, you should do it no matter what. You’ll be surprised by how resilient and how much you can overcome as you push forward.

As for creating your own space, my advice would be don’t put yourself in a box by holding onto a certain style. The longer you occupy the space, it will morph into something that best reflects who you are as a person. I believe a space looks best when it gives off that lived-in feeling, things don’t have to be perfect or spotless, and that’s what I look for not just in my space but on other house tours.

To wrap this interview up, I am also curious personally: What’s on the horizon for you? Are any “Big things coming” in the works for you? What would you like the world (whichever random soul stumbled upon this article) to know about?

A recent project I found myself breaking out of my comfort zone for was to create a design course. To be honest this might be the most challenging project I’ve worked on because coursework was something I never had experience in and I really had to dig deep into not only how my process came to be, but also export that finding into words others would find informational, or understandable to sat the least.

I’m pretty excited though because I don’t think I’ll do something like this ever again, and I feel like I understood myself better after this!