Interview with Feng Zhu
Hello Feng, could you tell us a bit about yourself and your current job?
 Hello, I’m a concept designer working in the entertainment industry. I design mostly for films, video games, toys, TV commercials and consumer products. I’m currently the founder and director of the FZD School of Entertainment Design. I’m also the lead designer for my up-coming Media Company, which will focus heavily on high-end consumer products such as fashion and retail.
Is that true that you are opening a Design school in Singapore? Please give us the details about this new school and why Singapore?
Yes, we just announced the establishment of this new school about a week ago. We chose Singapore for many reasons. First of all, it’s centrally located in Asia. Being in Singapore allows us to reach into all the surrounding countries such as China, Japan, Korea, India, Indonesia, etc. We want our school to be international, so having a reach into these countries is very important. Secondly, English is the primary language spoken; thus making communication and teaching much easier and allows me to invite in guest speakers from the US and Europe. Third, our partner school, 3dsense, is founded in Singapore. They bring a lot of experience to the table and give us a huge advantage in terms of marketing, man-power, resources, etc. Forth, the Singapore government is very active in the media and educational sectors. We’ve been working with the various agencies to help bring support into our new school. And lastly, I just love Singapore. Having visited the country many times in the past, I knew this was a great country for both establishing a business and a home. So far, my wife and I are enjoying our style of living in Singapore.
Please tell us what’s new this school will offer that others don’t?
Our biggest focus is in design and fundamental skill development. The core difference that sets us apart is the fact that we are not an art school. Our approach is completely different from art and anything related to art. We prepare our students to become designers and not artists. Since design is part of the production process, we cover all the areas necessary for a student to become a professional. And on-top of this, our instructors, myself included, are all experienced designers from the entertainment industry. The type of education we offer is not seen anywhere else in Asia. Anyone who has attended my past workshops or speeches will know about my teaching process. Our goal is to drill in the most important fundamental skills into the students, so they can basically graduate and enter into any design field. I believe many art schools only develop a student’s hand-eye coordination, but not their understanding of what they are drawing or painting; or even how things work in our world. The result might be a beautiful art piece, but as a design, it’s very lacking. I always like to say “you can always strip the paint off of a Ferrari, but it will still be a race-car underneath the hood, but you can’t paint a crappy car in Ferrari Red and expect it to win any races.” Our school is about developing what’s underneath, and not just outside substance.
I’ve been in Asia for many years now, and thus far, I haven’t seen too many designers who have a vast understanding of fundamental skills and design abilities. I’m hoping to change that with our school.
Will you daily take the classes in the school or you will give only guest lecture/workshops?
Yes, I will be directly involved in the teaching process. I will focus mostly in the design related courses, and some of the advanced fundamental skill development courses; such as advanced perspective, lighting, compositions, etc. I will also be teaching some of the certificate courses on weekends.
What will be the selection criteria in the school and what will be approx. fees for the national and international students?
We do require students who want to enter the full-time diploma to submit an entrance portfolio. The reason is because we want to make sure that these potential students are interested in design first, and art second. Many students might not know the difference between illustration and design, so an entrance portfolio will help us key in their focus. For example, if a student shows many paintings of still-life, life drawings, etc, he or she will most likely want to be an illustrator. But if the portfolio shows an interest in design, such as cars, child’s toys, environments, etc, then he or she is already thinking like a designer.
For fees, our website www.fzdschool.com lists all the details. Or student can call in and talk to our marketing team directly.
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