Will Fang

My name is Will Fang, and I am a third-year Industrial Design student at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. I am a curious and exploratory person with a strong sense of three-dimensional thinking and a hands-on approach to making. Over the years, I have developed a deep interest in physical making, 3D modeling, and visual storytelling, and these areas continue to shape the way I learn, work, and design.

My design philosophy is inspired by the Three Wise Monkeys from Toshogu Shrine in Japan: to observe carefully, listen selectively, and express clearly. I believe that good design begins with these three principles. A “good design” does not always satisfy everyone, nor can it always fully solve every problem a user presents. Designers often have to work within layers of difficulty, compromise, and limitation, almost like dancing in chains, yet still respond with clarity and purpose. That challenge is one of the reasons why I am drawn to design, and why I want to become an industrial designer.

I come from a small city in southeastern China. I moved to Canada in junior high school and later completed high school here. After graduation, I studied sculpture at OCAD University. However, because of a shift in my perspective, as well as the impact of the pandemic, I began to want a field of study that could strengthen both my personal growth and my future professional abilities in a more direct way. That decision led me to reapply to Emily Carr, even though it meant giving up previous credits and starting over in a new direction.

Throughout my studies, I gradually realized that I have a strong ability to imagine and understand three-dimensional space. I also found myself progressing quickly in hands-on making and 3D modeling, while my personal interest in model building continued to grow. By the transition between the end of my second year and the beginning of my third, I began to develop an early but exciting sense of where I may want to go in the future. The direction is still forming, but I know it lies somewhere in the space between digital and physical form, imagination and making.