WING-IP NGAN
INK DESIGN

Wing-Ip Ngan was born in Hong Kong and came to the U.S. in 1989. He received a B.F.A. with honors in graphic design from Massachusetts College of Art in 1996. Upon graduation, he joined Stoltze Design, where he worked closely with his mentor and former MassArt lecturer, Clifford Stoltze, for four years. In 2000, Ngan took a venture and founded his own design firm, Ink Design. Being the sole designer in the company, Ngan readily applied much of the professional experience and training he received from Stoltze. Over the past six years, Ngan has collaborated with many talented local freelance designers. His clients include Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Houghton Mifflin Company, The Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture and Mini Cooper. Ngan's work has been featured in Type Director Club 45, HOW, Step by Step, IdN, One & Two Color Graphics and New Typography 2. He also holds many awards, such as the American Graphic Design Awards, BoNE Show Best of Show and Book Builders Award.

Was graphic design your first career path?

I had no idea what graphic design was when I first entered art school. I pretty much grew up with Japanese animation and manga, so it had always been my dream to be a manga artist. When I asked my father for permission to go to art school, I actually lied to him and said that I would become an architect. I got a pretty good grade in my very first design class in freshman year, so I asked my advisor what graphic design was. From that point onward, I was hooked and determined to pursue this path.

When you have a deadline, do you start right away, wait until the last minute or switch back and forth between projects?

When I work by myself, sometimes I tend to procrastinate and wait until the last minute. In a way, it can push me to think and design faster, but unfortunately, I may end up not having enough time to explore new idea or possibilities. Sometime I do start a project right after the first meeting with a client, if I have some immediate idea and cannot wait to try it out. However, that does not happen very often.

Which project in your portfolio are you most proud of?

I guess I will have to say it's the Mini Copper Custom Paint Shop project. When I go visit a potential client to show my work, I will usually leave it to the end. I like how I always see the "wow" expression from their eyes, because this is one of the projects that I had most fun with.

Where do you turn for inspiration?

Getting a shower is on the top of my list! Otherwise, well, I have a habit of collect interesting figures and objects. I also use a sketchbook to write down all the leftover ideas. All these kind of become my personal designer library. In addition, I like to do conceptual thinking or sketches on the subway by observing people and things. Whenever I look around, there is always something unexpected and interesting.

What is your worst habit?

Working too many hours! Eating at my desk. Throwing the phone to the wall.

What role does "green design" play in your work?

I wasn't too conscious of "green design" until recently. There are always opportunities that we can introduce papers that are made of recycled material. We can also use soy ink. Yet, having that said, sometimes I still have struggles between being environmentally friendly and following my design vision. Let me use an example to illustrate my point. To give a more flashy design, sometimes I would like to use metallic ink for printing. Yet materials printed using metallic ink cannot be recycled. So, I would have to make a decision: Should I insist on using the metallic ink to create the effect that I want, or should I forget about the design and just opt for the environmentally friendly option?

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