Inside the Creative Mind of Wayne Zhao, Shiseido China’s Design Visionary

Before this, I didn’t pay much attention to joining design awards—I simply enjoyed working on my projects. This was my first time participating, and it’s truly inspiring to know that people out there appreciate our design and recognize our work. That kind of acknowledgment gives us even more energy and motivation for our future creations.

This time, we were lucky enough to win three awards. We shared the good news with our partners and agencies—it reminded everyone of the wonderful moments we’ve created, fought for, and celebrated together. It also strengthened the trust and friendship within our team and with our partners.

For this project, when we began studying Serge Lutens’ life, career, and design in depth, it truly inspired us to explore themes of light and dark, life and death. We wanted to bring that perspective into our design—it was an exciting experience to introduce such profound ideas into a commercial project, even though it wasn’t easy.

Design is not just about creating drawings. A good designer should have the passion and determination to turn ideas into reality. Throughout the process, a designer’s mindset and communication continue to bring energy into the project, helping it overcome every challenge and ultimately come to life.

Client expectations are the starting point of every project. We respect them and strive to understand the deeper reasons behind them. We always aim to build clear and complete communication between expectations and design—because that’s what leads to great results.

The most challenging part was building communication across four cities—Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Paris. We created a strong initial creative deck and film to build trust and demonstrate our capabilities, which helped guide the following steps in the right direction.

Keep passion in life, stay curious, and enjoy every moment—that’s what keeps me feeling fresh and full of new ideas.

Stay real, stay respectful. I always remind myself to respect everything and everyone, as each brings new experiences and knowledge. It’s about telling true stories that customers can genuinely feel.

Keeping passion is the most important message I always share with my team and friends. Bringing a great design to life is never easy—and without passion, many people would give up along the way.

I hope to work with Serge Lutens—he has such a unique life and mind. He’s a true master who has brought extraordinary design to both the world and to Shiseido.

I hope someone asks me, “What does good design look like?”—to me, it’s something that happens naturally, where everything feels comfortable and makes perfect sense; the shape, color, material, and angle all come together so seamlessly that it feels as if it’s always meant to be there, quietly touching people.