{"id":304,"date":"2023-10-02T15:49:31","date_gmt":"2023-10-02T22:49:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/live-usc-dornsife.pantheonsite.io\/zhanhu\/?page_id=304"},"modified":"2026-02-03T08:45:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T16:45:22","slug":"design","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/ivan\/design\/","title":{"rendered":"Design"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <div style=\"background-color: #c1efde; border: 2px solid #57a99a; border-radius: 10px; padding: 30px; margin: 20px; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);\">\n<p style=\"font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.6; color: #333333; text-indent: 20px;\">\u201cThere is beauty when something works and it works intuitively.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-style: italic; color: #666666; text-align: right; margin-top: 20px;\">\u2014 Jony Ive,\u00a0designer<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" data-l-s=\"88549\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1522\" src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/ivan\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/215\/2024\/10\/438173963_18004861616595122_1584828324867562765_n.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1270\" height=\"1270\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/ivan\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/215\/2024\/10\/438173963_18004861616595122_1584828324867562765_n.jpg 1270w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/ivan\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/215\/2024\/10\/438173963_18004861616595122_1584828324867562765_n-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/ivan\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/215\/2024\/10\/438173963_18004861616595122_1584828324867562765_n-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/ivan\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/215\/2024\/10\/438173963_18004861616595122_1584828324867562765_n-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/ivan\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/215\/2024\/10\/438173963_18004861616595122_1584828324867562765_n-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/ivan\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/215\/2024\/10\/438173963_18004861616595122_1584828324867562765_n-320x320.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1270px) 100vw, 1270px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"video-embed\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MLxCYLNGcms?si=Sba6en015Y8z30Kx\" title=\"Ivan On Design (Personally Read by Ivan)\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p id=\"fcf5\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph me mf fu mg b mh mi mj mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb fn bk\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">\u201cDesign\u201d is actually a pretty loaded word, and a lot of times it sounds elusive and deep. So I don\u2019t really talk about it too much, although I care deeply about it. It\u2019s something that should be taken very seriously, but at the same time, it\u2019s something very obvious and intuitive once we feel it. It\u2019s like, \u201cOf course, it should work this way \u2014 that\u2019s the future!\u201d It\u2019s an artistic pursuit, something we don\u2019t need to be convinced of but can feel inside us once we get it.<\/p>\n<p id=\"a303\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph me mf fu mg b mh mi mj mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb fn bk\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">As with many complicated things in the world, design has a very simple core when we peel away all the confusing layers \u2014 it boils down to taste, it boils down to emotion, and it boils down to romance. Like mathematics, it\u2019s something that can be made simple and should be made simple. My design philosophy can be condensed by Leonardo da Vinci\u2019s words, \u201cSimplicity is the utmost sophistication.\u201d Whenever I revise a website as an editor, I\u2019m not trying to complicate it, but rather to make it more artistically delicate and elegant in a user-friendly and user-oriented way. Indeed, this design philosophy applies not only to my websites but to each of my creations, including my poems and my teaching style.\u00a0<a class=\"af nc\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Steve_Jobs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener ugc nofollow\">Steve Jobs,<\/a>\u00a0co-founder of Apple Inc., was once told by\u00a0<a class=\"af nc\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mike_Markkula\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener ugc nofollow\">Mike Markkula<\/a>\u00a0that people DO judge a book by its cover. And in a sense, I believe that. That\u2019s why I\u2019ve put a lot of effort into every detail of my website\u2019s facade.<\/p>\n<p id=\"5c0a\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph me mf fu mg b mh mi mj mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb fn bk\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">In fact, many great mathematicians, such as\u00a0<a class=\"af nc\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bernhard_Riemann\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener ugc nofollow\">Bernhard Riemann<\/a>, shared this \u201csimplicity\u201d design philosophy. When they\u2019re really good, they see the world as something even simpler, even more integrated, rather than the opposite. Riemann believed in his teacher\u00a0<a class=\"af nc\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Carl_Friedrich_Gauss\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener ugc nofollow\">Carl Gauss<\/a>\u2019s motto, \u201cPauca sed matura,\u201d meaning \u201cfew, but ripe.\u201d That\u2019s exactly what Riemann did throughout his life: he published only 15 papers (four of which were released posthumously), but each made an incredibly significant contribution to numerous branches of mathematics, including number theory, complex analysis, mathematical physics, and the foundations of geometry. For example, the famous\u00a0<a class=\"af nc\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Riemann_hypothesis#:~:text=In%20mathematics%2C%20the%20Riemann%20hypothesis,unsolved%20problem%20in%20pure%20mathematics.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener ugc nofollow\">Riemann hypothesis<\/a>\u00a0(which has remained unsolved for almost three centuries) was derived from a nine-page paper among Riemann\u2019s 15 papers, entitled \u201c<a class=\"af nc\" href=\"https:\/\/www.emis.de\/classics\/Riemann\/Zeta.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener ugc nofollow\">Ueber die Anzahl der Primzahlen unter einer gegebenen Gr\u00f6sse<\/a>\u201d (usual English translation: \u201c<a class=\"af nc\" href=\"https:\/\/www.claymath.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Wilkins-translation.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener ugc nofollow\">On the Number of Primes Less Than a Given Magnitude\u201d<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p id=\"4aaf\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph me mf fu mg b mh mi mj mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb fn bk\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">You know, just like Riemann, I also have a \u201cculture\u201d of excellence, which is deeply ingrained in simplicity, and therefore my design. The world has been complicated enough, filled with all kinds of resources good and bad. I think being bad is worse than NOT being there. If I contribute any resources to the world, whether it\u2019s writing calculus solutions for my students or writing qualifying exam solutions for my cohorts, I have a responsibility to make them truly great, not just okay, but truly great, so that they will be genuinely appreciated by the rest of humanity. If I publish junk, it will waste my viewers\u2019 time and lives, so why should it be there to prevent others from finding better resources? Again, the world has been complicated enough; if I do some work, I shall make it the best I can do. I shall make it truly great, with an artistic romance that can resonate with our hearts. As an example, if I can\u2019t teach math excellently, then I won\u2019t teach. The world doesn\u2019t need another miserable math professor; it needs a truly excellent math professor.<\/p>\n<p id=\"cb27\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph me mf fu mg b mh mi mj mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb fn bk\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">You know, a college website is not Instagram, so I hope to keep it professional in a tasteful way, rather than let it be filled with boring and untasteful details about someone\u2019s personal life, like what they eat or where they travel. For example, \u201c<em class=\"nd\">Gotta admit, the height had me a bit nervous, but I just hit up the top-floor bar at the tallest building in LA \u2014 views are pretty sick<\/em>\u201d is far less tasteful than:<\/p>\n<p id=\"d2e5\" class=\"me mf nd mg b mh mi mj mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb fn bk\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\"><em>It\u2019s finally here, a world of hope,<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Finding bliss, overcoming fear.<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Rather lost in future\u2019s scope,<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Sitting near the sky, reading an unruly year.<\/em><\/p>\n<p id=\"8aac\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph me mf fu mg b mh mi mj mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb fn bk\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">They both describe the same thing, and they\u2019re both good, but if you see things the first way, then you\u2019re a cool and normal person, and if you see things the second way, then you\u2019re a romantic and insightful artist, because you see things as more than themselves. So it all depends on how you choose to design and present content: the worldly and pedestrian way, or the artistic and distinctive way. With this view in mind, I\u2019ve posted a lot of my poetry and essays on my personal website \u2014 they\u2019re personal, but they\u2019re personal and tasteful. They offer visitors a brand-new vision to observe and apply the world in an intriguing way.<\/p>\n<p id=\"871c\" class=\"pw-post-body-paragraph me mf fu mg b mh mi mj mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb fn bk\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">As a perfectionist who truly values design, I am improving and perfecting my websites day by day, with a commitment to taste, an appreciation for art, and a love for my visitors. My goal is to give my visitors the best viewing experience I can offer. That\u2019s what keeps me going, and that\u2019s why I do what I do. Simplicity, integration, taste \u2014 they are at the core of design, offering us beauty and making our hearts sing. As a designer and an artist, I\u2019ll always continue to push perfection forward, holding onto what I truly value in design for my entire life.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1lerZDBIEhNH7vAaTAy6YquB5lutr_6x0\/view?usp=sharing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Digital Prowess<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong><em>Ivan Feng<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Walking from yonder darkness,<br \/>\nComing to seek dawn\u2019s prowess.<br \/>\nTender brushstrokes, woven in unchained minds,<br \/>\nCrafting webpages grand, where simplicity finds.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Standing by clouds\u2019 eyes, watching in twilight\u2019s lace.<br \/>\nWandering to the stars, resting in moonlight\u2019s grace.<br \/>\nAlong breeze\u2019s rhyme, through laughter and tears,<br \/>\nIn the gust of romance, painting unruly years.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Under Aether\u2019s cover, sheets of perfection align,<br \/>\nHomeomorphic to mystic lands, where hearts define.<br \/>\nFinding the unflinching path, lifting toward the skies,<br \/>\nAwaiting basepoint\u2019s advent, where eternity lies.*<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Sailing to dawn\u2019s first hue,<br \/>\nWaving tasteful colors in sunbeams anew.<br \/>\nBittersweet canvas expands, with love\u2019s trace,<br \/>\nCarving out dreams, where elegance and tenacity embrace.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Aug 24, 2024<br \/>\nAt Playa Del Rey<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>*By the Path Lifting Property of covering spaces<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p><em><em>First published: Oct 12, 2022<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Last update: Jan 27, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><em><em><a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/ivan\/teaching\" target=\"_self\"><em>Back to my teaching page<\/em><\/a><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><em><a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/ivan\" target=\"_self\"><em>Back to my homepage<\/em><\/a><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":390,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-304","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Design - Ivan Z. 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