He set up an institute of design in 2013, to teach designers online. Then he found that while there were many good designers in China, they could not find proper projects to display their talent. Equally, companies struggled to find qualified designers.

"China has about 20 million designers, and my intention was to find out a way to match good designers with companies," says Wang.

Whale Design is like a game, says Wang. "So, all the registered designers are gamers who join open competitions and gain points. Then, members with more points can take part in invitational tournaments and closed competitions."

Wang says they don't look at the backgrounds of their designers. "Only work talks."

So far, more than 3,000 designers are on the platform, with about 80 percent of them in full-time jobs.

The platform is also a place for designers who want to change fields. For example, if an architect wants to do graphic design, he or she can take part in a logo competition to see how it goes.

Meanwhile, Wang and his team are developing the platform to provide a whole service chain for companies, so that "the designers can focus on design, and we will help companies complete their projects".

Wang Xiaoyu, the winner of the sign design contest for Peking Academy, is working with Wang Simin's team to complete the design.

"I've taken part in many design competitions; Whale Design has the most categories. It gives me a chance to bring what I learned in the US back to China, and let me understand how projects work here," says the 28-year-old, who completed his master's degree in architecture at Columbia University in 2016.

As for Whale Design founder Wang Simin, he feels it is a bit of a loss that he does not have much time to design. "I wish I could be a designer on the platform," he says.

Contact the writer at liyingxue@chinadaily.com.cn