despite the story being pretty cliche and really has not much special qualities in it, i really enjoyed watching love designer. this is one of the chinese dramas that i did not struggle to finish, even if there are still some annoying scenes. i think it was all because of the chemistry between the leads (zhou fang & song lin). i was so eager to see both of them in one frame. the romance of the leads gave this drama more watch-worthy. i especially like how the leads' romance progressed. it was so smooth and nothing seemed forced. actually, it felt so real that i forgot that both of them were only acting. i also loved that there weren't overly cheesy scenes that you see in every idol chinese dramas. and most of all, i love how the character of song lin was made. he was such a boyfriend material!!! i fell in love with johnny huang/huang jingyi that i proceeded to watch his other shows such as moonshine and valentine, and let go of my baby while waiting for love designer's episodes. i also like zhou fang's independence. she was never irritating in my eyes.

HOWEVER, there are also a lot of things in this drama that are irritating, but bearable. for example, the ringtones, product placements, and wu san's mother !!!! ( qin qing & wu san's story was also too much on the last episodes, i just coped up with their scenes. i feel like they had more screen time than the main couple. i guess that was because zhou fang and song lin's has solved all of their problems by that time, while qin qing and wu san's are yet to be solved. i wished the writers/director just made wu san's mother a little more likeable because that means their story will be cut shorter. but i still kinda like wu san after all. he was so cute and he kinda looks like choi minho. but for qin qing, probably the only thing that i liked about her is how she was as zhou fang's best friend )

also, some things that i enjoyed in love designer:

1. shen di & song luo — the friendship between these two was so pure. they spiced up the episodes they were in. i also enjoyed each of the time song luo was on the scene, especially the ones where she was teasing her brother. when they both went abroad, i missed their presence a lot.
2. all the swoon-worthy scenes between the leads — includes both their kissing scenes and just scenes where they talk
3. slow burn romance — as i mentioned earlier, i love how their romance progressed. i think it was all due to the fact that the leads took a slow route and just enjoyed the slow pace, making the romance less forced. ( it was written on the tags that this was a slow burn but i dont think it was because i enjoyed it so much lmao )
4. both the leads were straightforward — and they would not spend so much episodes to hide secrets or their feelings. ( i specifically love how song lin just casually confessed to zhou fang )
5. the cliche things the leads do but in their own style — for example, the wedding. man, i really dont like watching wedding scenes, but love designer has a bit of originality in it.

so, was love designer worth it?
— a big fat YES. all for the chemistry of the leads and how their romance progressed.

should i watch love designer?
— if you want the same old cliche drama with CEO male lead and employee female lead, but you dont want those overly cheesy cliche scenes accompanied by weird ass sound effects, and you dont want immature scenes then you should give this drama a try. i suggest watching it up to around ep 15, but take note that there are a lot more swoon-worthy scenes to come, so if you really wanna give it up, give up at around ep 33 and up.