design sans frontieres®

Hello Tokyo. This busy intersection in Akihabara, near the Denkigai Exit in Yamanote line, reminds me of a scene in Tekkonkinreet manga by Taiyō Matsumoto. Set in a fictional city (which look almost like post apocalyptic Tokyo), the manga was later made into an anime directed by Michael Arias. Tekkonkinreet is a dark and cynical portrayal of friendship, betrayal, redemption and survival in the underworld. It’s saga of ‘us’ against the world. — And for those who knows Tokyo, Akihabara is the ultimate Otaku (geek) heaven. My particular favourite is, of course, the Gundam cafe. ‘Nuf said.

Apr 23

Alone Together: The Flight From Conversation

Brilliant and inspiring insights on how we spent more and more time seeking virtual connections through our device instead of having a real one. Are we seeing the beginning of the end of a true social engagement in person?

Apr 22

Mar 31

“I am interested in the future because I will spend the rest of my life there.” — C.F. Kettering ‘Seeds For Thought’ — quoted from Prof. Dr. Paul Verdin class at @BerlinSchool

Mar 10

Since I’m Berlin…

I thought it might be appropriate to celebrate one of Germany’s most prolific designer, Dieter Ram, and the fact that I always in love with his brilliant design. Ram is renowned for both his distinguish approach in industrial design, mainly associated with Braun, and as the thought leader in Functionalist school of industrial design.

As a tribute to his exemplary design, that serves as source of inspiration for companies like Apple (yes, who did you think inspire Steve Jobs?), here’s Dieter Ram’s TEN Principle of ‘Good Design’.

In a nutshell, a Good Design…

is innovative - The possibilities for innovation are not, by any means, exhausted. Technological development is always offering new opportunities for innovative design. But innovative design always develops in tandem with innovative technology, and can never be an end in itself.
Makes a product useful - A product is bought to be used. It has to satisfy certain criteria, not only functional, but also psychological and aesthetic. Good design emphasizes the usefulness of a product whilst disregarding anything that could possibly detract from it.
is aesthetic - The aesthetic quality of a product is integral to its usefulness because products are used every day and have an effect on people and their well-being. Only well-executed objects can be beautiful.
Makes a product understandable - It clarifies the product’s structure. Better still, it can make the product clearly express its function by making use of the user’s intuition. At best, it is self-explanatory.
is unobtrusive - Products fulfilling a purpose are like tools. They are neither decorative objects nor works of art. Their design should therefore be both neutral and restrained, to leave room for the user’s self-expression.
is honest - It does not make a product more innovative, powerful or valuable than it really is. It does not attempt to manipulate the consumer with promises that cannot be kept.
is long-lasting - It avoids being fashionable and therefore never appears antiquated. Unlike fashionable design, it lasts many years – even in today’s throwaway society.
is thorough down to the last detail - Nothing must be arbitrary or left to chance. Care and accuracy in the design process show respect towards the consumer.
is environmentally friendly - Design makes an important contribution to the preservation of the environment. It conserves resources and minimizes physical and visual pollution throughout the lifecycle of the product.

and last, but not least…
is a little design as possible - Less, but better – because it concentrates on the essential aspects, and the products are not burdened with non-essentials. Back to purity, back to simplicity.

•••
Intrigued to learn more about Dieter Ram? Check out the Less and More: Dieter Ram exhibition, and his recent book As Little Design As Possible.

Hello from Berlin ^_^

For those who’s been wondering on the frequency of Berlin-related post flooding your tweeter stream, well get ready to see more of them as will be plenty more where it came from. But here’s the gist of it…

I will be spending the next few weeks in Deutschland to start an EMBA programme at Berlin School of Creative Leadership, from which I’m fortunate enough to be granted a scholarship. It was all a last minute decision on my part. Knowing almost nothing about the school save from my Twitter stream (Thank you, @Twitter), I decided to apply for both the school and the scholarship with only three days left to the deadline. I literally had less than 12 hours to write 3 long essays for the application. By dawn I was almost defeated and was ready to raise a white flag. I guess it was sheer stubbornness on my part that kept me going. I’m incredibly humbled and grateful for this fantastic opportunity and cannot wait to meet all those brilliant people in my class.

Feb 22

Fab Feb

Sorry for the long silent in the past few weeks, folks. It has been such a hectic start of the year. All I can say is… expect something completely different adventure in the very near future. It’s going to be totally, globally blogospherical…!

Jan 22

“You are not responsible for all the things that happen to you, but you are completely in control of your attitude and your reactions to them. — Adopt a policy of being joyful and grateful.” — My grandfather

Jan 16

Jan 08

Jan 04

Mason and I pose for the camera while free-falling from 14.000ft at 220km/hr — Off the coast in the far horizon you can see the Blue Mountain. It was beautiful up there. — I’ve decided to skydive with my mate, Mason, to celebrate the passing of a dear friend. — Here’s to Zach, my dearest mate and my better-half. You will be missed, m’dear.

Jan 03

Mason and I did skydiving in Sydney today. It was F-Fantastic..! More action pix to come, just wait for it. Epic!

Jan 01