LOW JOO TAT
Design to me is about challenging limits by
probing the un-obvious and the overlooked, done best not alone, but with some good company.
E D U C AT I O N National University of Singapore
Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Industrial Design 2013 - 2017
Dean’s List Award for academic year 2013/2014 Semester 2 Dean’s List Award for academic year 2014/2015 Semester 2 Dean’s List Award for academic year 2015/2016 Semester 1 University Scholars Program Honour Roll University of Illinois Urbana Champaign
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Industrial Design 2016 Spring (Exchange Program)
WORK EXPERIENCE Karyn Lim
Design Assistant
July 2015 - August 2015 (2 months) National University of Singapore
Undergraduate Research Assistant (Bio-mimicry) March 2015 - Present
CONTENTS
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Contents
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K.01
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HealPac
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Pulse
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DAX
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Leather
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CONTENTS
01. K-01 PRODUCT DESIGN: ELECTRIC KETTLE
PROJECT BRIEF
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To design an electric kettle with a fresh and unexpected aesthetic that will appeal to a significant segment of consumers.
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K - 01 An electric kettle with a boldly designed top cap that depresses completely as a “boil� button, giving a feeling of quick, pragmatic, efficient straightforwardness. The button pops back up to indicate the completion of the boiling.
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Depressing the cap completely activates the heating element
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Once the water boils, the cap springs back up and the kettle shuts off
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Remove cap by squeezing the catches at the side
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MAIN CHALLENGES & LEARNINGS Trying to come up with a fresh design was more difficult than I expected. The first half of the project was fraught with uncertainty as none of the ideas were anywhere near inspiring. The trick I learnt was to embrace the uncertainty and find fun in simply churning out large quantities of new ideas, even if most of them are bad. This exercise also helped me understand the importance of details. Fine details such as the continuity of a radius and millimeter-scale adjustments are what differentiates products that look like student’s work and products that look like they are designed by Apple (not that I worship Apple’s design, but I appreciate their finesse when it comes to form control). My tutor and studio mates were a great help in nudging me towards my final design. A good reminder that design work works best when there is company.
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0 2 . H E A L PA C MEDICAL DESIGN: WOUND CARE
In collaboratation with National University Hospital A s s t P r o f N g i a m K e e Yu a n Designed with Chia Guo Xiang and Grace Gandi
PROJECT BRIEF
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In collaboratation with National University Hospital A s s t P r o f N g i a m K e e Yu a n
To create a wound care solution for patients with medium sized wounds (~2 to 5 cm) that need to be left open to heal
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HEALPAC
HealPac A portable, low-cost device that utilizes negative pressure to accelerate wound healing and reduce frequency of dressing changes for medium sized wounds. HEALPAC
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THE PROBLEM CURRENT CONVENTIONAL TREATMENTS FOR MEDIUM SIZED WOUNDS ARE INCONVENIENT
healing with open wound
wound becomes wet quickly
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slower healing
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= dressing falls off easily
frequent dressing changes required at hospital
inconvenient
+ high accumulated costs
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A PICTURE OF PATIENTS WITH MEDIUM SIZED WOUNDS
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Most patients with medium sized wounds are frustrated that they are almost able to get back to their normal, active lifestyle, but are held back by the (disruptive) need for frequent dressing changes
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“My family depends on me for income. I have to go back to work as soon as possible!�
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“My schedule is so packed, I cannot afford to go back to the hospital every day”
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“I don’t want my wound dressing to get in my way. And I don’t want it to scare people”
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POTENTIAL TECHNOLOGY NEGATIVE PRESSURE TREATMENT AS A SOLUTION NEGATIVE PRESSURE: SUCTION ON WOUND
MECHANISM 1:
MECHANISM 2:
Removes excess fluid
Suction stimulates wound tissues
COMBINED EFFECT:
Reduces frequency of dressing changes
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Accelerates healing
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LIMITATION CURRENT APPLICATIONS ARE DESIGNED FOR LARGER WOUNDS
Unjustified cost for medium sized wounds
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Not designed to be truly portable — obtrusive in size and/or noise
Not suitable for medium sized wounds
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HEALPAC
DESIGN OPPORTUNITY:
NEGATIVE PRESSURE TREATMENT DESIGNED FOR MEDIUM SIZED WOUNDS HEALPAC
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DESIGN CONCEPT GIST:
DETACHABLE PUMP + FOAM DRESSING CONCEPT VIDEO: https://vimeo.com/163211292
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PUMP: SYRINGE + TWO VALVES
one way valve
one way valve
REMOVES FLUID
MANUAL PUMPING
MAINTAINS PRESSURE
CREATES PRESSURE
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UNOBTRUSIVE & SILENT Ideal for patients with medium sized wounds who are more likely to be active while healing
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LOW COST + PORTABLE
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PROOF OF CONCEPT LEVEL OF PRESSURE
Capable of applying at least 70mmHg of pressure A manometer was set up to measure the pressure that can be applied by the healPac
Connected to HealPac system
99mmH20 or 72.8mmHg
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FREQUENCY OF RESET
Pressure maintains for at least 3 hours per reset
We used a grapefruit to simulate a wound and clamped it to simulate exudation. We then applied our prototype to see how long the pressure can be maintained.
Start of test 18:01
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Fully inflated 21:14
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MAIN CHALLENGES & LEARNINGS The field of wound care involves deep technical knowledge (such as specific materials and their interactions with the wound) that we could not get access to within the time frame of 11 weeks. It was a challenge to come up with a solution where making a prototype and demonstrating proof of concept was within our means. It was also my first time collaborating with a nondesigner (collborating doctor) for a project. In hindsight, the collaboration could have been more productive if we had set expectations together at the beginning of the project. Because we did not do that, we were not able to take charge of the project as much as we would have liked to.
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ROLE IN TEAM All three of us in the team were equally involved in the design research, design conceptualization and prototype fabrication processes. The final phase was where we started to divide the work more systematically. I was responsible for: • Finalizing details in CAD • Renderings • Video scripting and editing
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03. PULSE INTERACTIVE MEDIA DESIGN
D e s i g n e d w i t h E d d i e Ta n a n d K e l l y Ya p
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PULSE
PROJECT BRIEF
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What if our world was soft? By combining soft/elastic materials and electronics, this project aims to explore new possibilites of softness, elasticity and sticky interactions. The goal here is not to try to save the world in the way that human centered design seeks to accomplish, but to attempt to uncover new product typologies and interactions through open-ended explorations and hands-on prototyping.
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PULSE A project inspired by soft robotics, “Pulse� is an interactive installation of synthetic creatures. Undisturbed, these creatures lay dormant on the floor of the tank. When one taps on the glass, the creatures come alive, pulsing upwards with each tap.
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Video link: https://vimeo.com/163362032 The resultant movements by these synthetic creatures as they swim up and down in response to a person’s tapping turned out to be uncannily organic. This uncanniness is further accentuated by the resemblance these creatures share with real domesticated marine animals in terms of their ecosystem (both “live� in water tanks with an air pump serving as their lifeline). The result is a surreal yet aesthetically fascinating experience.
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Upon awakening, the creature lights up and begins to inflate
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Close up of an inflating limb
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Curling and swimming up
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V I B R AT I O N + M O T I O N S E N S O R S
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“ P U L S E ” I N S TA L L AT I O N
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ARDUINO
A I R S U P P LY
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COMPRESSOR
The creatures’ “swimming” is activated by pumping air into them. The air supply is provided by a compressor connected to the creatures via tubes. Regulation of the air supply to control the “swimming” of the creatures is achieved using solenoid valves hooked up to an Arduino board. Vibration and motion sensors determine which creature is being prodded at. The appropriate valve can then be activated, “waking up” the corresponding creature. 62
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MAIN CHALLENGES & LEARNINGS This was my first time tinkering with electronics and coding. This project was a good opportunity to get acquainted with the possibilities that can be achieved by augmenting physical objects with digital capabilities. This project was also a good opportunity to learn more about the material silicone and how to work with it. Given the open nature of the brief, it was a challenge to not get stuck in the ideation phase. This project was a timely reminder that quickly prototyping something even if it is likely to turn out bad can be worthwhile as a means of exploring possibilities.
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ROLE IN TEAM All three of us in the team were equally involved in the design conceptualization phase. For the fabrication and prototyping phase, I was repsonsible for • Coding and electronics • Silicone casting (shared responsibility with Kelly)
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04. DAX PRODUCT DESIGN: CARRY GOODS
D e s i g n e d w i t h Ye o W a n J u n a n d J e f f B o g u e
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PROJECT BRIEF
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To design a product, launch it on a crowd-funding platform, and then market it to garner enough funding to start manufacturing.
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Kickstarter link: http://kck.st/1Rvagta
The wallet with a trick up its sleeve Inspired by mobile app interfaces, DAX is a wallet that allows you to access your cards easily and beautifully. Simply pull the tab and watch your cards cascade out with a splash of colors!
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EXPERIENCE CENTRIC Wallets have remained largely the same for as long as we can remember. We wanted to re-imagine the wallet by thinking about how a wallet can offer a radical, fresh, and vibrant experience.
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RAISED $52,660 on
Mentioned in:
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CURRENT STATUS We are currently working with Allocacoc, a product design firm to finalize the manufacturing details and prepare for production and distribution. Following the end of the campaign, we flew to China to visit some of the factories to assess their facilities and discuss the terms.
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MAIN CHALLENGES & LEARNINGS The obvious challenge was to develop something that resonates with real potential buyers in the real world, not just with people within our small design community.
The larger challenge was to develop something that not only has wide appeal, but is also truly innovative in some sense, preserving some sort of design integrity. Many Kickstarter projects sell well even though they are just clones of a previously successful project. But we would not be satisfied with taking the easy way out. This project was also an opportunity to witness firsthand the role of business, marketing and manufacturing in the development of a product. For example, witnessing the impact of a (respectable) press feature on the number of pledges really helped to drive in the importance of marketing. From our trip to China, we also experienced firsthand the challenges of negotiation in the business world. Overall, this project helped us put the role of design in perspective—it is only a first step in the success of a product. Design cannot work alone.
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ROLE IN TEAM The product concept was born out of ideation exercises that we carried out among all three of us. I played the role of the design lead for this project, overseeing the design direction for the product and the campaign. This includes directing and editing for the Kickstarter video. I also took charge of the marketing efforts which involved contacting the press and updating our social media platforms. Post-campaign, Wan Jun and I were the anchors for continuing the project for the fulfillment of the orders. This includes contacting collaborators, distributors and manufacturers, optimizing the design for manufacturing, packaging design etc.
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0 5 . L E AT H E R P R O D U C T D E S I G N & C R A F T: S O F T G O O D S
D e s i g n e d w i t h Ye o W a n J u n a n d J e f f B o g u e
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LEATHER