Limin Ho_Portfolio

Portfolio

HO LIMIN Experience and Product Designer

23 July 1995 behance.net/Liminho

+65 8383 6482 holimin07@yahoo.com

Education Singapore Polytechnic

Diploma in Experience and Product Design 2013-2016 St Margaret’s Secondary School Cambridge GCE ‘O’ Level

2008-2012

Awards Co-Curricular Activities Certificate Of Attainment Gold With Honours

Singapore Polytechnic April 2016 Edusave Certificate Of Academic Achievement 2012

St Margaret’s Secondary School December 2012 Model Learner Award

St Margaret’s Secondary School May 2009

Language Proficiency English Mandarin Cantonese Korean

Additional Skills Product Development

Microsoft Office

User Interaction

Videography

User Experience

Photography

www.linkedin.com/in/limin-ho

Experience User Experience Designer

Creaworld International Pte Ltd April 2016 - Present Summer Intern

OLIVIA LEE Studio May 2016 - July 2016 Part Time Sales Assistant Pomelo

November 2015 - June 2016 Intern

National Environment Agency February 2015 - April 2015 Part Time Sales Assistant Prints

November 2012 - December 2013

Skills

In this project, we got to explore and develop nascent ability and desire for entrepreneurship in a creative company. The aim was to develop a good and creative business idea and transfrom a simple idea into a market ready product.

October, 2015 School Project; Entrepreneurship in Creative Industry

Little Tea House In collaboration with: Chen Dan (Kaera), Kwek Ai Ling (Anna), Seah Li Ping & Teo Hui Wen

Youths of today have very long working hours and are constantly engaged in computer work while sitting, also known as ‘seat hoggers’. Other common habits includes the lack of sleep as well as unhealthy eating. This sums up to a very unhealthy lifestyle which often results in sickly symptoms such as heatiness, lethargicness, dry eyes, poor blood circulation and weight gain.

A common trend amongst parents is the brewing of herbal tea or tonic to boost up their youth’s health. However, herbal tea is not as appealing to the youth market as compared to bubble tea stalls or cafés. Youths generally won’t be seen purchasing herbal tea from the traditional herbal tea stalls.

Therefore, the design challenge was to make traditional Chinese Herbal Tea appealing to the youth market.

Market research suggests that herbal teas that are currently in the market, looks unappealing and too traditional.

They are often too sweet and since they are most of the time bottled, have a very short-shelf life. Youths are exposed to varieties in many aspects however when it comes to herbal tea, the options are usually limited.

The concept proposed gives youths the option to a variety of tea blends, that are both convenient and healthier for consumption.

Experimentations Since bottled herbal tea have a short-shelf life and the youth crowd finds the appearance of it to be too traditional, the idea of herbal tea bags came to fruition. The thought of being about to brew their tea anytime and anywhere conveniently, would appeal to the youth crowd more as they could just grab a tea bag and pop it into their cups or thermal cups.

Various shapes and sizes of tea bags were sewn, to experiement on how it could affect the brewing time as well as the rate of diffusion while brewing.

An element of fun was added to the shape of the tea bags, to break away from the usual mundane shape.

Concepts The first concept development; “Little Tea Friends” are characters illustrated to help represent different ingredients within the tea blends. With 5 main tea blends, there are 7 main “Tea Friends”. With this uniqueness, the ingredient which is in bigger proportion in comparison to the other ingredients in a single blend, that ingredient’s character will represent that blend.

For example, should a tea blend consists of more chrysanthemums, the chrysanthemum character will be the one that represents that particular blend.

Iterations were made to the first concept, as the overall appearance of the product appealed more to the females as compared to the males. The intention was for the tea to appeal to youths in general, being unisexual.

The second concept focused more on a minimalistic look. Making use of monotones and outlines to define the brand. Icons are used to describe the effect of the tea, for consumers to pick out the blends that they feel will benefit them the most.

For example, the Brilliant Eyes tea blend, which helps improve eyesight; comes with an eye icon.

For the final concept, some iterations were made to the previous monotonous look, giving hints of colour for easier recognition. Each tea blend now has it’s own colour to differentiate it from other tea blends.

The tea sachet resembles a “house”, which can be easily identified with Little Tea House even when it is standing alone in a pile of tea sachets. This helps the brand develop a stronger brand identity.

Another unique point of Little Tea House is the positive quote that comes with each tea bag. As the founders, we believe that everyone deserves a good cup of herbal tea to nourish the body, together with a pinch of optimism and youthfulness.

In this project, we made use of food as a medium to design products and experiences. The objective was to allow us to experience and appreciate the scent and sound aspect of food.

Design is not only concerned with color and form. Research into how we sense color and form, or research into the senses, is a critical subject of design. Observations of how the human senses work will give design new directions.

June, 2014 School Project; Experience Design Studio, Food Design

Scented Bubbles In collaboration with: Kwek Ai Ling (Anna) & Teo Xuan Kai (Xavier)

The use of air diffusers and the burning of essential oils are common in spa outlets. However, they are usually placed indoors and are most of the time not interactive.

Making use of lemongrass as a design medium; the fragrance is to be extracted and dispersed to attract shoppers in a mall, to the spa outlet that was undergoing partial renovations.

The challenge was to create an experience different from the usual air diffusers and the burning of essential oils, that were so common in spa outlets.

Experimentations Different methods were used to extract the essence and fragrance from the lemongrass; from slicing, to pounding, to cooking and drying the lemongrass.

Different methods of diffusing the scent was also tested, until the team settled for bubble blowing, a fun and interactive way of diffusing the scent.

Each time, the lemongrass extract would be placed into odourless bubble solutions to be blown and tested.

The distance the bubbles could carry the scent, as well as the strength of the fragrance would be measured.

Iterations were made accordingly to the results.

Concept Situated at the entrance of the spa, Scented Bubbles aims to invite customers of all ages into the spa by bringing the scent of lemongrass to users in a fun and interactive way.

Bubbles are blown via a generator placed in an organic birdhouse, decorated with elements of nature which includes dried leaves, twigs and potpourri.

Users are able to interact with the lemongrass scent by popping the bubbles in the air. The scent of lemongrass is then diffused through the air to the noses of the users.

Suger Stirrer While we are having our usual breakfast at a local coffee shop, there are a lot of different things happening and different sounds produced in the process. From the cracking of eggs, to the spreading of kaya onto a slice of toast and the clinging of teaspoons in tea cups; all these sounds can be tapped on to enhance one’s breakfast experience.

The design challenge for this project, was to make use of sounds to enhance the drinking of tea.

Experimentations In the process of preparing tea, there are many steps and different sounds produced from each step. The stirring of sugar into the tea, was our choosen area- to enhance the drinking experience.

Inspired by the sounds produced by a lollipop while it swirls in the mouth; I decided to create sugar stirrers.

Sugar was first melted down to liquid that crystalised into different shapes and sizes. Different shapes and sizes produced slightly different sounds, when rubbed against the side of the teacup.

Concept When a lollipop is swirled in the mouth, it produces a grinding sound. This sound gradually decreases in volume as the lollipop melts.

By placing the sugar stick into the tea, the sugar crystals will rub against the sides of the teacup creating a sharp sound. As the sugar crystals start to melt, the bamboo skewer will replace the sharp sound and create a gentler sound instead. This indicates to the user that the sugar has been fully mixed into the tea and it is ready for consumption.

This saves users the hassle to poke at the base of the teacup, to ensure that the sugar has been fully mixed.

This project is all about the ‘hands on’ approach to design. As a designer we must have a comprehensive knowledge of how things are made, and a real understanding comes from having the ability to make things ourselves.

Almost all our exploration, ideation and creation work should be done through model making. It is important to focus on quality so the end result should be a very well built and fully finished object.

April, 2014 School Project; Experience Design Studio, Object Making Project

Minuscuul In collaboration with: Shen Yun

De Stijl, which means The Style in Dutch was founded in 1917. The artists most associated with the movement were the painters Theo van Doesburg and Piet Mondrian, along with the architect Gerrit Reitveld. The movement proposed ultimate simplicity and abstraction through which they could express a Utopian idea of harmony and order.

Harmony and order was established through a reduction of elements to pure geometric forms and primary colors.

Base on all these characteristics of the movement, our design challenge was to design a two-seater bench based on the De Stijl movement.

Experimentations Taking into account the principles from the De Stijl movement, reduction and simplicity, our bench was designed with the use of geometric shapes and a limited amount of wood.

Several rounds of iterations were made before the final form was produced. Before the actual wood making, orthographic drawings and 3D modelling were made to ensure that all dimensions were right, so as to have precise design exercusion.

Concept The form and shape of the bench was inspired by the Piet Mondrian’s, Composition II in Red, Blue and Yellow.

The concept is a sleek and minimal look.

The name Minuscuul, which means tiny in dutch was derived from the appearance of the bench. This two seater bench is designed to look small and compact yet at the same time convey a spacious feeling.

The goal of the studio is to come up with strategies to create awareness, equip with tools and generate mindsets that the Youth can truly own, construct and manifest our common Future.

Leveraging on the intents, insights and capabilities of the Smart Nation initiative, what are some meaningful opportunistic areas that can be identified from overlapping the aspirations of the youth, the capabilities afforded by technology and its relationships with this group, and the dominant forecasted issues that the government have identified that would affect this group, their families and communities and ultimately the country.

April, 2015 School Project; Experience Design Studio, Professional Practice

Planes To Inspire Social entrepreneurship is a growing industry in Singapore and has started gaining the attention of potential startups. Looking at social entrepreneurship, there are a lot of governmental and non-governmental start-up funds available. However, majority of the youths are unsure of what social enterprises are about, leading them to develop an apathetic attitude towards it.

How can the benefits of social entrepreneurship be brought across, to spark off an interest within the youth crowd?

Through user research, the conventional way to look for jobs is through newspapers and job agencies.

However for social enterprises, very little information about them, actually reaches out to the youth crowd.

Information of social enterprises are spread across many different platforms, gathering all these information can be a hassle for youths, that are so used to getting information easily from one source. This might turn youths with the potential away from starting up.

(Scan QR Code for video)

Concept Planes To Inspire is a video advertisement that raises awareness via the capturing of viewers’ attention, to spark off an interest within the youth crowd. The concept of the video is to bring across social entrepreneurship, a very heavy and mundane topic, to the youth crowd in a very light-hearted manner. The video would start off a series of activities and events to follow up. With technology being readily available, what could be a better way to spread a viral message than through the use of social media? The video clip would be able to reach out to a larger crowd at any time and any place.

Paper planes symbolises the act of freedom, success and independence.

The plane is also a symbolism of thoughts of meaningful doing good, which then takes flight and travels to many places. The intention is to show that, with these thoughts and dreams, you can turn them into a reality when you choose to take on social entrepreneurship. By using a paper plane, youths would be able to relate to the concept easily, as majority would have made and played with one when they were younger.

This project is a platform to do ethnographic and design research; to conduct in depth user studies to understand the context, people, space of festivals in Singapore. To distil the essence of an experience- in this case, a festival, and to apply to a specific concept. As well as to recognise and pick up intentions and motivations, behind human behaviour across cultures in Singapore and to derive definitions, insights and understanding on the topic.

Students are to carry out their concept by developing a festival blueprint, very much rooted in research with collaterals and supporting documents designed for immediate implementation.

October, 2015 School Project; Experience Design Studio, Final Year Project

The Games They Played It is a common phenomenon for grandchildren to be taken care of by grandparent caregivers in Asia. In 2008, 29.6% of the grandparents were the primary caregivers for children 12 years and below. Grandparent caregivers form a strong dominant subcultural group in Singapore.

They are always spending time with their grandchildren, teaching them values and the way of life. However, due to the prevalence of technology, there is a mismatch in the games they used to play.

Traditional kampong games form the biggest part of their childhood, that they miss dearly and would like to share with their grandchildren. However, they are unsure of the level of acceptance, that they would be receiving from their grandchildren. In this time and age, grandchildren are more interested in interacting with their smart devices, than to play and chat with their grandparents. Through interviews, it has been discovered that the pioneer generation, have started to develop feelings of being “left out� because of language barriers and generation gaps. They feel that they are not able to bond with their grandchildren because they have little in common.

(Scan QR Code for video)

Concept The Games They Played is a neighbourhood centric pop-up festival based on a certain type of traditional game. Before the festival, community centres will distribute specially designed storybooks for that particular traditional game, to all households in that area.

Both the story telling and the games making will take place in their home context. Grandchildren will get to experience how their grandparents used to gather materials from their surroundings, by having a mini scavenger hunt of their own. Grandparents can then teach their grandchildren how to make the traditional games, based on the instructions in the book.

On the day of the festival, there will be a kampong block party held at the void deck of that particular block. The block party is held for the children to come down and play with their neighbours, to relive the kampong spirit.

Through the making and playing of the games, grandparents will have the opportunity to chat and tell stories, to share their experiences with their grandchildren. Hence, grandparent and grandchild bond would be made stronger and grandchildren will find greater value in listening to their grandparents. The festival also aspires to allow grandchildren to feel the joys of simple everyday life, through the making of the games.