April 2010 | Realized
20 X 4.5 m
low-density LED display (4cm interval between dots) | stainless steel sheets | frosted glass panels

Blossom is a lighting design combining Chinese paper-cutting and LED Technology. It was exhibited in the Expo Culture Center during 2010 World Expo in Shanghai.

I carried out all the design work from concept to final result.

The secret to the nuances of the projection lies in the “stencil” layer. The inspiration comes from traditional Chinese paper-cutting. In the original design, black card paper is used for the “stencil” layer. Multiple sets of concentric arcs are cut through the paper, with each set of incisions able to be pulled away from the neutral plane to form 3D structures. These 3D structures allows light coming from a wider angle to pass through each single incision, creating more hierarchies of projection and subtler mixing of light.

One of the challenges I had with the final design is optimizing the gap between multiple pieces of stainless steel sheets. These gaps are technically unavoidable because of the size of the design, and will detract from the final result by creating noticeable divisions along the whole picture.

After repeated experiments, I referred to the pattern of the Big Dipper to solve this problem. By introducing a general tendency across the canvas with seven strong points, along with the careful arrangement of the smaller patterns, the design reached a natural effect.

 

Oct 2009 | Exhibition Model
2.5 X 1 X 0.6 m
rubber letters | slick bike tire

Keep Moving is a collaborative project based on my original concept of replacing the ordinary pattern on the tires with informative ones. When these tires pass through water puddles after rain, they will leave those informative patterns imprinted on the ground.

Keep Moving was generated during a workshop between Tongji University and Kolding School of Design from Denmark. Our team is made up of three Danish interaction design students and two Chinese industrial design students including me. Apart from originating the concept, I’m also actively involved in the development process, and took the responsibility of sourcing supplier to fabricate the tire and the exhibition model.

The final model was presented in two exhibitions in Shanghai and another one in Denmark.

We did experiments to test the optimal width of the pattern on the tire to achieve the desired results without sacrificing safety and durability too much. We also took the diameter of water puddles into account. We proposed text with shorter syntactic components, so that even only a shorter length of wet tire pattern can create meaningful imprints.

The text we used for our exhibition tire pattern is an extract from a poem written by Jørgen Leth, a famous Danish author, with the permission from himself.

Oct 2008 | 3D Rendering
250mm in length, 30mm in diameter
PMMA (acrylic glass) | induction coil | magnet | LEDs

EcoSwing is a non-disposable glowstick. As EcoSwing is being used, the magnet and induction coil inside it generates power that lights up the LEDs through a electromagnetic process.

When EcoSwing is in use, namely swung by the user, the magnet inside it moves to and fro along the chamber, making the induction coil cut through the magnetic field. The resulting changing magnetic field in turn generates electricity, which powers the LEDs inside EcoSwing to light it up.

Dec 2008 | Function Model
100 X 100 X 200 mm
ABS | electrical components

E-Comb is a desktop power strip that helps organize your electric wires. The power strip resembles a comb, featuring teeth between which electric wires can be fastened. While in use, those electric wires integrate into the context just like hairs going through the teeth of a comb.

Jan 2009 | 3D Rendering 50 X 120 X 180 mm
synthetic rubber + plastic overmolded

Pointa is a electric screwdriver designed for optimal single-hand use. The right hand model can be mirrored to produce a left hand model.

May 2009 | 3D Rendering
300 X 380 X 100 mm
ABS

Staplus is an intuitive printer design featuring an integrated stapler component to bind your documents after printing.

June 2009 | 3D Rendering
250 X 350 X 450 mm
polypropylene | stainless steel

Sprout is a public seating solution inspired by the lively form of bean sprouts. It is intended to be used as temporary seating. Two pieces of sprout form one functional set that supports one user.

Dec 2009 | 3D Rendering
25 X 80 X 120 mm
ABS | polycarbonate | synthetic rubber

Syringie is a set of personal care containers that allows user to use a different method to access content, through an action that resembles pushing the piston of a syringe. It is a reusable product, mainly targeted at frequent travelers.

June 2010 | Function Model
380 X 300 X 100 mm
fabrics

All-Mighty is a multipurpose backpack design targeted at teenager students. It features two vertically aligned compartment to organize books and make backpack slimmer when fully packed with books. Other convenient features include multipurpose pockets located in different part of the backpack and a semi-closed front compartment made of by elastic fabric, mainly designed to fit sport equipment of various sizes.

June 2008 | Function Model
20 X 20 X 130 mm
PMMA (acrylic glass) tubes

The Remnant is a sculptural sandglass symbolic of the fate of a hacked-down tree. At the end of one pass, all the sand in the top compartment falls into the bottom compartment, forming a cone at the top of the sand pile resembling the cone shape remnant of a hacked-down tree. This resemblance is intended to warn people of the fact that with the passage of time, trees around the world are being cut down for purposes that can be substituted with other sustainable materials.

Apr 2008 | Clay Model
30 X 30 X 100 mm
cast iron (desirable)

Plumy Ludo is a redesign of the classic board game “Battle Ludo”. A sculptural form of four different kinds of bird is used to create the pieces instead of flat cylinders with airplanes printed on top as in the original game.

Aug 2008 | 3D Video Rendering
domestic appliances concepts of various sizes

In the summer of 2008, Samsung Shanghai launched the 2008 Samsung’s Summer Innovation Program for College Students. The 12 candidates selected for the program came from diverse majors, and were divided into three teams to compete with each other to develop innovative domestic electric appliances. I leaded one of the teams in the program and won second place.

Among all the four ideas we chose to fi nalize, two were air conditioner concepts, and the others refrigerator. They are:

1. Private Zone: a personal booth can either cool the space inside or cool the room it is in under different power level. It is intended for students who spend most of their time home during summer vacation.

2. Fish Eye: an air conditioner that detects temperature discrepancy through infrared remote sensing and adjusts the wind direction toward the target area.

3. Smiling Food: a refrigerator with an integrated content management system that lets the user take snapshots of food and input product information through a bar code scanner.

4. Keep Cool: a refrigerator component providing backup solution for keeping medications requiring refrigeration in case of power failure by inserting substances with high heat capacity ratio in the compartment.

Apr 2008 | 1:50 Model
200 X 150 X 100 mm
PVC foam sheets

Pianio is a kiosk design for EXPO.
The kiosk features display shelves and storage space to function as a souvenir shop, information desk, and convenience store. The form of the design is inspired by both the shape of the EXPO site and piano.

Oct 2008 | Realized
425 square meters, 3 levels including a basement
“modern Chinese”

The interior design of my family’s new house is a one-year project I carried out on my own. I started as a layman, but improved greatly through electives about interior design and investing my time in furnishing and construction markets. This project is more of an exploration than a design well planned from the very beginning. The process is much more valuable than the results.

Oct 2008 | Realized
300 square meters
plants | stones

The garden design is undertaken simultaneously with the interior design. Starting from scratch, I spent time learning botany and horticulture on my own and through electives. The garden borders river on the north and east sides.