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Hello! I’m Kenneth, a multi-disciplinary UX designer currently working at DBS Bank.
SIMBA DECISION AID
health / web app
Easing the anxiety toll after breast cancer through a personalized web-based decision aid.
SVSTEM WATCHES
business / industrial design
Designed & co-founded SVSTEM Watches, which got successfully funded on Indiegogo for $19,461.
How would you feel if your own child does not recognise you? — This was not a question, but a reality many mothers had to face when they left their children behind to work overseas in order to have enough to provide for them. They left their children in an act of selflessness, sacrificing for them, only to return a few years later to discover that they're no longer recognised by them.
The Documentary, a series by the BBC, recently aired an episode titled "Virtual Mothering". It covers the lives of mothers who have to leave their children behind to work in another country, and how the advancement of technology has given them significant empowerment. A key insight I gleaned was around the 8:50 min mark, where video conferencing technology, instant messaging, and social media, is contrasted to the late 1990's with letters or phone calls. With today's technology, mothers are now able to maintain a sense of co-presence that was previously not possible with the more analogue forms of communication.
"I have never believed that art is part of design. One is a commercial interest and one is a personal interest. The one thing a designer does most is deal with other people’s interests.
When you have to compromise and deal with business realities, that’s being a designer. When you are solving a problem, that’s being a designer. I don’t like to conflate the two."
——
So many nuggets of gold in this interview that 99u did with Dave Snyder. A lot of it really aligns with the lessons I've learnt over the course of the last 3 years since graduating from ArtCenter and getting into the industry...
In the spirit of Creative Strategies, I decided to do a quick 2hr vector and animation exercise, inspired by a fishing trip to Kelong Acheh in Malaysia a few years ago with some friends from school during our INSEAD MBA exchange. It wasn't my first time there and I always remember kelong trips to be uber relaxing with the constant sea breeze and absence of technology.
I managed to pay a visit to the Yves Saint Laurent exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum in January, and finally got to upload some of the pictures I took from there.
One thing that stood out to me was how he uses fashion and couture to elevate the status of women, and empower and define the idea of what femininity means through the clothes they wear, defining a legacy along the way. In a way it reminds me a little of Coco Chanel too, how she used fashion to define the modern woman. That's something I find really powerful amongst iconic fashion designers .
One thing I deeply appreciate about living in Seattle is the abundance of nature spots and greenery that surrounds the city. It's there that I'm able to recollect my thoughts and realign my energies especially after a full week of looking at screens.
To you my love,
I see us dying.
Decaying slowly into the fragility of age.
Yet a process to be despised
we should instead celebrate.
For there is no one else I would
rather decay with but you.
Part of this week's class assignment for Branding Strategies, taught by Sherry Hoffman, was to create a 30-sec lovemark video of our favorite brand. A lovemark speaks about our emotional connection with a particular brand.
