1. Can you tell us a bit about your background?

Monika: Currently, I live in Poznan, Poland, but I’m not really attached to one place. Travels inspire me the most. Last year I’ve started design studies in School Of Form in Poznan.  This is a choice of activity which will bring me a lot of satisfaction during my life.  I’m sure.

Joanna: I come from Olsztyn (Poland). It’s quite a particular town, with 11 lakes in it. This place had huge impact on me when I was growing up. During high school I was planning to study painting. Finally I decided to study interior design, though I never let this dream go and from time to time I still paint. Following Interior Design studies at the University of Arts gave me the opportunity to develop my skills in industrial design. Significant for me was participating in an Educational-Design Programme, where I learnt how to design a product. Another influential time of my life were year-long studies in Mexico City, where I could compare my way of thinking with people from a very different culture. This time not only changed me as a designer, but mainly as a person and expanded my horizons.

Dominik: I was born in Konin in Poland. I grew up playing LEGO and I think it was the most important thing which determined my subsequent choices I learnt in few Polish cities, where I joined my technical and art passions.

2. What is “design” for you?

Monika: It’s a creation based on interaction between people and the environment they live in.  For me it’s a kind of social activity. The type of design that I like the most is like an unexpected answer to an unexpected question and it often looks somewhere between design and contemporary art.

Joanna: For me design as an activity is generally putting thoughts into matter. It can be considered as giving some objects or spaces emotional meaning or functional solutions etc. Design in its final form is a statement of these ideas. It’s a way of communication.

Dominik: Design is an answer for people’s needs. In a functional and spiritual meaning, it’s collecting ideas and finding the one which I consider as the most functional.

3. Define your personal style in three words

Monika: Don’t want to define it in three words. It’s still under construction and still changeable.

Joanna: Logical, consistent, discerning.

Dominik: Idea. Functionality. Progress.

4. What modern-life product would you have liked to have had designed?

Monika: Furniture for meditation.

Joanna: I envy people who designed the Quechua tent.

Dominik: The Mu – USB adapter reduces size of bulky British power plug design by 70%.  It’s by product designer and illustrator Min-Kyu Choi of Made in Mind

5. Sketching on paper or straight on the computer?

Monika: Sketching on paper while not sitting in a front of a computer. Best ideas come to my mind when I’m on the move.

Joanna: Paper. Computer applications impose too much during creating primal concepts.

Dominik: I draw on paper, but often I move my work onto the computer.

6. The city that most inspires you is…

Monika: Berlin, New York and Moscow. Berlin as a good place to live and work, New York for its artists and Moscow for its social contrasts.

Joanna: Nowadays Poznań, where I live and can observe how it’s changing.

Dominik: Ljubliana and places like Metelkova

7. Your favourite colour is…

Monika: Grey combined with another colour

Joanna: Purple

Dominik: My favourite colour is about  #ffd200.

8. What was the original source of inspiration for your Design Challenge entry?

Monika: The whole idea of research based on playing with LEGO bricks.

Joanna: Honestly… a dustpan !

Dominik: My friend Peter told me that he’ll go to the Design Workshops organized by Kasia Gliszczyńska. When he used the magic word “LEGO” I knew that I have to be there… So I am.

9. You think your concept has what it takes to be the SCA Design Challenge winner because…

Monika: Simple ideas that propose different solutions are the best.

Joanna: We thought about final users (not only children, but mostly their mothers, who are helping to tidy up bricks after play.) We observed and asked many mothers so we could understand better their needs. I think the great advantage of our concept is also thinking about transportation of the product. We were concerned about the scale of production and logistic problems that some shapes of the final packaging may cause.

Dominik: Because it is based on the real needs of the person who will probably use it. It’s good looking and meets the requirements of the brief.

10. Can you share with us any other previous project you have worked on that you are most proud of?

Monika: Lately I was working on different projects in the field of communication design and probably it will affect my works in the future so I’m glad I did it.  I developed my skills and knowledge of typography.

Joanna: The ‘Tensila’ lamp, which form is an effect of analysis of tension in textile. It’s a concept for a lamp made of Corian that can create gradient shadow. Also, an idea for the Center of Tourist Information of Mexico City, which I worked on during my internship.

Dominik: It was a week school project. “The room in which is raining” It is important to me because it broke my doubts, which stand in the way to the best idea.

11. One thing you will do in 2012 is…

Monika: A parachute jump!

Joanna: Generally – getting more and more professional experience as a designer and cooperating with others. I consider starting work as freelance designer this year.

Dominik: I’ll make Jatczyn Studio operate at full capacity.

1. Can you tell us a bit about your background? I’m someone that loves product design, innovative idea generation and inspiring thinking process.

2. What is “design” for you? It’s my hobby and my work.

3. Define your personal style in three words To think in my own way and do it so.

4. What modern-life product would you have liked to have had designed? Something between a small electric car (2 persons) and a recumbent trike.

5. Sketching on paper or straight on the computer? First on paper, to get more ideas and part of the solutions to the problem, or shapes for the new design. From an idea in your mind, to visible design.

6. The city that most inspires you is….. Slovenian cities like Ptuj and Piran.

7. Your favourite colour is… It’s always differentJ

8. What was the original source of inspiration for your Design Challenge entry? I thought, ‘how can I improve the experience of playing with LEGO Bricks?’ I tried to remember how I played with LEGO as a child.

9. You think your concept has what it takes to be the SCA Design Challenge winner because….It’s a cool and simple design, just like LEGO Bricks with some elements that have added values. Also, I’m childish enough to know how kids want to play with LEGO Bricks.

10. Can you share with us any other previous project you have worked on that you are most proud of? It is a neurosurgical device – Microdrive and some packagings for surgical equipment, that is my diploma work.

11. One thing you will do in 2012 is….I have some ideas on my things to do list; watch, weather station, wallet. I want to make these everyday products from new ideas in my way. To put guidelines into questions.

Can you tell us a bit about your background?

Maya: I’m a Bachelor student from University of Sofia, studying Engineering Design. Currently I’m doing my exchange semester in FH Salzburg, Austria.

Svetlana: I am 26 years old. I was born in Ruse, Bulgaria, where I have spent most of my life. I got my B.Sc. in Chemistry from Sofia University, Bulgaria in 2009, and right after that I was accepted in an Engineering Master Program in Environmental Management and Sustainability Science in Aalborg University, Denmark. I graduated in the summer of 2011 and have recently started a volunteering job at Danish non-governmental organization that operates in the field of sustainability and environmental practices.

What is “design” for you?

Maya: Design for me combines all the methods, technologies and ideas and adds them to the understanding of a problem to give its solution. It needs to correspond to people’s needs and fit to the specific environment and conditions. Design is one of the strongest tools to imply new ideas that lead to changes in people’s lifestyle.

Svetlana: For me design is a creation of an idea, which is a reflection of the designer’s feelings and thoughts.

3. Define your personal style in three words

Maya: Simplicity, communication, functionality

Svetlana: Punctual, extraordinary and creative

What modern-life product would you have liked to have had designed?

Maya: Paper. It’s been here for us since the dawn of the civilization; it keeps all the information, literature, science, communication and the art of the world, while it is also used for storage, packaging, toy and furniture-making etc. It has unique properties and I may say that if it wasn’t for the paper, we wouldn’t have developed with the same pace.

Svetlana: Sustainable plastic or sustainable house

5. Sketching on paper or straight on the computer?

Maya: Sketching on paper, as it has its unique authentic feel and makes the natural connection between the creator and the drawing.
Svetlana: I would say both. I am using the paper to draw my ideas very fast, and then I finalize them on the computer.

6. The city that most inspires you is….

Maya: They’re two: Florence (Italy) is an inspiration because of the unique atmosphere and the fact that it keeps its warmth even in the winter. It wakes up my creative personality.
The other one is Sofia (Bulgaria). It’s the most chaotic city I have lived. I love it for its faults and the fact that it’s not organised. Sofia’s residents need to get creative every day to solve problems all the time and this keeps their minds active. It inspires me because it’s a city of contradictions and contrasts.

Svetlana: The city that inspires me most is Rome, because it is incredible mixture of ancient history, romantic sceneries, fashion and mystical atmosphere. Every place around the city is filled with history and symbolic meaning, amazing architecture and nature. It always takes my breath away when I am visiting it!

7. Your favourite colour is…

Maya: Green

Svetlana: In general I cannot define only one favourite colour of mine, let’s say I have several: teal, light green, coral and all spectre of purple.

8. What was the original source of inspiration for your Design Challenge entry?

Maya: I believe inspiration comes from the most unusual things, so whenever I have a project I make tons of sketching, which is more or less related to the general task. Then thinking about the problems I need to solve, I add the functional aspects as it gradually takes a shape. My original non-related inspiration was the Chinese symbol of Yin and Yang. I also thought of a suitcase, a truck toy and a board game.

Svetlana: Having in mind that I am not the main designer, and just the person dealing with the sustainability issues around the concept, I would say we gained inspiration from the equilibrium in the nature and we used the Yin-Yang sign. I also did some investigations among Danish mothers and grandparents; in terms of what would they want more from a new LEGO box. As a result, we came up with the idea of the wheel and a handle included in the concept.

9. You think your concept has what it takes to be the SCA Design Challenge winner because…

Maya: It’s not just a package, the box itself is a part of the playing process. Children are given the opportunity to experiment and get creative in their games, while also develop their thinking, share their experience and make friendships. Creativity Box is entertaining, durable, safe, doesn’t require much space, can be easily stored and it’s feasible. The material used for its manufacturing is 100% recyclable, so it can be used again in the production process. The percentage of used raw materials is low and it could be an ecological substitute of the current LEGO Bricks & More box, because it keeps the classic LEGO, but has a unique concept and better solution for its end of life.

Svetlana: Our concept has the potential to be SCA Design Challenge winner because it is not just a box that will be put in the corner, but just the opposite. It will take a central role in the child’s life due to its uniqueness and ability to be not just a packaging keeping the toy, but it will be the actual toy. The concept is created in a way that supports the socializing process between kids by uniting them to play together around the box. The materials used for its manufacturing are completely environmentally friendly and even capture CO2 during their production. They are also 100% recyclable and easy to regenerate in new product.

10. Can you share with us any other previous project you have worked on that you are most proud of?

Maya: CUBBO was a university project about children and the problems they have in their everyday life. I came up with an idea that saves space and organizes children’s backpack and desk, just because it’s one object or set of different pieces that you can combine, make different shapes for different purposes. You can make a lamp, a tablet stand, a pencil holder, you name it… It all depends on the plates that you use in the set. Some of those plates can be designed with specific features such as LED display for example, or a mirror. So the child can assemble the tool he or she needs in the specific situation. The bottom and the cover of CUBBO also go over each other and make a little trinket box for keeping small items such as money, buttons or paperclips for example. I’ve tried to look for a company that could develop that concept into a product but haven’t got any response so far.

Svetlana: Well, I can only give you a hint, because I am feeling that I must be loyal to the companies’ case studies that I have used in that project, so that’s why I will not mention any names, but in general, I have one specific project that I am really proud of. I was working on it during my masters, and it was related to voluntary environmental programs in terms of energy efficiency in developing countries. The team I was involved was extremely international (five different countries/three different continents), and the job we have done was amazing. We have scored the highest grade for that project and also we have managed to become very close friends during all the research and after the defence of the project.

11. One thing you will do in 2012 is…
Maya: Take my exchange semester in FH Salzburg, Austria and travel.

Svetlana: My future plans involve growing with a company (such as LEGO or SCA Packaging), where I can keep learning new technologies as well as improve my skills, and contribute to the sustainable policy of the company. I am really looking forward to starting my career on a position where I can contribute to the environmentally friendly practices and manufacturing.

1. Can you tell us a bit about your background? Carmen: I studied Product Innovation Technology in The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Graphic Design in The University of Sunderland (UK). I am now a Toy Designer working in Hong Kong.

Kwan: I am a Hong Kong designer, interested in both Product and Graphic design

2. What is “design” for you? Carmen: Good design enables the user to enjoy the product!

Kwan: Design is creating something different with others

3. Define your personal style in three words Carmen:  Happy, creative, comfortable

Kwan: Varied, optimist, open-minded

4. What modern-life product would you have liked to have had designed? Carmen: I’d love to try any new projects. I can learn something good from every project. Learning is the source of inspiration for my designs.

Kwan: Household products like racks, furniture…

5. Sketching on paper or straight on the computer? Carmen: I like to sketch on paper freely.

Kwan: Draft on paper and quickly move onto computer

6. The city that most inspires you is…..Carmen: I think any city I am going to visit will inspire my design because each place is unique.

Kwan: Tokyo. You can find many creative designs in this city

7. Your favourite colour is… Carmen: I like all colours. Life should be colourful!

Kwan: Green

8. What was the original source of inspiration for your Design Challenge entry? Carmen: LEGO is part of my childhood memories. The experience of playing with LEGO is the inspiration for my Design Challenge entry.

Kwan: When researching, I found that many children play LEGO on the floor. I guess they need a game table!

9. You think your concept has what it takes to be the SCA Design Challenge winner because….Carmen: “H CUBE” is an innovative packaging design that children would be glad to use. It is not only a “box”, but a dream.

Kwan: It has the LEGO quality feel.

10. Can you share with us any other previous project you have worked on that you are most proud of? Carmen: When I studied graphic design, my final project was to design an “Environmental Friendly Creative Centre for Children”. All designs created with eco-friendly concept. I enjoyed this project very much and this is also something I want to accomplish in the future.

Kwan: What I want to share is a conceptual ultrasonic dishwasher. The usage is according to human behaviour. This design got the champion of an electrical appliances design competition.

11. One thing you will do in 2012 is….Carmen: As a designer, I would like to get a clear understanding of my style to create my own famous series.

Kwan: I decided to learn how to twist balloons!

1. Can you tell us a bit about your background? I’m American. I was born in Minnesota, raised in Indiana, and educated in Ohio. My heritage is German and Scottish-Irish. I’m in my 7th year at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP). I studied Architecture for two years until I discovered that Industrial Design was where I belonged. I will graduate in June this year, only my senior capstone project remains. I have worked as a co-op intern at Hasbro Games and Swimways, and I have done work for Boeing and Hill-Rom.

2. What is “design” for you? To me, design is something that is well thought out. A well-designed product is something that is naturally easy to use and understand. It isn’t decoration, the product is beautiful because it is simply designed specifically for its purpose. It does one thing and it does it beautifully well.

3. Define your personal style in three words Bold, young and clever.

4. What modern-life product would you have liked to have had designed? While it isn’t modern-life, I would have liked to have been one of the mid-century modern furniture designers, like the Eames, Mies van der Rohe, Breuer, or Saarinen. I really enjoy their style and design aesthetic. Many of their pieces are still sought after as good design. I have an Eames fibreglass chair that I liberated from my high school and it is one of my favorite things.

5. Sketching on paper or straight on the computer? I prefer to skip sketching and go straight to working in 3D, either with CAD on the computer or with paper models. When sketching is necessary, I do it on paper.

6. The city that most inspires you is…..Three cities stand out for me. I always feel a sense of excited belonging when I visit the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul) in Minnesota. Cincinnati feels like it is the perfect place to gain my footing and to aspire to be something great. I have not been to Berlin yet, but for years it has been the one international city I feel the most passion to visit.

7. Your favourite colour is…I’m a designer, so the correct answer has to be grey. Profession aside, I like purple. Black is a close second in both cases.

8. What was the original source of inspiration for your Design Challenge entry? As mundane as it is, the clear plastic tubs I buy at Target were an inspiration. I needed a way of figuring out how to sell empty space. For the base, I wanted to add as much play surface as possible and multi-level kids’ castle playsets came to mind. I married the two ideas and came up with a snow globe.

9. You think your concept has what it takes to be the SCA Design Challenge winner because…. My design communicates to the consumer (often Mom, Dad, or grandparents) what they are getting for their money. This set is about storage and expandability. The clear plastic tub shows you that. It will also reveal the hiding spot for that one piece a child is looking for. That might mean dumping the bucket on the floor half as often, and any adult can guess the benefit of that in regard to their feet. The clear tub acts as a showcase both in the store to entice little creative minds, and at home to keep smaller siblings’ fingers away until the masterpiece inside has had its grand premier in front of Mom and Dad. This design has what it takes to win over children, their parents, and hopefully, the LEGO judges. My design adds value to the set on so many levels. It does not limit how the children want to play: right side up, upside down, inside out, connected to another. It ‘plays well’, the definition of LEGO.

10. Can you share with us any other previous project you have worked on that you are most proud of? While I am very proud of a recent chair design I did in the style of Mies van der Rohe’s steel tubing chairs, a packaging project I did for Hasbro Games trumps that one because it was put into production and is available for purchase today.

When I was working as an intern at Hasbro Games, I was tasked with redesigning the Travel Game line box. It needed to satisfy both the American market and the international one, which seemingly had opposite requirements. The American consumers didn’t like a closed cardboard box, because they had no idea what they were paying for. They liked the clear plastic vacuum-formed packaging that is so popular on the lower price-point toys. The European consumers disliked that kind of packaging as they saw it as being cheap. They liked the cardboard boxes better because in Europe, these travel games are popular as gifts and are easy to wrap. My solution was to use a slightly more expensive plastic box, but to save money by making the boxes all identical. After measuring all the game components, I found the smallest box size that would hold each of the 12 titles. I presented my idea and Hasbro went with it. I didn’t do any of the graphics or any further work on it, but my one-size-fits-all clear rectangular box idea is what makes that packaging design work.

11. One thing you will do in 2012 is….The most exciting thing I will be doing this year is, of course, coming to Europe for the workshop with LEGO, and I am making the trip even more exciting for myself by staying to travel for the month in between the two sponsored events. After the ENG Conference I will return home for my final quarter at school. My senior capstone is a project involving smart materials and their applications. I will graduate in June and hope to start my career as an Industrial Designer at a great company.

1. Can you tell us a bit about your background?
I am from Athens, Greece. I am 22 years old and I study Interior Architecture, Decorative Arts and Product Design at TEI of Athens. I just finished my Product Design studies as Erasmus student in Institute Polytechnic of Viana do Castello in Portugal, which was a very interesting semester for both educational and entertainment reasons. My studies at TEI of Athens have a big variety of lessons like architecture, decoration, design and graphic design and I see that as an advantage to have general knowledge over almost all applied art fields.

2. What is “design” for you?
For me design is the harmonic combination of function, beauty and innovation.

3. Define your personal style in three words
I am experimenting with several styles and I think is the best thing a student can do. That way I am always free to try new things and to be more creative in my projects.

4. What modern-life product would you have liked to have had designed?
Mercedes SLS

5. Sketching on paper or straight on the computer?
Ideas are born in paper. Computer is a very useful tool to work and finalise a project but not to create new idea.

6. The city that most inspires you is…..
Barcelona! I recently visited the capital of Catalonia and it was really impressive and inspiring, especially Gaudi’s architecture.

7. Your favourite colour is…
Red and Blue but all the colours and their properties are interesting. I think more important is the combination of the colours.

8. What was the original source of inspiration for your Design Challenge entry?
During the summer I was experimenting with the cube as a shape and the connection of six identical pyramids creating a cube. When I started thinking of ideas for the Design Challenge I decided to evolve the idea into Tempo packaging and to investigate further the possibilities of other combinations. They surprised me to a great extent!

9. You think your concept has what it takes to be the SCA Design Challenge winner because….
I think the most important advantage of my concept is the combination of the functional shape for transportation, storage and use while the same time has an attractive form that creates many patterns and draws the attention of the consumer.

10. Can you share with us any other previous project you have worked on that you are most proud of?
I think one of my best works is an advertising stand for a colour spray. The purpose of the project was to create a stand that would attract and inform consumers. I designed and constructed some colour-splatters around the spray made by plexi-glass. All the pieces are handmade and can connect and disconnect from the base to be easier to transport and storage. Along with the stand, I created a small booklet that explains the whole concept.

11. One thing you will do in 2012 is….
For now the most important thing is to finish my studies, keep improving and working on several different projects and ideas.

1. Can you tell us a bit about your background? I’m from Budapest, Hungary. I graduated as a marketing and advertising specialist at the Budapest Business School. After working some years as a marketing manager, I realised that I would like to create “touchable” things. I started to study graphic design in an evening art school. After two years I decided to make a master in packaging design as I was always interested in consumer packaging. I found a Packaging Design Master in Barcelona. The master was a very good experience; I learned to work in a group, the importance of a good presentation and naturally a lot about packaging. I have participated in several design contests with success: winner of final master project (real work for Orbit), winner of Hungaropack Student 2009, certificate of recognition of Worldstar Student 2009.

2. What is “design” for you? Something that makes life easier and more beautiful.

3. Define your personal style in three words Clear, practical, clever

4. What modern-life product would you have liked to have had designed? The classic Coca-cola bottle.

5. Sketching on paper or straight on the computer? First I make a lot of small sketches on paper and then, after selecting the best ones,  I develop the sketches in bigger size with colour. When I change to computer I try to have only three ideas.

6. The city that most inspires you is…Barcelona, because I have passed a very nice period of my life there. It is a city that combines history and modernity, architecture of Gaudi and contemporary art, mountains and sea. It is a multicultural city where you can find something new every day.

7. Your favourite colour is…White, because it is a very good background colour. It makes the design to breath and if you combine with another bright colour, the design becomes very energetic.

8. What was the original source of inspiration for your Design Challenge entry? As the tissue boxes are quite big, I wanted to create a box that goes smaller and smaller as you are consuming the tissues. The other advantage of this box is that at the moment of disposal you have a compressed box without space inside.

9. You think your concept has what it takes to be the SCA Design Challenge winner because….It is very practical and at the same time is a surprising design.

10. Can you share with us any other previous project you have worked on that you are most proud of? ISOTOP is a re-design of an existing isotonic drink bottle where the concentrated material is a powder. This powder is inside the cap and it mixess with the water at the moment of opening the bottle. The problem was that the bottle was not ergonomic, was hard to open, it had a rough design, weak brand image and inadequate communication of product usage. We changed the working of the cap, the shape of the bottle and the graphic design. (Other group members: Irán Corona, Elena Campo) (You can see more works on my website: www.packdesigner.com)

11. One thing you will do in 2012 is….At the moment of this contest I was working in commerce, but after becoming a finalist, I have quitted my job to realize my goal to find a job as a designer.

1. Can you tell us a bit about your background? I’m an Italian Industrial/Product Design student who graduated as a Bachelor at Politecnico of Milan University. I currently live in my boring and beautiful hometown of Forlì, back at my parents’ house, but I’m planning to move abroad and study or work in the field of Product Design from this summer on. I approached design as my intention for a career because I believe creating things from nothing will be a constant in my life. I cannot ignore the artistic aspect of everything we see and do in everyday life; this is an idea I have been growing since I started listening to and playing music back in my teenage years. I wanted to create things for a living and watch them grow, so besides music, design is probably what I’ve been looking for all my life.

2. What is “design” for you? What I really see in the deepest meaning of “design” is a special link between the product and the human, providing an emotional effect that comes from a non-living object. I think this is the most intriguing feature of design, or at least what it means to me.

3. Define your personal style in three words Emphatic, holistic, smart.

4. What modern-life product would you have liked to have had designed? A simple one: the Post-It. I’m really into products or ideas that entirely changed the world and usually make you say: “Why the hell didn’t I think of that?”

5. Sketching on paper or straight on the computer? Usually, straight onto paper and then scanning and rendering it on Photoshop. I want to keep something away from my monitor and feel the old authentic approach with non-digital activities.

6. The city that most inspires you is…..San Francisco, though I’ve never been there. Also some lonely city in a remote northern island, where I’d like to be when I get tired of big cities or society, and I eventually will.

7. Your favourite colour is… Blue, without any doubt.

8. What was the original source of inspiration for your Design Challenge entry? I was actually really into Yoga and some interesting concepts from Hindu culture. One of them was the concept of “prana”, which is a kind of energy linked with breathing, so I started considering the “breath” in a different way, giving priority to it and observing its movement. I guess this is subconsciously the idea behind my project: to provide the movement of breathing and its lightness.

9. You think your concept has what it takes to be the SCA Design Challenge winner because…. It will bring a complete new tissue box while keeping a simple production process, even reducing the use of materials. It has a smart and essential functionality and an appealing shape. It’s at pace with modernity and with the current concept of flexibility.

10. Can you share with us any other previous project you have worked on that you are most proud of? 24h Findus is a package for pre-ready frozen food to be placed in a 24h open vending machine, so anyone can go for a quick snack even at night time and buy one or more portions of food. This was a school project that took a lot of time in analysis, statistics, carrying out interviews in supermarkets to customers before the actual realization. We were four people working on it and I’m satisfied of the project in its entirety.

11. One thing you will do in 2012 is…. Keep on studying for a Master in one of the Swedish universities I applied for. If not: work in one good design company. If even that doesn’t work out, make a big change in my life and become a road-tripper, or move to a Hindu temple.

1. Can you tell us a bit about your background? I am originally from South Korea but I have studied in US.  Having the chance to experience two very distinctive cultures allowed me to observe what people have in common despite their different backgrounds. Because user research is a very important factor in design, knowing how culture conditions people’s behaviour and mind-set helps me a lot.

2. What is “design” for you? The rediscovery of mundane objects

3. Define your personal style in three words. Friendly and casual.

4. What modern-life product would you have liked to have had designed? Lighting in general. I am interested in features of light

5. Sketching on paper or straight on the computer? Sketching.

6. The city that most inspires you is…..Seoul and New York

7. Your favourite colour is…Purple

8. What was the original source of inspiration for your Design Challenge entry? Flowers

9. You think your concept has what it takes to be the SCA Design Challenge winner because…. It is elegantly innovative.

10. Can you share with us any other previous project you have worked on that you are most proud of? During my senior year in the School of Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), our class had an opportunity to work with American office furniture company Haworth to develop their office accessory collection. It was a very inspiring task for me because our user research focused on subconscious human cognitive process and instinct. It was very different from the traditional industrial design approach that focuses on visual aesthetic and problem solving. On top of it, my product was selected as a SAIC’s special promotional gift.

11. One thing you will do in 2012 is….Exercise!

1. Can you tell us a bit about your background? I was born in Mexico in 1985, in Ciudad Juárez. I was born a designer in 2008 at age 23, when I decided, after five years of study (and to my mother´s eternal grief), to leave medical school and pursue an idea that had been roaming my nights for a couple years, and entered design school. It took me one day to fall in love. Actually it took me the first 35 minutes of the first class I attended (design for dummies). After that, I started to get soaked in all I could related to design. Names, brands, techniques, styles, crafts, CADs, magazines, blogs, you name it. Anything I could get my hands on that would help me become a first-class designer. I am still pursuing that goal. Industrial design is very young in my country, and especially in my university. This year will be its twelfth anniversary, so you could say we´re pretty young on it, but just as in love with design as any other school in the world. I will be born a licensed Mexican designer in December 2012, when I graduate.

2. What is “design” for you? That´s a hard question, I don’t know if there is a ¨absolute definition¨ for what design is. I believe it would be presumptuous for me to go and try to make a statement and define it, even if it is only my opinion. Design contains so many feelings, so much art, hard work, passion, tenacity, preparation, ideas, hopes, sleepless nights, happiness, creativity, will, expectations, tears (both of joy and frustration) and studies, that saying only that it is fundamental in each one of my body cells, would never suffice.

3. Define your personal style in three words Carefree, idealistic, determined.

4. What modern-life product would you have liked to have had designed? That´s a tricky question as well. It´s hard to pick one, so many wonderful and interesting stuff is going on in the world nowadays. But if I had to pick one specific design it would probably be the ¨GM advanced technology windows¨. Although it is still in prototype phase, the idea and the level of interaction it offers is, well, beautiful.

5. Sketching on paper or straight on the computer? I guess it all depends on each designer’s style, although I believe the first one releases you while the second enslaves. I can´t deny the beauty of digital sketching though, “Ctrl Z” is indeed a powerful tool!

6. The city that most inspires you is….. My own. Ciudad Juárez is rather a medium-size town, around 1.2 million people live there. During the past 4 years, a violence vortex landed upon us. The drug cartels are fighting each other and they are dragging us in a spiral of assassinations, extortions, kidnapping and several other, rather terrible, crimes. And even though the situation is critical, people find the courage to keep living, to send their kids to school, to work, laugh, love and give a hand to the needed ones. I have found over the past years, that only in the hardest, most difficult situations, can people truly be human and compassionate. The bravery of my city inspires me, the love we share as brothers in arms.

7. Your favourite colour is… Orange. It is a scientifically proven fact that orange is the colour of the invisible shade of the wind, the colour of laugh, of a woman’s soul. Traces of orange have been found on the moon, the sun and other 2.5 million stars. A teaspoon of orange colour cures sadness and if you put a cube of orange under your pillow you are sure to remember your dreams on the morning. Without doubt, orange is the most beautiful colour of them all.

8. What was the original source of inspiration for your Design Challenge entry? Simplicity. Honesty. To be true to what we are offering to the costumer. I wanted something pure, straightforward. I wanted absolutely no doubts about what our intentions were and what we are. I wanted to come clean.

9. You think your concept has what it takes to be the SCA Design Challenge winner because…. Because it is truthful. I truly believe this design shows an intent of design, not only on the industrial or graphic design features, but in its essence. There is an idea behind it, a philosophy. Behind this design there is a conviction.

10. Can you share with us any other previous project you have worked on that you are most proud of? Some of my latest projects were illumination based ones, sadly and thanks to technology, I lost most of my data and records. What I can share is a project I did about a year ago, a small table I’m quite fond to. It is called ¨BK table¨, made in collaboration with a fellow designer Brandon Rivas. It is designed to fit small spaces and change its shape to convey with the users desires, moods and necessities. In the picture I’m sending we can see the ¨basic¨ square shape and some variations, although only some variations are shown, the possibilities are much bigger, only limited by the user’s imagination.

11. One thing you will do in 2012 is….You never know what’s coming. We make plans and think and imagine, but we can truly never know what´s ahead. I can only do as best as I can, until fate catches up with me. =)