DESIGN PLATFORMS
Glazed ceramic is a versatile material and people use it everyday. Rather than develop new electronic devices, what if we could use these everyday ceramic objects as computational interfaces? In this platform, students explored embedding interactive circuits into ceramic objects based on research developed by the Interactive Materials Lab. From these explorations, they conceptualized and built a range of applications for everyday ceramic interfaces.
In this joint platform with Architecture and the Innovation Design Program, students collaborated and designed immersive and interactive museum experiences for actual art collections held by the NUS Museum and Singapore Art Museum. Students leveraged emerging digital technology and develop a wide range of projects that challenge the traditional boundaries of museum artifacts and spaces.
In this platform, students were challenged to redefine the boundaries of the magic circle commonly associated with video games; and to develop projects that facilitate playful and tangible experiences for a specific audience in mind. Students built DIY systems that facilitated tangible play experiences. These experiences are powered by everyday mobile devices, leveraging onboard sensors and cameras for interaction sensing and computer vision.
In this platform, haptics as a design consideration takes center stage. Design students explored materials through the lens of haptics. From this exploration, they defined new material systems for haptics and systematically characterized the haptic behavior of these systems. They then designed and built real world applications on top of the new haptic systems they developed.
In this platform, students investigated data as a material. We operated on the premise that representing data in more tangible and interactive ways will lead to alternative interactions and sense-making that facilitate how people explore a specific data set of type. We also critically examined the many technical and design challenges around designing with complex data and making them tangible.
The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the role of different digital contexts for living, working, learning, and playing. At the same time, it has exposed the fragility of the global supply network and fueled an already active DIY culture. In this design platform, students were tasked to pull these trends together and develop DIY tangible interactive experiences for a specific context, supported by fiducial markers and computer vision (a facet of augmented reality).
DESIGN COMPUTING
In this 6-week design fundamental module, first year undergraduate students explored physical computing by building their own sensors and electronic circuits—as opposed to using off the shelf components. Their explorations were anchored in the task of making a controller for the classic game “Snake”.
Computing for Design is a core module for second year industrial design students. We engage students in computational thinking concepts through a series of projects built on the Micro:bit and p5.js platform. This module culminates in a reflection essay where students compare computational thinking with their design process.
Teaching History
2020–
Division of Industrial Design, NUS
Design Platforms:
Museums Alive
Tinycade
Haptic Everyday
Tangible Data
DIY Augmented Reality Interfaces
Computing for Design
Design Fundamentals: Electronics as Material
Design Thesis Projects
view project archive
Division of Industrial Design, NUS
Design Platforms:
Museums Alive
Tinycade
Haptic Everyday
Tangible Data
DIY Augmented Reality Interfaces
Computing for Design
Design Fundamentals: Electronics as Material
Design Thesis Projects
view project archive
2018–2020
ATLAS Institute, CU Boulder
FORM
Design Methods
2016–2017
School of Industrial Design, Georgia Tech
Graphic Communications
Interactive Product Design
2012–2014
Division of Industrial Design, NUS
Design Platform: Digital Wellness for Children
Design Platform: Digital Wellness
Design Platform: Skin and Bones
Design Platform: PLAY
Digital Design and Fabrication
Computer Aided Design
Design Fundamentals
ATLAS Institute, CU Boulder
FORM
Design Methods
2016–2017
School of Industrial Design, Georgia Tech
Graphic Communications
Interactive Product Design
2012–2014
Division of Industrial Design, NUS
Design Platform: Digital Wellness for Children
Design Platform: Digital Wellness
Design Platform: Skin and Bones
Design Platform: PLAY
Digital Design and Fabrication
Computer Aided Design
Design Fundamentals