Let’s do something different this Friday, shall we? Maybe we can turn this into a regular Friday discussion forum?

Last night on Twitter, I mentioned that I discussed over drinks that “Design is a Lifestyle.”. The following morning I got some very interesting replies. So I thought it might be fun to turn this twitter discussion into a blog discussion that is much easier for everyone to track.

I hope that this would be easier for you to be part of the conversation by getting an opportunity to have your say or share your thoughts in a back and forth manner. You can leave your thoughts in the comments below, or via Twitter. I’ll try to keep track of all your replies and post them here in a chronological order as best as I can.

Please do pass the word along or retweet this post so that we can invite as many people to the party as we can?

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Here are some of replies I got this morning:

I’m looking forward to reading all of your comments and being part of this conversation. And if you are interested, these Twitter updates was created by the very cool Blackbird Pie.

Edit: Here they are!

Check out this cool umbrella and stand installation by Outofstock for FiftyThree, a restaurant in Singapore. Outofstock Design is an outfit set up by Gabriel Tan, one of my former students when I was lecturing part time at the National University of Singapore.

Outofstock was recently commissioned by Singapore chef Michael Han to design a set of umbrellas and umbrella stand for his restaurant, FiftyThree. The items are designed with the restaurant’s philosophy in mind – understated and an intimacy with natural materials.

The umbrella’s solid beech wood shaft and carbon fibre ribs reflect the elegant austerity of the restaurant interiors, softened by the warmth of a carefully sculpted handle. The handle’s cross-sectional shape facilitates a comfortable grip, while the gentle indentation is a defining detail which provides security and solace for one’s thumb.

Propped by offcuts of guava tree branches, the umbrellas rest on an umbrella stand of made of a bent corian sheet over a maple wood base. The curved ledge channels remaining rain water from the umbrellas into a small, concealed container within the base.

Via: Outofstock Design

Please take a moment to admire the beauty and elegance of Deglon’s Meeting Knife Set.

Don’t worry, I’ll wait.

Done?

Why not take another minute?

Ok, ready? Let’s continue.

Designed by Mia Schmallenbach, this design is a wonderful exercise of merging utility with aesthetics. A sublimely beautiful design that stopped me dead in my tracks, and compelled me to study how to lines and shapes worked together. Furthermore this design is not just “form for form’s sake”. The knives cleverly tuck back into each other like Russian dolls thereby organizing and removing clutter on your kitchen counter. Some people have concerns on the functionality, but I’ll reserve judgment on this until I get a chance to hold one myself.

Here is what Mia had to say about her design.

Meeting is a set of kitchen knives: paring knife, carving knife, chef’s knife, filleting knife and their block. They all seem to be sculpted out of one piece of steel. The proportions are determined by the Fibonacci sequence with as its base the average width of a hand.

It is refreshing to see old school design methodologies, such as the Fibonacci sequence, given a new lease of life by combining the thinking with modern manufacturing technologies. Found everywhere in nature, we know that Fibonacci sequences work well in design, as proven by the Renaissance masters in the past. And it looks like it is still relevant in today’s context.

A big thanks to Shang Lee for this wonderful find.

It might not come as a surprise to most of you, but this design blogger has an alter ego as a design professional during the day! While it may seem that way at times, especially at 2 am, my life does not revolve around Design Sojourn. I don’t really talk much about my professional work on this blog, as I do like to keep my blog and work separate. Design Sojourn is a blog about my own personal views on design, and not about work. (Seen the disclaimer on the right?) However, from time to time, I make exceptions partly because the information is now in the public domain, and partly because I just can’t resist sharing it!

During the day, I’m actually a Senior Design Manager at Philips Design. I spent most of my time leading strategic design programs in the Philip’s Home Cinema Sound global portfolio. I have also been known to take care of DVD/Blu-Ray players and Remote Control programs as well. In a nutshell, I look after the design activities for most of the peripherals around the TV introduced in the second half of 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Working closely with Creative Directors (or Leads) and Program Managers, my role is to craft design strategies and business focused design solutions that shape meaningful and (hopefully) successful product propositions. I am also responsible for creating a comfortable “playing field” for the design team by ensuring the all the proper budget and operational processes are in place.

Without further adieu, I would like to share with you two of the many designs my team and I have been working hard on in the last two years. The videos of the designs below are part of “Obsessed with Sound” launch campaign and have also been officially released on the Philips YouTube channel. The images are from the Philips Corporate Communications News Center set up on Flickr especially for online media and bloggers.

HTS9520 Philips Immersive Sound home theater with 360Sound

Product in Focus

Campaign Clip

Philips HTS9140 SoundBar Home theater with Ambisound

Product in Focus

Campaign Clip

I hope you share our excitement after watching these product launch videos! At this time I would also like to applaud and congratulate the awesome design team that put their hearts and souls into the designs. Well done guys, you know who you are! So what do you think of our labor of love? I would love to hear your feedback and comments?

So on this really high note, I thought you might like to know that come end September 2010, I will be leaving Philips Design. I won’t go into too much details now, but do stay tuned to Design Sojourn as I will share more about this and my future plans. Talk soon!

1) A dip in the bed – I got a room with 2 single beds, and it was obvious which bed was the one more frequently used as there was an annoying sunken dip in the middle of the mattress. I’m not sure if house keeping was flipping the mattress in a timely manner.

2) The closet was difficult to open – It has a really nice seemless door design that, being flushed with the wall, was hell to use. I could imaging ladies breaking nails trying to pry the closet doors open. The stiff rollers did not help.

3) House keeping leaves a new clean cup the right side up on the counter top.

4) The shower does not drain properly – I’m drying up in about 2cm deep soapy water.

5) The shower door handle cum towel rack is too low – the bath towel I hang on it brushes the floor. Annoying especially if the floor is wet after a shower.

6) Waste bins are not cleared.

7) Complementary tea bags not refilled.

8) Daily newspaper was not delivered, but eventually turned up after 3 reminders.

9) Air condition vents directly facing the study table where I’m writing this post.

Update: 10) Killed a cockroach in the toilet at 12.16am.

As you can see, on its own, each of these points are not major problems. However when added together these small “irritation points” becomes big enough to impact the total experience. It does not really matter if it is a product or a service, experience design is tough as it requires a 360 degree holistic process when resolving the problem. Not only that, you need an attention to details and a deep understanding what motivates a consumer and what is important to them.