Recently, I have received another interview about MADE in China. You can check out the article here.

I’ve also been awarded honourable mention in the RE:Store design contest and finalist in the Australian International Design Awards student category.

AARIVE.com will receive a makeover in the very near future. Keep a look out for it!

–What is the designer s greatest responsibility in the 21st century??
In the 21st century, the greatest responsibility of designers is to be “ever open in yourself and to everything else”. By being open-minded in you, innovative approaches could give rise to more ever desirable results. By keeping an open eye to the audience and the world, designs will become ever more significant, especially when address confronting issues like sustainability of the environment, society, culture and market etc. 21st century designers should be “open” problem solvers for a holistic system.

–Do u think design can make the world a more beautiful place??
Design can make the world a more “considered” place – because design is “think before you act”. Qualitative designs provide much more consideration while quantitative designs spread consideration to much more places. Designs are “consideration” exist in some form, in some place. If “consideration” is a form of beauty, then, yes, design would make the world a more beautiful place in that sense, however, weather or not “consideration” is a form of beauty is subject to debate.

What will YOUR answers be if you were asked the same?

John@AARIVE’s MADE in China is featured on October’s Wallpaper* magazine~! (Issue October.2007) AARIVE is very pleased that our computer design is featured in one of the most internationally known magazine in the Design Industry. Very nice images of MADE in China too~! I’ve upload the scans. Just click on the above thumb nails to read the article. (Thanks Fei for the Scans!)

Final design presentation is next week for John and Recka. We are no doubt super-busy! Wish us luck and send us some Red-bulls!

PART 2

Here we are at Week4’s aGLANCE!! and Wacky is the Theme!! Who says designs must be practical?? or more realistically, ask yourself: “what is practical”? “Practical” means different things for different people. Some define it as ”satisfying a requirement in life” or “making something more usable”… some people definte it as the “how well it sells” or “if it can make me smile…” How can you be sure your definition is the right one? The truth is,there is no Right or Wrong answer…

My definition is : “as long as it satisfy your ultimate goal, it is Practical. it is Design.” and The goal this week is to design things that challenge the common knowlege of “practicality”. The designs this week might sometimes be referred to as ”Kitch” or “Useless” or even “Silly”. This is why I have left it to the end of the week before I release wek 4 designs in one go with my rationale here explaining the so-called “impracticality”. But these designs requires just as much creativity as all other designs. It wasn’t an easy job.

Most of these designs required the discovery of the small things in life and the mainstream human values. The design expands these things to the point of creating a product for it.

An example is the “Sleepy Sheepy Counter“. Sheep Counting might only be a small moment before sleep, but most people would have done it before…. Unfortunately, this activity/culture that has a little place in our society. There is no class which teaches you how to do it. There is no scientific research into how it works. However, the Sleepy Sheepy Counter honours this culture and takes it to the digital era. Since it is something that its “practicality and neccessity” is questioned by the current-society, the society would refer this kind of design as ”Wacky”.  This week’s Wacky Designs:

• Forever Tissues Exerciser
• Bubblewrap FunStrap
• Mannerism Necklace
• Melody Fingers
• Yes.No.Maybe. Rubber
• Sleepy Sheepy Counter
• Money Money Blanket

Click Here to see them all~!

aCONCEPT aDAY.   AARIVE’s endless creativity - here to inspire.

Click on MORE for Detail…OH~!! You will never want to wake up again when you’re sleeping inside the MONEY MONEY Blanket!! I’m sure you will have better dreams~!!

It is created by sewing together separated cotton sheets printed with a imitated  money graphic. It forms the cover for a quilt. The loose sheets create a special texture on your body that feels like you are wearing a hundred little blankets~!!

Click on MORE for Detail….

Too Lazy to Count your sheeps at night? Use the SleepSheepyCounter!! Am i serious? Yes i am! Perhaps i don’t need further explaination. It simply counts you to sleep~!

How to Use:

1. Press the Start Button
2. It will Start counting : “One Sheep, Two Sheep, Three Sheep” (with a bit of background sheep noise)
3. It will slowly fade and slow down….
4. It turns itself off when it finally detacts that you have fell asleep (by analysing the low frequency of your breathing/snoring noise)

Click on MORE for Details…

Can’t Decide? Use the Yes.No.Maybe Rubber~!! It will become your favourite pastime in School or Office~! Whenever you use your rubber, it affects the shape of the rubber and inturn affects which answer will land.

Reflection: Everything you did in life, no matter conscious or unconscious, will affect every next decision in life.

How to use:

1. Think of a question that requires a YES/NO answer.
2. Just throw the rubber like a dice
3. The graphic shown on top of the rubber as it lands is the answer.
4. Sometimes it lands on MAYBE. Will you throw again? or will you let it remain as unanswered?
5. Can you trust it?

Really, it is all up to you.

Click on MORE for details…

Turn your fingers and sign languages into Audio when you wear the Melody Finger Glove!! Have you ever pretended you’re playing the piano on the table? or have you ever hit your fingers on the desk as if you’re playing the drums?  Or maybe even wish to add more cheer to a party when you make the Peace sign? The glove will make All these sounds for you when you take these actions~!! (Your fingers can even say the rude word when you make the rude sign!)

How it works:

1. When you make a movement, the touch sensors, gesture sensors and shake sensors will detect what gesture you’re doing.
2. The speakers will then play a sound accordingly!

Some examples of what it plays:

• Numbers
• Good/bad
• Hello/ Hi/ Bye
• Piano/ Shakers/ Durm/ Gitar
• and more..!