One designer, on purpose.
I grew up above my father's print shop in Ipoh, folding flyers for Chinese New Year sales. Most of what I know about design I learned from watching people pick up a printed thing and decide, in about a second, whether to keep it.
After six years in studios in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, I went independent in 2020. I wanted to work on fewer projects, closer to the people who make the product. Since then I have taken on four to six projects a year, and I turn down the ones I cannot give two proper weeks of looking.
The work spans identities, packaging and app interfaces, because to the people using them they are the same thing: the first moment a company feels careful or careless.
How a project runs
One call, one page
A 45 minute call, then a one page brief back to you within three days: what we are making, what it is for, what it costs, when it is done. Nothing starts until we both sign it.
Two weeks of looking
I spend time where your product lives: the kiln, the shelf, the warehouse, the commute. Most of the decisions in my projects come from this fortnight, not from a moodboard.
Three routes, then one
You see three directions drawn properly, not sketched. We pick one together and I take it all the way, with a review every Friday you can join or skip.
Handover you can use
Files, a short written guide and a 60 minute session with whoever will use them after me. Every project includes three months of small fixes at no charge.
Experience
- Independent, Kuala LumpurBrand, packaging and product design for 31 clients.
- Senior designer, Ferrow and Lane, SingaporeIdentity and packaging for food and hospitality groups.
- Designer, Atelier Okka, Kuala LumpurEditorial and exhibition design, mostly print.
Talks
- Design small, ship oftenGrid Annual conference, Kuala Lumpur
- The shelf is the briefTirai Packaging Biennale, Penang
- Fifteen columns and whyKonvoi Quarterly readers' evening
Recognition
- Halden Design PrizePackaging, gold, for Orvane
- Monsoon Type ReviewSelected, Marrowfield back labels
- Tirai Packaging BiennaleShortlist, Marrowfield
- Grid Annual 12Editorial, Konvoi Quarterly issues 31 to 34
- Halden Design PrizeIdentity, silver, for Ninefold
Clients
Orvane, Tidelock, Marrowfield, Konvoi Quarterly, Kestrin Cycles, Aunra, Portwyn, Ninefold Festival, Selvane Hotels, Rumbell Coffee, Okkari Ventures, Halvert Architects.