Kittichai Reawsanguanwong (Naa)

Kittichai Reawsanguanwong (Naa) graduated from the renowned Chulalongkorn University in ‘The Land of Smiles’, and has since accumulated a diverse design portfolio and invaluable industry experiences while working for reputable companies like Sony and Creative Technology. Known among his peers as a persevering designer, his fundamental approach to designing is to achieve a good balance of beauty and practicality, coupled with a whole lot of fun.

In 2007, Naa co-founded the Singapore-based design firm, Sketch Design Consultants Pte. Ltd., which specializes in developing creative strategies, product design, 3D visualization & 3D animation.

Naa’s idea: Chinese Chess + Bookshelf = ???

My memory of local coffee shops has always been about the rich aroma of ‘Kopi’ fragrance and the common sight of people crowding at one corner to watch ongoing Chinese Chess games.  I’m fascinated by how the surrounding onlookers are able to observe the etiquette of maintaining absolute silence as they watch the chess masters concentrate on their every move of the well-crafted chess pieces.  I miss these memories and hope to see this enjoyment being adapted into the modern living environment.

Gaming has been a hobby since young, especially strategic games.  Chinese Chess is one such game that I like and used to play it almost every day when I was a kid.  It is challenging to think and plan ahead of my opponent in order to win.  I have also grown to appreciate the intricate carvings of the Chinese characters on the chess pieces, and the unique placement of the pieces on the board.

As time passes, I grew up and seldom chance to play Chinese Chess as most of my new friends were more into English Chess.  Hence, I have no choice but to pick up English Chess as well.  Since then, I wondered to myself, why can’t Chinese Chess be more popular internationally?  Is it too old fashion?

This thought became my starting point; to explore subtle ways to promote the classic Chinese board game by integrating it into our daily lives.

The benefits

-        3 in 1 functions: Storage + Decorative + Play

-        Huge Chinese Chess for visual impact & more space for sharing/watching. (No need to squeeze around the table like you watch in “Kopitiam”)

-        Chinese chess has a unique way of placing and moving the chess pieces on the grid lines. We can translate the grid lines onto the shelf edges without blocking the storage space.

-        We can choose to start or stop the chess game anytime; there is no need to keep the chess set if there are any interruptions.

-        The chess pieces are beautifully crafted and they can be attached onto the shelf edges. This becomes an added visual element that the user is able to re-arrange according to his liking.

I hope to communicate our Asian culture to other non-Asian countries and to increase the awareness of this classic Chinese Chess game.  The fusing of the game into a daily used object is an effective way to reach out to more people.  I also hope to expose the beauty of the Chinese characters to more people.

Next up, let us introduce you to Chan Wai Lim!

Chan Wai Lim

Chan Wai Lim was born in Singapore. She graduated from Temasek Polytechnic, Singapore in 1999 studying product design. She have 6 years working experience in Design Constancy in Design Exchange , GE Fitch and currently spending her 5^th years working in Dell Experience Design Group.

Her works has received several design recognition and patents like IDSA silver, CES Best of innovations, IF award, Red Dot Design award and the Singapore Furniture Industries Council & Young designer award Singapore.

Music & travel is always her source of inspiration.

Wai Lim’s idea:

This memo time piece is hand craved out from polymer with influence from kampong life. During the process, there is a combination of mix media, from hand sketch, computer aided design , airbrush techniques to tell a story of Kampong lives.