Christopher Lim

Christopher Lim is one of the earliest practicing industrial designer in Singapore. He started his career designing audio products at Panasonic (formerly known as Matsushita) in 1989, a time when industrial design was virtually unheard of here. Since then, Christopher has establish himself as a visionary design leader in the industry.

Through the years, Christopher has fed his passion for design and expanding his knowledge on the subject by undertaking projects involving different design disciplines. He designed the first Singapore Civil Defence website and provided design consultancy for an e-commerce company in the US. It was Through his contribution that this company was given a 20 minute prime time spot on CNN.

He now manages the Industrial Designers in HP IWS Design Singapore studio.

Erene Teo

Born in Singapore, Erene Teo has always been living in inspiringly between 2 worlds, the swift ever-changing varieties of graphic art and product design. Over 5 years, her former education and work experiences in these fields conjoin into what she is now, a diverse and curious ‘design explorer’. Currently, she is a designer at Dell Singapore.

To share, ‘it is not about how many years in your life but how much life in your years’, a reminder that she has came across and shall continue to motivate her.

Q&A

What makes you tick? Why are you doing this?

Christopher: As chairman of the Little Thoughts Group, I want to create a platform for local designers to break out of routine work and showcase their individual talents. With this group, I hope that designers participated actively to enrich the local design scene and along the way grow the international awareness of industrial design in Singapore.

Erene: I hope to share my ‘kind’ of spirit about design from all the inspirations and things I have discovered and came across the past few years with the world. I am doing this because I want to portray a unique self-expression, using the traverse between my inner child-like imaginings and the current influencing inspirations and applying them into my work or art. To be able to share and delight the eyes of the audience.

What is your design inspiration?

Christopher: Many culture practices such tradition to transport home cook food in one way or another. Home cook food represents care, concern and love. In the new age, home cooked or home prepared meals are seen in a different light. ‘Eat healthy’ is the new message. Although food has transformed itself in many ways, in preparation and recipe, and even mother who prepare them, transporting them has not caught up.

How do we feel this gap? What can we do about it? These are the question which I hope to answer.

Erene: Overall, I enjoy synthesizing the goodness of each different things, elements or objects together. An eclectic fellow I can be, I am fascinated with the unpredictable outcome because I believe things do not need to be on a one-way route.

If you can turn back the clock and do 1 thing all over, what would it be?

Christopher: I would build the HDB flats differently.

Erene: Can I stop and be forever young?

Designing for memories is…

Christopher: All about dreams that we use to have, wonderful dreams of the past brought to life in the future.

Erene: A unique experience. Recalling the past and having this opportunity to share my personal memory with everyone is exciting!

Christopher’s idea:

Home cooked food is a motivation. At work or at play, food can nourish the mind and body. In the past, farmers used to look forward to lunch time because their wives will bring home cooked food, all packed in a Tiffin carrier, was known as “teng kat” back then, and keep them company till they start work again. Home cooked food represents care, concern and love.

So in this modern era, I need a modern solution to transport home cooked food to meet the needs of a new generation with an active lifestyle.  On a higher plain, this is to encourage healthy living while bringing back the past with care, concern and love.

Erene’s idea:

Saving Singapore ‘$1′ dollar coin has always been an unusual habit I carry on for quite some time. I am thankful for the discipline of saving that was taught by the grown-ups (teachers, parents, grandma) since young because it builds an important value in me and shall continue be for anyone, generation after generation. My first translucent red piggy bank inspires me. As simple as it can be, just watching the money piles up inside created a sense of achievement and excitement which I will remember. I hope that it will bring about this nostalgic feeling that we all once have. Saving a coin in a piggy bank shall not be a ‘passing-by’ memory that is forgotten. Bringing it back to the modern artful world, the art of saving money can be reminisce and reinvent in a more amusing and entertaining way.