Robin Chen Portfolio

PORTFOLIOROBIN CHEN

-Served as the planner, the camp staff, and the instructor.

EDUCATIONShih Chien University College of Design, Industrial DesignCranbrook Academy of Art 3D Design

Taipei, TaiwanJune 2009

MI, United StatesMay 2016

WORK EXPERIENCESInternship Hua-Chuang Automobile Center -Car key design for potential new developed cars. -Market analysis process in order to recognize trend for the market

New Taipei, TaiwanJuly 2009 – August 2009

Designer Frontpoint Design -Processed product design and presented proposals. -Managed and planned project schedule for the design team, and assigned the works to each designers. -Supported products went into production

Taipei, TaiwanNovember 2010 – July 2013

EXHIBITION2008 Young Designer’s Exhibition2009 Young Designer’s Exhibition2015 ICFF2015 Detroit Design Fair2016 Degree Exhibition2016 Collective Design Fair

May 2008May 2009May 2015

2015Sep May 2016May 2016

AWARDS2009 Young Designer’s Exhibition nominated May 2009

ACTIVITIESTeaching plans for the industrial design summer camps

-Organized activities during the term of office

Student Association of the Department

July 2006 & July 2007

2006 - 2008

SOFTWARESCreo / Keyshop / Photoshop / Illustrator / Indesign / Autocad / Windows Office

Growth Series

Category: Furniture Design

Time: 2016

Dimensions: 500 x 450 x 500 mm (300 mm) / 350 x 300 x 450 mm (650 mm)

In our society, it’s quite easy to see the products which were made by fully well hand crafted

like luxurious watch, car, and wooden furniture. However, those products for viewers are hard to

realize that are handmade. To figure out, they are nearly perfect and the craft men put their effort

to hide their finger prints. So once the designers like us trying to exploring the “craft design”

by the limited techniques and skills. But in craft field, as a designer who are not the craft man,

normally would try to explore something about imperfection, ugliness, or uniqueness.

Craft, from my perspective, imperfection, ugliness, and uniqueness are not the familiar form to

exist in our daily objects, especially in mass productions. The reason is clear, because the

maker themselves didn’t have such good technique to accomplish and improve the quality of

their works. It makes me to go deeper for it:

“Practice makes Perfect.”

When their skills get better, what is the purpose to keep making something imperfect intention-

ally? It triggers me to think about what is imperfection and craft? My answer is to invest a

process which has been planned well by designer, and set up a platform to develop the object

which could not be influence by human hands but still under designer’s “control.” In short,

exploring uniqueness, ugliness, and imperfection by showing the material, object, and the form

by natural elements.

- Each layer represents the time the maker contributed.

- Each layer represents the relationship between the time and the size.

- Each layer represents the processes the object had been developed.

- Each layer represents the connection of the artificial and natural materials.

Using the stumps highlight the wood grain, and connect the resin graphic and the wood grain. This is

the last practice for the topic: How can Invisible Process Become Visible?

using the layers to reveal the process and the time designer tributed. Each layers are random and

uncontrollable, but they were generated by designer's device. This is the achievement for "Control the

uncontroled process."

This is my vision of the imperfection, ugliness, and uniqueness by craft.

Growth Series

Trees, overs thousands of years, turn to petroleum. Epoxy resin came from the same cycle. In

my project, these two materials which came from the same origin met together again. The

plastic continues the tree’s life to grow up by ring after ring. The inorganic compound grow like

organic but the organic stop growing.

Through simple pouring processes to ‘grow’ the furniture, then chop it into half, it turns out two

samiliar but different pieces.

I value this project as a sculptural abstract object. The project developed in a natural way so

the process is part of the project as well. I hope to develop the process to let the material speak

and by itself including pattern and form by organized production process.

Growth Series


Time: 2016

Dimensions: 500 x 450 x 500 mm (300 mm)

MIX

Category: Conceptual Design

Time: 2015

Using soy wax as the mould to cast cement and resin to

experiment and to track the natural texture and patterns. The rein

will heat up when it solidfy, and the wax which is the mould will

be melted. The liquid wax will float up and cause the random

pattern and the texture.

In the project Mix, I kept developing the idea about creating

uniqueness through the design process I designed. Using wax

as the mold then cast it by concrete and resin. The casting

materials rise the temperature while they were solidifying, then

melted the wax mold. So the casting materials catch the melting

moment. When the wax transforms from the solid into liquid, it

become lighter than the casting materials, so it going up and

eroded the final form.

Also, through huge amount of experiments, the graphic in the

models had certain similarity. Those graphics were generated

by using the oil pigment to drip in the semi solidifying casting

materials. They track the heat flow in the casting materials. In

this project, it’s a step forward to purify the idea: how can

invisible process become visible? Setting a processing rule and

let materials cooperate with each others without hand touching.

Layer Table


Time: 2007

Dimensions: 600 x 450 x 500 mm

The concept of Layer Table came from the

traditional Chinese paper-cut décor for a

window. Deconstructing the décor into

several parts, then reconstructed them with

different height and transformed them into a

three dimensional structure which viewers

can use their perspective visual effect to

form the reassemble illusion.

Pulp Table


Time: 2015


This Coffee Table was made by paper

pulp and poplar with hand craft and CNC

to explore the contrast.

By paper pulp’s quality which is easy to

keep people’s track, the table could be

transformed by users’ habbit when the

time goes by.

Roast Suckling Pig Pencil Sharpener

Category: Product Design

Time: 2014


Everybody needs a little bit of laughter in their hard working student life. What is more funnier

than seeing a piglet getting rosted on your desk?

You can simply put the pencil through its’ mouth then turn the handle as if you are roasting a

pig. The shavings will be stored in its’ stomach and it is easy to clean. So hands up if you want

to roast a pig while shaping pencil.

TONINO LAMBORGHINI ANTARES

Category: Smart Phone Design

Time: 2012

Dimensions: 145 x 63 x 11.5 mm

Tonino Lamborghini was established by Ferruccio Lamborghini’s son - Tonino

lamborghini. Although Automoblie Lamborghini was purchased by VAG group in 1998,

Tonino Lamborghini now still working independently.

Tonino Lamborghini business coverage a spectacular spectrum including men’s wear,

watches, jewels, perfumes and Consuming electronic products.

The process of dekelopment by 1:1 sketch

Final sketch


749 USD

9000 USD

4000 USD

After analyzed the market of samrt phone, the target zone of price in this

project is about 4000 USD, just between normal smart phone brands (such as

Apple, Samsung, and SONY) and the most expensive smart phone brands

(such as VERTU and TAG Heuer).

At the begining of project, the newest Lamborghini super car which was

named “Aventador” entered the market at the same time. Therefore, design a

smart phone that its style is connect with Aventador and looks luxurious are the

most important issues in this project.

The whole body is made by aluminum,

excludes of the top and the bottom of the

phone. Because those position are

equiped the antennas, which cannot be

covered by metal.

The back cover is covered by several

optional materials, such as carbon fiber

and leather.


Entry-Level Earphone Design for TONINO LAMBORGHINI

Entry-Level Earphone Design for TONINO LAMBORGHINI

Category: Consuming Electronic Products Design

Time: 2013



Time: 2013


High-Level Earphone Design for TONINO LAMBORGHINI

Earphones Design for TONINO LAMBORGHINI

This project is assigned by Tonino Lamborghini to develop the series of earphones.

The entry-level has a single speaker and the high-level has dual speakers.

In this project, the most important issue is ergonomics. However, it also has to match

the image of Lamborghini which is full of sharp angle like stealth bomber. Therefore,

it is a great challenge in this project.

At the process of sketching, there are 2 major strategies, the first one is that both

high-level and entry-level have the same part of module and differs the level by some

elaborative decoration; the other one is that using 2 different type of shape to seperate

2 products. Finally, because the first strategy has much lower distinction than the

other one, therefore, the second strategy is chosen to proceed.

Entry-Level Earphone Design for TONINO LAMBORGHINI High-Level Earphone Design for TONINO LAMBORGHINI

Entry-Level Headphone Design TONINO LAMBORGHINI


Time: 2013


High-Level Headphone Design

Category: consuming electronic products Design

Time: 2013


Headphones Design for TONINO LAMBORGHINI

This project is assigned by Tonino Lamborghini to develop the series of

headphones that has 2 level of products. The entry-level one is a on-ear

headphone, and the high-level one is a over-ear headphone.

design with sharp edges, monolithic and sculptured volumes and precise

surfaces, which are the classical Lamborghini’s images to restructure the

traditional headphone, and make both class of products have connection with

each other.

Desk-Top Heater

Category: Household Appliance Design

Time: 2012


Desk-Top Heater

This Desk-Top Heater has a patent which

can enhance the temperature by the core

that is made of ceramics.

Because the core of the heater is quite

smaller than tranditional product, this heater

can be minimized the size and can be set on

the desk in the office for individual.

According to the client, female consumers

has much larger number than male

consumers. Therefore, the numbers of

buttons are diminished to make the it easier

to use.

Speaker Dock for iPhone


Time: 2011


The concept is that this speaker dock displays music and user’s

media device like display standas or a decoration in the living room,

just like a vase or a tray.

And because this product is base on the technology which can make

surround sound by simple speakers, therefore, the size of the

speaker dock can be smaller than other conpetitions and keep the

same quality of sound effect.

Net & Part A

Part B

Part C

Part D

Control Board

Drivers

Main Board

Part E

Speaker Dock for iPhone

CAREFREE

Category: Lighting Design

Time: 2008


Product exists because of the needs. And

product is produced for the convenience.

The originality of this product is to

functionally meet user’s needs, so we

can use the product right away once we

need it.

The initial concept of style is based on the sign which when the lamp turn on,

it will show the shape like tranditional lamp that has a lamp screen. Therefore,

the part of the lamp was designed to be transparent.

CAREFREE

Blackout is always an annoying but unavoidable incident that every household would prepare a flash light just for it. But

people can never remember where they put their flash light. Once the electricity is out, people would then start to look all

over the places for the flash light they put last time.

Carefree provides a suitable solution for the emergency lighting in incident like blackout. When the electricity is out,

Carefree will still be on to let user know the location of the light source that he or she can just pull out and use it right away.

The creation of Carefree is to let the emergency lighting to be neither an unexpected incident nor the partner in crime of

user’s anxiety.

Documents

Robin Chen Portfolio