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
Category: Furniture Design
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
Category: Furniture Design
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
Category: Furniture Design
Time: 2015
Dimensions: 650 x 360 x 450 mm
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
Dimensions: 150 x 45 x 55 mm
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
TONINO LAMBORGHINI ANTARES
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.
TONINO LAMBORGHINI ANTARES
Entry-Level Earphone Design for TONINO LAMBORGHINI
Entry-Level Earphone Design for TONINO LAMBORGHINI
Category: Consuming Electronic Products Design
Time: 2013
Dimensions: 58 x 24 x 64 mm
Category: Consuming Electronic Products Design
Time: 2013
Dimensions: 52 x 32 x 55 mm
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
Category: Consuming Electronic Products Design
Time: 2013
Dimensions: 165 x 55 x 170 mm
High-Level Headphone Design
Category: consuming electronic products Design
Time: 2013
Dimensions: 175 x 65 x 185 mm
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
Dimensions: 300 x 60 x 195 mm
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
Category: Consuming Electronic Products Design
Time: 2011
Dimensions: 420 x 165 x 150 mm
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
Dimensions: 350 x 150 x 350 mm
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.