A Journey of a Thousand Mile
Back in May 2022, Interior Architecture students from Taylor's University had a full day training and tour of KIAN showroom. They were offered a glimpse at how the industry operates, particularly on real life application from product design and development to manufacturing process. At this stage, they were guided closely by our KIAN warriors through multiple Q&A and live demonstration sessions with the help of visual aids and product samples.
If you have missed out on the previous blog post, head on to the link below to read on our first collaboration.
https://www.kian.com/post/kian-x-taylor-s-university
Left: KIAN experts listened attentively to a student’s presentation
Middle: A miniature prototype of a design
Right: Coaching in progress on the product development aspect
Fast forward to the month of June, we had another invigorating session between our experts from KIAN and the students. This time, on the grounds of Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus where we focused on prototype building of their final projects. These students had to use the knowledge they had gathered into designing a piece of outdoor furniture by using different types of material. The KIAN team who was led by Mr. Lee, proactively spent their time with these students at their university’s workshop. Bouncing off ideas from one another, Taylors' students and our industrial experts had an engaging session, gaining deeper insights into improving their prototype designs.
A team presenting their thoughts and process towards their ideal design
Gem Polished by Friction; Man Perfected Through Trials
The D-day finally took place on July 2022 at Taylor’s University Micro House open area. Altogether, six talented teams strategically placed their prototypes for evaluation. They were seen as either excited or nervous as they patiently waited for their turn in showcasing their final work. Peter Mikkelsen, our KIAN furniture design expert, alongside Mr. Mohd Redzwan, Taylor’s University senior lecturer for Faculty of Innovation & Technology spearheaded the session of the day. Our trusted partnership between KIAN and Taylor’s University were more pronounced during the collective constructive feedback given after each presentation.
Left: A group effort in testing the prototype’s durability
Right: A team presenting their design
Left: Peter evaluating a student’s design
Right: A student presenting his design to the audience
In the end, our main goal was to enable students to merge the theoretical learnings in design and development with their practical application. Additionally, we encouraged these students to explore deeper into purposeful design. How would their design serve the people using that space? We think of how hospitals, malls and education institutions would have different needs and have different priorities. That is what the students had to put their thinking caps into, while designing their outdoor furniture piece. Furniture is more than just metal and wood; it is a human experience. It embraces both form and function.
Our industry experts who are familiar with the progress of building a design while ensuring the original intention behind it remains on track. They shared their decades of experience with these students, from consultation to the evaluation stages of our collaboration together. We at KIAN are always ready to offer our expertise and knowledge back to the community. Over time, we hope to bring impact to these future talents and environment, which is in line with our Better World promise.
If you are interested to work together in a similar collaboration, contact us at hello@kian.com.