Fitbit Force

The Fitbit Force is an improved version of its predecessor. It monitors the number of steps you take, as well as the number of hours you get to sleep each night. It is lightweight and comfortable to wear, and it also doubles up as a watch for daily use.

The Fitbit Force is an extremely useful app for anyone that wants to track their fitness regime. It provides a lot of information about your body, while letting you know about your body at the same time.

Tintac

Problem 

• Sick of forgetting to bring my sunglasses out. 
• Sick of squinting my eyes at sunlight. 
• Sun Visor does not block out sunlight well enough 
• Sick of tan lines from wearing sunglasses. The sun still comes in from the sides of the sunglasses 
• Sunglasses without degree is troublesome for those wearing spectacles.

Introducing Tintac

• Substitutes the need of using sunglasses. 
• Combines sunglasses and contact lenses. 
• Adapts the concept of sunglasses, which is to prevent bright sunlight from damaging or discomforting the eyes. 
• Modified to provide more convenience to the user. 
• Put to other uses - can be used as normal contact lenses for daily wear. 
• Eliminates tan lines and chances of forgetting to bring sunglasses out. 
• Rearrange - could be transposed into swimming contact lenses too.

Visuals

Usage

Zapper

Problem

• Sick of so many wires getting tangled in my bag 
• Sick of my laptop and mobile phone running out of battery 
• Powerbank can’t be used for my laptop + it runs out of battery very easily for me 
• Carrying so many chargers is very heavy because I am already carrying many things to school.

Introducing Zapper

• Substitutes the need of using chargers. 
• Combines all sorts of charging devices. 
• Adapts the concept of a Powerbank, which allows charging on-the-go. 
• Modified to include faster charging time & unlimited battery life (charged using light beam). 
• Put to other uses - all electronic devices can be used. 
• Eliminates dead devices, tangled wires & hassle of carrying to many charging devices. 
• Rearrange - Charging can be done no matter the arrangement.

Visuals

Usage

Sound Builders: Felix Thorne Turns Junk Into Incredible Musical Sculptures

Felix Thorne is one of Sound Builder's contest winners and he makes music out of ordinary objects. What may seem as junk to us might be potential musical instruments for Felix as he churns out amazing sounds with the help of a computer software. His passion started when he learned how to produce electronic music via a computer software and it branched out to different style.

I feel that the whole concept of making music out of junk is a really strange idea and I am not alone. Even Felix himself said that, "The best way to describe me is I'm an artist who thinks he's a scientist."

Week Nine: Forced Connections

A Pencil

1. Passionate Pencil - 

To be passionate means to have strong feelings for something so the pencil has to be in a shape of a heart.

2. Sad Pencil - 

A sad face usually has a downturned mouth so the sad face is in the form of a downturned mouth.

3. Brave Pencil - 

I usually relate knights to bravery so this is a pencil in the shape of a knight's sword.

4. Creative Pencil - 

Creativity is about eureka moments and breaking the rules and doing something completely unconventional so the sparkly ends of the pencil represents the creative speak and the twisted pencil represents creativity as something original and quirky.

5. Greedy Pencil - 

Greed is about wanting more than you have so this pencil is sharpened on both sides instead of just one because one is never enough.

6. Hardworking Pencil - 

The pencil is sharpened to its very end because it is very hardworking and wants to write a lot.

A Clock

1. Passionate Clock - The clock is designed to look like a star, energetic and fiery with passion.

2. Sad Clock - Sad usually means broken so the arms of the clock has fallen "down".

3. Brave Clock - I drew a muscular arm for brave as there is such a thing called "Brave Muscle".

4. Creative Clock - Just like this weeks topic on Forced Connection, creativity is also about connection, which is why this clock is conjoined.

5. Greedy Clock - This clock is so greedy it has so many arms and it is impossible to tell the time.

6. Hardworking Clock - The clock is very hardworking so it moves beyond its body to its second body, just like how hardworking people do more than they are supposed to.

A Computer Mouse

1. Passionate Mouse - 

The mouse is designed in the shape of a hand, so you will get hi-5s every time you use the mouse. It is passionate and enthusiastic about being a mouse.

2. Sad Mouse - 

Sad usually means broken so the mouse has to paste plasters.

3. Brave Mouse - 

The brave mouse is in the shape of a shield, which knights use because they are brave.

4. Creative Mouse - 

This mouse is an arrow, which is the same as how it appears on screen. Its design is unique and out of the box.

5. Greedy Mouse - 

This clock is so greedy it has so many wires.

6. Hardworking Mouse - 

This mouse is so hardworking that there is a left and right handed mouse so the user can use both hands to use it.

A Cup

1. Passionate Cup - 

The cup has a heart shape for a handle.

2. Sad Cup - 

The sad cup broke into half.

3. Brave Cup - 

The brave cup is modelled after a trophy cup.

4. Creative Cup - 

This cup is half a lamp which makes it quite creative.

5. Greedy Cup - 

This greedy cup has so many handles.

6. Hardworking Cup - 

This cup has 4 handles for your 4 fingers.

A Plug

1. Passionate Plug - 

The plug is in a shape of a heart.

2. Sad Plug - 

The plug is facing downwards, with its "legs" folded.

3. Brave Plug - 

The plug is made out of spikes, and its cable is spiky too.

4. Creative Plug - 

This plug has a hole in its body for easy removal from the powerpoint.

5. Greedy Plug - 

This greedy plug has many legs.

6. Hardworking Plug - 

This plug has many cables to charge many phones because it is very hardworking.

A Candles

1. Passionate Candle - 

It forms a shape of a heart.

2. Sad Candle - 

The candle stands alone, melting.

3. Brave Candle - 

The candle is made in the form of a knife.

4. Creative Candle - 

This candle is created in the form of a cosmopolitan, which is rather unique for a candle.

5. Greedy Candle - 

This greedy candle has a flame larger than itself.

6. Hardworking Candle - 

This hardworking candle has three flames.

The Creative Brain: How Insight Works

This BBC Documentary is a social experiment to see how our brains work. It studies the public's "eureka moments" using different puzzles and brainteasers. How our brain comes up with these moments of creativity is something very extraordinary, it is almost like we have these answers in our head all the time but without these "sparks", it may not come about.

Using brainwave data from volunteers, scientists have studied the patterns and witnessed the creative spark as it happens.

The research was very detailed and lengthy but challenging at the same time as I had to try and figure some of the puzzles out myself.

However, the 3 word connection test was the one that I didn't understand much....

This guy was juggling apples and the three words were Crab, Pine and Sauce and the answer was apple...? I didn't figure it out instantly, and even with the answer I'm still pretty confused.

I felt that the video was alright, very scientific with lots of statistics and data but it was a bit boring to be honest.

TED Talk: The Happy Secret to Better Work

In this talk, Shawn Achor explains the happy secrets to better work in a funny and entertaining presentation. In his talk, he explained how society wants everyone of a certain standard, and if you don't reach it, you are automatically deemed a failure.

I came across this comic years ago and it is really relevant to this talk.


In the comic, a man is asking 6 different animals, to climb a tree as a "fair selection". But is it really fair? All of these animals have different abilities so if not all of them manage to climb the tree, does that mean that they are less skilled? And for the monkey, that manages to climb the tree, does that mean he is remarkably talented? Or does that simply mean that he can climb a tree. As for the fish, it is a totally unfair test for it as it is not even a land animal.

However, that is the sad cult of the average. Society wants us all to be average. All the same.

He then went on to talk about happiness in life. How we think that if we study hard, get good grades, we can get good jobs with good pay and that is a good life.

But what if all these aren't enough? What if you get a good grade but you want better grades? Get a good job but you want a better job with a better pay? It just means we will only be satisfied for a short time before we start chasing for better things.

So how can we be happy in that case?

This is where he shares the secret with us.

"90% of your long-term happiness is predicted not by the external world but by the way your brain processes the world. And if we change it, if we change our formula for happiness and success, what we can do is change the way that we can then affect reality."

Week Eight: Analogy Quiz

1. Odometer is to mileage as compass is to

A. speed
B. hiking
C. needle
D. direction

Answer: D. direction

2. Marathon is to race as hibernation is to

A. winter
B. bear
C. dream
D. sleep

Answer: D. sleep

3. Window is to pane as book is to

A. novel
B. glass
C. cover
D. page

Answer: D. page

4. Cup is to coffee as bowl is to

A. dish
B. soup
C. spoon
D. food

Answer: B. soup

5. Yard is to inch as quart is to

A. gallon
B. ounce
C. milk
D. liquid

Answer: B. ounce

6. Elated is to despondent as enlightened is to 

A. aware
B. ignorant
C. miserable
D. tolerant

Answer: B. ignorant

7. Optimist is to cheerful as pessimist is to 

A. gloomy
B. mean
C. petty
D. helpful

Answer: A. gloomy

8. Reptile is to lizard as flower is to 

A. petal
B. stem
C. daisy
D. alligator

Answer: C. daisy

9. Play is to actor as concert is to

A. symphony
B. musician
C. piano
D. percussion

Answer: B. musician

10. Sponge is to porous as rubber is to

A. massive
B. solid
C. elastic
D. inflexible

Answer: C. elastic

11. Careful is to cautious as boastful is to 

A. arrogant
B. humble
C. joyful
D. suspicious

Answer: A. arrogant

12. Pen is to poet as needle is to

A. thread
B. button
C. sewing
D. tailor

Answer: D. tailor

13. Secretly is to openly as silently is to

A. scarcely
B. impolitely
C. noisily
D. quietly

Answer: C. noisily

14. Embarrassed is to humiliated as frightened is to

A. terrified
B. agitated
C. courageous
D. reckless

Answer: A. terrified

15. Pride is to lion as shoal is to 

A. teacher
B. student
C. self-respect
D. fish

Answer: D. fish

16. Artist is to painting as senator is to 

A. attorney
B. law
C. politician
D. constituents

Answer: B. law

17. Exercise is to gym as eating is to 

A. food
B. dieting
C. fitness
D. restaurant

Answer: D. restaurant

18. Candid is to indirect as honest is to 

A. frank
B. wicked
C. truthful
D. untruthful

Answer: D. untruthful

19. Guide is to direct as reduce is to

A. decrease
B. maintain
C. increase
D. preserve

Answer: A. decrease

20. Oar is to rowboat as foot is to 

A. running
B. sneaker
C. skateboard
D. jumping

Answer: C. skateboard

Week Eight: Analogical Thinking II

For my tutorial week exercise, I went to SAM and 8Q for my analogical thinking exercise and found 10 inanimate objects with human emotions. The following are...

Surprised

Sadness

Happiness

Depressed

Bored

Confused

Nervous

Silly

Excited

Uneasy

Week Seven: Analogical Thinking

A cup of surprised looking coffee

Contact lens casing that looks like a face

A friendly looking door jam

A table with a face

A jalapeño in a jar

McCafe's coffee lid has a face

Looks like a ghost

"AHHH" candle holder

Boiling eggs

Smiling oven

Edward de Bono Discusses Lateral Thinking

In his video, de Bono explains that creativity is a skill anyone can learn with the proper training. I thought about it and I found it really amazing. It's almost like anyone can be God if they have the proper training. It gives everyone hope, even the most untalented or uncreative person.

Lateral thinking is a term coined by de Bono, and it is about problem-solving by thinking out of the box or in a creative way. The way I see it, it can be a solution to many other things due to its unconventional way of logic. By stepping out and trying a different approach, one can definitely see a different perspective and find a different solution.

Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesise new things. 

Steve Jobs

Week Six: Lateral Thinking

I vaguely remember this exercise on connecting the dots and moving the golf balls around when I had this module back in Year 1 but I realized I forgot the answers when I actually attempted it...

I had to connect these 9 dots using 4 lines without lifting the my pen off from the paper

I took the liberty of trying out a Scanning app on my phone to scan these drawings here as the pencil lines look a bit faint in photos.

First attempt failed

Was trying to get it right the second time but still..

I accidentally rotated the pic but I failed nonetheless.

The final answer

I felt like I was really focused on the requirements which is why I kept failing. Like I wasn't putting my 100% into thinking, I was restricting myself.

Next up was the line exercise.

To trace the line in a continuous movement without lifting the pen off the paper

Trying to figure it out...

And trying...

And I got it!

For this, I realized that there are a number of ways to do it, so it's much more simpler than the 9 dots exercise.

I attempted the rearrangement of golf balls next!

Rearrange it by moving 3 balls to make it point downwards

This would be the easiest by far. I had the answer in one attempt.

Shaded balls are the ones moving

How my paper looked like at the end of the day...

TED Talk: Where does Creativity Hide?

Unlike the other TED talks that I have watched, where most of the speakers are designers, Amy Tan is a Chinese novelist which surprised me a lot because it was the first time I've watched a TED Talk featuring a female + Chinese + novelist.

Amy shares her creative process during writing, how she handles her "writer's block" by not giving up and looking for the silver lining in nothing. This gives me some encouragement when I am stuck in my design process, worrying too much about everything and ending up doing nothing.

Amy also makes the talk much more relevant to me by using some examples that Chinese people can associate with that hinders creativity.

I really enjoyed her talk and how she treats writing as a journey, instead of boring pieces of work. I feel that I should treat my works as a journey, a journey of self-exploration towards the end point of my best self.

TED Talk: How to Get Your Ideas to Spread

In this talk, Seth Godin talked about how sliced bread started out as a "useless" idea and it was ignored by everyone. However, these days, everyone eats slice bread now, it became a thing. Everyone just eats sliced bread. And why is it that when it was invented, nobody ate it that way? It was because the idea didn't spread. It lacked marketing and promotion.

There are many good ideas on this planet that got lost or forgotten simply because people did not spread it.

Godin talked about remarkable products. They are products that people will make remarks about. He said it was important to make remarkable products, as people usually notice new and interesting things. He gave us an example of a purple cow, like everyone knows how cows look like so nobody cares but if there is a purple cow, it will be the next big thing.

He talked about marketing as well. He split it into a few groups, the otakus that always try to get their hands on the latest products, and then the masses that are the largest of the group and lastly the laggers. He said that we should be speaking and marketing our products about those who care, and not the masses because they are just following the trend. All these inspires me to create a purple cow design in my work.

Week Five: Mindmap II

For this week's class, we were supposed to try out Mindmapping as a form of brainstorming. The given topic was: "What makes a happy life?" 

This would be the first "branch" of my mindmap as I feel that relationships with people are very important factors. These include relationships with my family, friends and people I work with.

Next, I think that freedom is another key factor to a happy life. 

Shane wrote about acceptance. It is true that we all need acceptance to be happy as we need to know there are people that will love us unconditionally no matter what we are.

Stability is extremely important in Singapore. Without some sort of an assurance, people will be living each there with worries, not knowing what tomorrow will bring. It is important that we save for rainy days and buy insurance for our loved ones.

An aerial view of the mindmap.

Shane writing with a highlighter.

Another angle

The other group working on their mindmap

The topic.

Rolling up and time to go home.

Shane and I were in a group and we had almost the same thoughts on happiness in life. Perhaps it was due to the fact that we were both the same age or that we are both Singaporeans.... I don't know? I guess that people from different countries have different thoughts on happiness... Some of them might think that education, peace and financial stability are more important factors, some might think that a well-fed stomach would be good enough.

For me, I think I'm happy enough so long as my country is safe, my parents are healthy and working, and that I have enough money to spend and pamper myself occasionally.

We started branching out the main branches to many other little subbranches as part of the exercise. Indeed, mindmapping is a clearer way to organize all my thoughts in a neat way that is easy to understand. While brainstorming might be useful, it seems messier as we can't see where the train of thought is branched out from. Therefore, whenever I need to clear my thoughts and arrange them, I'll always opt for mindmapping instead.