szu-yu liu portfolio 2015

Conceptual Flagship Store - Branding Strategies, Interior

| Seasonware - Product, Tableware

| Smart Living - App, Interface and the system

| Warming Voice - Product, Design for the homeless

| Drip Watcher - Product, Medical Device

| Invisible City - App, Interface and the system

| Chunghwa Post Mailing Service Design - Experience Design, Service Touch Points

| Bang ! - Packaging, Toy

| Drop of Flowers - Product, Glass Vases

| Cyn Clothier Collection - Fashion, Women's Clothing

| Free-Hand Sketches - Visual Communication

Szu-Yu Liu

por t fo l i o

2011-2014

Conceptual Flagship Store

Seasonware is a stacking set of wood serving dishes to hold a full, complete Zen dining experience. Ten Ren's tea (天仁茗茶 ) is a Taiwan-based company that specializes in tea and ginseng products. Founded in 1953 by Ray Ho Leein in Gongshang, Kaohsiung County. By Spring of 2012, it had 163 outlets globally, making it the largest and best known tea manufacturer in the Far East. Reaching over 6 countries with more than 2,000 retail stores all over the world, Ten Ren's mission statement is to promote the art of Chinese tea to discriminating consumers worldwide.This project aims to rebrand Ten Ren so that a conceptual flagship store was designed as a presentation platform and the main touch point to a brand new Ten Ren.

Branding Strategies, Interior Summer, 2012

Atrium/elevator/entrance design scale model of the flagship store built with plywood and transparent acrylic.

Detailed shoot shows the deep compression zone (entrance) and tea lab.

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Social Chicenthusiastic, style conscious

Tea-Holicconsciouscreative, particular

Idle Gangchill, impulsive, team oriented

Urban Workerexhausted, socially connected

Family Guyall for the family, caring

Health Defenderhealth conscious, appreciative

Tea Artistauthentic, cultural, immersed

Self-Isolatorgeeky, tech savvy, social ineptness

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Customer archetypes and photos from in-store interviews. 10 interviews and 87 questionnaires were done for customer insights.

This branding strategy targeting at the social chic and tea-holic for their high influence in the tea market.

Positioning matrix of the tea house environment design: finding future opportunities and directions.

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Core attributes image board: precious heritage, elevate social activities, accessible & affordable, refreshing experience, product variety, enhance collaboration.

Branding road map Ten Ren. This project focused on the short-term goals, especially on the establishment of flagship store and redesigns of Ten Ren’s visual images to representation its premium reputation.

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Short-Term: go premium(1 - 2 years)

Marketing / Sales Channel:- Aspirational commercial ads.- Strong web presence.

Product Offering:- Abandon low quality products to regain its brand image.- Packaging redesign.

Brand Experience:- Build brand identity.- Flagship store design and construction.

Mid-Term: go unique(3 - 5 years)

Marketing / Sales Channel:- Media presence for promotion.- Expand franchise stores.

Product Offering:- Trend research for new tea beverage and food ideas.- Collaboration with design studios to create premium product line.

Brand Experience:- Unique brand experience.- Hands-on customer collaboration: "tea lab."

Long-Term: go classic(5+ years)

Marketing / Sales Channel:- Sponsor in cultural activities.- Establish tea drinking / cooking community.

Product Offering:- Recruit in-house design team for product development.- Strategic alliance for new opportunitiesduct line.

Brand Experience:- Reconstruction of the tea museum.- Go local and cultural.

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Logo development. The new logo design is inspired by Chinese calligraphy and the shape of tea leaves, giving it more heritage sense of touch.

Stationary design: business card, letter, envelope, and CD.

The system of five elements was used for describing interactions and relationships between phenomena.

The idea of five elements is highly associated with the tea making process: earth is where tea trees grow and the ceramic teawares from, water is for irrigation and is also representation of tea drinks, wood stands for tea trees, fire is applied in tea drying and ceramic firing, and finally, gold is the metaphor of final products.

Examples of packaging labels redesign.

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Quotations from interview

"Dining with family and friends makes it a pleasant experience and perfect time for relationship building.""Umm...food sharing can be difficult with a group of people (when sitting in a long table).""Food variety and beautiful dining sets help build a desirable dining experience.""Preparation tools end up sitting in the cabinet, taking a lot room for storage...is it possible for tableware to become part of the decoration?"

Photo collage taken from face-to-face interviews. These precious images helped me discover the design opportunities: for example, I noticeed that no matter how beautiful the preparation tools and tableware were, they ended up sitting in the cabinet when not in use, which can take a lot of room... even a whole room.

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Initial sketches for the flagship store interior design based on the system of five elements. The idea of water/rain, earth and wood is clearly implied in drawings, while the terraced field design is also featured in the final model.

After the theme of 5 elements was determined, several versions of the floor plan were designed in Adobe Illustrator then examined with paper/cardboard/plywood models.

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One of the early stage paper model. This shows the overall design embryo yet its layout still needs quite a few adjustments.

1/64 Scale human figure helps me to examine the scale.

The making of plywood model: pieces of furniture were drew in adobe Illustrator, cut by laser, and then assembled with glue.

Working studio in Pasadena, project in development.

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Final model photography: 1F, gift shop and "tea lab". Photo credit: Photon Imagery LLC, Taipei, Taiwan.

Final model photography: 2F, tea bar. Photo credit: Photon Imagery LLC, Taipei, Taiwan.

Final model photography: 3F, restaurant. Photo credit: Photon Imagery LLC, Taipei, Taiwan, 2012.

Professional photography of the Ten Ren conceptual flagship store, 1/64 scale model, front view with itself rooftop garden. Photo credit: Photon Imagery LLC, Taipei, Taiwan.

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Seasonware

Seasonware is a stacking set of wood serving dishes to hold a full, complete Zen dining experience. Dining with Seasonware, each invited guest in your home will be served a full set of Asian-inspired foods. Each layer of Seasonware’s stacked dishes is inspired by different seasons – spring, summer, fall and winter. This completeness is Zen as well as nourishment for your body.Seasonware presents the beauty of nature and celebrates the gift of nature’s foods. The set is made from wood to give it a natural sense and touch. The individual wood grains are unique and beautiful, which correspond to the Zen idea of poetry, modesty and humbleness.

Product, TablewareFall, 2012

Seasonware when stacked together.

Logo of Seasonware is inspired by the structure of Chinese words.

Inspirational pictures: four seasons.

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Ideation sketches for how Seasonware is stacked and opened layer by layer. The contents were also developed in this stage.

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Seasonware

Seasonware is a stacking set of wood serving dishes to hold a full, complete Zen dining experience. Dining with Seasonware, each invited guest in your home will be served a full set of Asian-inspired foods. Each layer of Seasonware’s stacked dishes is inspired by different seasons – spring, summer, fall and winter. This completeness is Zen as well as nourishment for your body. Seasonware presents the beauty of nature and celebrates the gift of nature’s foods. The set is made from wood

Early sketches: initial ideas for the different layers and the overall look. Written words help me dive deep into each project and are important in the thinking process.

Several foam mock-ups were built for propotion review and design adjectment.

A study of how each layer was revealed and arranged.

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Served: Seasonware is a stacking set of wood serving dishes to hold a full, complete Zen dining experience. This completeness is Zen as well as nourishment for your body.

Received: Dining with Seasonware, each invited guest in your home will be served a full set of Asian-inspired foods. Each layer of its stacked dishes is inspired by different seasons – spring, summer, fall and winter.

Sweets & Tea: At the top of the set is a bite of sweets and a cup of tea. This is the beginning and end of a full course with Seasonware.

Spring Bowl, Miso Soup: The image of spring is blooming cherry blossom – sakura - in the tree and hundreds of sprouts popping up from the snow. The aesthetics of your miso soup will capture this.

Summer Dish, Various Vegetables: The summer season is one of cultivation. Crops grow fast. Things come to life. An assortment of pickled vegetables is served in the summer dish of Seasonware to create a vivid image of flourishment and color.

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Autumn Plate, Grilled Salmon: Autumn is the season of harvest and feasting. Images of maples leaves and abundance of new life are beautiful in the autumn. To represent this in design, the Seasonware autumn dish has waves that translate into the rippled surface that serve seafood and or other meats. The autumn dish is paired with a decorative soy sauce dish. Beneath the shallow layer of soy sauce, fallen leaves will appear as the sauce is consumed.

Winter Bowl, Steamed Rice: Winter brings thoughts snow and flowering plum blossoms. A bowl of steamed rice has been carefully measured, cooked and formed into a plum blossom shape to represent this. As the steam rises from the rice, it communicates the warmth and blessings of the cold season.

Mix: When ready to enjoy, you can add a little bite of chopped scallions and flakes of flavored dry fish on top to capture the aroma of the fresh fragrances of a spring breeze.

Enjoy: Enjoy the full course of Zen breakfast after arranging the dishes. Four seasons and four nourishments, a day of delight.

Finish: Seasonware offers a Zen dining experience, which helps you slow down life, sharing a lovely morning with loved ones and enjoying the gift of nutrition through the eyes, body and soul.

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Orthographic and dimensions of Seasonware.

Both the model making process and budget were estimated before the whole process started, this not only help me communite with modelers but also allow a better time management.

Color study and test before final application to the model.

After finishing was applied, the wood is sealed and protected so that water and oil can not permeate into.

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The maple wood piece for modeling was carefully inspected and selected from the Bohnhoff Lumber Co Inc. in Vernon, California.

The surface design of the rippled autumn and divided summer dishes can clearly seen after CNC.

At Art Center 3D lab, the CNC machine did pieces of Seasonware in 2 days. Supports to hang the parts have to sand off after the milling process.

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After CNC, the overall shape was done but its surface was rather rough. Little progress was made after 3 days of hand sanding, the model was then fixed onto lathe with double side tape to sand its surface to smooth. Shop instructor Miles Elledge helped me a lot with this special setting up.

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The set is made from wood to give it a natural sense and touch. The individual wood grains are unique and beautiful, which correspond to the Zen idea of poetry, modesty and humbleness.

Presentation set up of Seasonware at Art Center College of Design. The final model and posters were honored to showcase at Art Center student gallery for 3 months. Seasonware was also featured in Dwell Design Exhibition, Art Center Booth, Los Angeles Convention Center in 2012.

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Ending of the set: bite of sweets

Spring bowl: miso soup

Beginning of the course: cup of tea

Spring saucer: chopped scallions /bonito flakes

Professional photography of finished model with Asian-inspired food served inside. Photo credit: Stephen Berkmen, instructor from film/photography, Art Center College of Design.

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Autumn dish: grilled salmon

Winter bowl: steamed rice

Summer dish: pickled vegetables

Autumn saucer:soy sauce

Pair of chopsticks

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Smart Living

Proposing a smarter way of living-- this is a one-week projects done under the request of Asus interview committee. The goal of this project is to project a smarter living place with the help of cloud computing, IoT and other advent technologies.Follow by my personal observation, intensive research and brainstorming, an app design is proposed to bridge the communication and service gaps between users, local business, and software companies, so that everyone in this system is strongly connected and a self-sufficient virtuous circle is created.

App, Interface and the systemWinter, 2014

Bonding the users of Smart Kitchen App.

Stay connected to the world.

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Research and observation

From research and observation, I noticed that with the advancement of technology, the way of accumulating and sharing information is very different from the past. Meanwhile, the relationship between customers and product companies are changing. Follow this trend, traditional hardware companies need to transform and enhance their service/software capabilities to stay competitive.

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Research outcomes that lead the design direction.

Design keywords and criteria.

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Pain points and service gaps during the customer journey. Mothers cannot find the right ingredients for cooking; can have trouble purchasing the needed ingredients as they may be sold-out. As mothers call out for her husband to bring the right ingredient home after work, they may have difficulties locate the goods in a big supermarket; they may spend a lot of time waiting in line for the purchase and may even bring the wrong ingredients home. As the vicious circle continues, while more and more money and time are spent, a considerable amount of wasted foods are created.

Problems created from the missing link in this system can actually be prevented.

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Samples of Smart Kitchen app interface design: the objective is to connect all users and business together.

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Service Provider

AppUsers

Local Business

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A pleasant customer journey begins as everyone in the system is connected. Mothers can better monitor and manage foods in the fridge; can reach out for local business and search for the best bargain; can pre-order goods and go directly to the vendors for pick-ups; can find recipes all over the world and prepare healthy meals for her beloved families.

Benefits from the system: app users can manage the fringe better; can prevent misunderstanding from communication; can save a considerable amount of time and money; and can reach for the best bargain easily then ever. Also, local business can save the spendings from print-out ads and coupons; can have higher profits as more customers can reach their product offerings on-line. At the same time, the service providers can have alliance from different industries; can have a lower maintenance and development fee while data in the app is growing fast; can stay competitive as happy customers bring more customers and profits.

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Warming Voice

The economy depression has caused a serious impact on the population of unemployed people. Base on Social Affairs report, the number of unemployed population in Taiwan reached 600,000 by the end of 2010. Being at the bottom of society, homeless is treated as margin group and is abandoned by the majority. How can design act as rescuer, helping them refine their own value and encourage them to interact with the society is an issue worth addressing.Distributed to the homeless and provided by the government, Warming Radio acts as a communication medium between them. It is a device that combines a hand warmer with a radio, which receives broadcast news from government-promoted channels. The product not only helps the government to interact with the homeless, but also offers opportunities for the homeless to get back on their feet.

Product, Design for the homelessSpring, 2011

Warming Voice in use.

Final design rendering of Warming Voice.

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Bridging the government, social welfare and homeless.

Facts of the homeless problem.3

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Referencing Maslow's hierarchy of needs, the above graphic shows key attributes of Warming Voice.

The bond:Taking the social responsibility for the homeless, the governments or social affairs can cooperate with radio stations; and as the collaboration begins, a new business model is formed. Also, the radio channels will release useful information for the homeless people, so they are able to interact with the society and communicate with the government.

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Ideation sketches from sketch book. The form of Warming Voice is inspired by cobble stone. The organic shape that helps to fit the hands, so one can hold it with comfort.

Radio channels. Taking on the social responsibility of homeless, government or social affairs can cooperate with radio station and release the information for homeless such as material supply, weather forecast or other benefits information. Material supply includes food, daily supply and short-term shelter, etc. In addition, Weather forecast allows homeless for preparing clothes or finding shelter in advance. Last but not least, The radio channel also releases the opportunities of short-term employment and vocational training, helping the homeless to make money by themselves.

A homeless listing to Warming Voice radio channels.

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Warm your hands, warm your heart.

Warm your hands, warm your heart.

Hand warmer that helps the homeless to survive the freezing nights. Every winter, a huge number of homeless is suffering the low temperature and even cause a deadly hypothermia. Warming Voice is not only a device which receives news from radio station, but also a hand warmer which keeps the homeless warm and helps them pass through those freezing nights.

Solar panel allows it to recharge through sunlight:Instead of purchasing the battery, Warming Voice provides homeless three ways of charging their device. First, the device is covered with a solar panel on its back, so the homeless can collect daily light to charge the internal battery as the power of radio and hand warmer.

Connects with recharge stations:Also, the homeless can charge their device by stopping by any social affairs bureau or other related organization. The regular plug is the quickest and easiest way to fulfill the battery.

Kinetic energy allows it to generates power from shaking:Aparts from solar energy system, the device also equipped with vibration-power generators, which offers homeless an additional way of charging the device simply through their daily movements.

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Drip Watcher

By measuring the weight of drip packs and administering rate, Drip Watcher is a intravenous therapy monitoring device that estimates the remaining duration of the therapies. Timing information is displayed on the screen, so that patients and care takers can access the progress of the treatment anytime. Detailed information of the therapy are transmitted through wi-fi to be supervised at nursing stations. By doing this, it helps the medical staff to monitor each patient’s condition, so that they can plan the working process beforehand. To summarize, Drip Watcher comforts the patients as well as helps medical staff to manage their workflow precisely.

Product, Medical DeviceSpring, 2011

Drip Watcher rendering in environment.

Ideation sketches of Drip Watcher, inspired by the shape of a cross.

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Disconnection between patient and medical staffleads to an unpleasant experience.

Insights from research.3

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Connecting the patients and nurses / doctorsby introducing a new system.

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Thumbnail drawings from sketch book reflect the inspiration of a cross.

Ideation sketches.

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Physical form exploration

Several foam models were made for usability test.

Hand drawings on paper. Different solutions were proposed to determine how the lower hook should look like.

Rendering and design details of the final solution.

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IV therapy information inputs through Wi-Fi.

Set Intravenous access devices under the product.

Est imated remaining t ime displays on screen and connects to nursing station.

Reset the device if another drip therapy is needed.

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Operating Drip Watcher: the precess.

Color plan. There are many substances that may be infused intravenously, including volume expanders, blood-based products, blood substitutes, medications and so on. Different colors of “Drip Watcher” are designed, helping medical staff to distinguish the drip contents easily. The whole display panel shines so that information on the screen is clearly displayed even in extremely dark environment.

The IV therapy monitoring system. Therapy setups can be managed through computers and uploaded to each Drip Watcher. Throughout the treatment, data will be synchronized to nursing stations, and allows medical staff to monitor and manage their clinical care more easily.

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Drip Watcher, the trust bond between patient and medical staff.

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Drip Watcher in use.13

Invisible City

The project of my participation in the Art & Design Elite Scholarship Program Workshop is “X + Ubiquitous”, in which the participants should define the X by themselves. And this time, I choose the word “Adventure” for representing the X. The Invisible City is a smart phone application design for independent travelers. This application is easily available, low cost and most importantly, it offers the application users different ways of exploring a city.

App, Interface and the systemSummer, 2010

Using Invisible City to start the advanture in a foreigh city.

Drawing the process out on my notebook.

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The big idea:Travel is not about destination, but experience. The best part of traveling is about exploring the unknown, enjoy getting lost, and being part of a place. As an independent traveler, I believe that if one has never been to a city or have no connection to a place, a local map will have no difference than a piece of white paper; only after a visit, one can start depicting the city image by himself.

Conceptual sketch of Invisible City.

Invisible City is an application which can download via all kinds of smart phones. There is a strong link between the application developer, the traveler, and the local merchants; and it is the bond that keeps the system self-running.

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Big idea of the Invisible City.

Invisible City creates a virtuous circle between the traveler, software developer, and local merchants.

Explorer Mode is perfect for explorers:Amber is traveling in New York and trying to find a good museum to spend for the day. She downloads the application to her smart phone and chooses Explorer Mode to search a popular museum nearby. Under Explorer Mode, the map shows recommended places with no roads but only a sense of direction and distance. This way of showing city map is perfect for explorers.

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Fooling Mode is perfect for seeking the popular spots:After a 3-hour-visit in the MOMA museum, Amber is now hungry and looking for a famous restaurant to have dinner, so this time she uses Fooling Mode to view the popular restaurants and trying to pick one randomly. Under this mode, the map shows recommended buildings in bright colors but without names to the destination.

When visiting a city with Explorer Mode or Fooling Mode, only limited information is offered and the traveler can only have a rough image to a place. Pretty much like playing a video game, the unknown places are always covered with fog; only after a visiting, can one removes the noise and has a clear understanding to the city. I believe the best part of traveling is about exploring the unknown, so the two modes are created to increase the interest of a trip.

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Precise Mode is the fastest way to destination:It’s now pretty late at night. Amber is so tired and trying to find a hotel to stay for the night. This time he chooses Precise Mode to help her get to the hotel in the shortest time. Under the Precise Mode, the map shows detailed map with the shortest cut to the pointed destination. If the travel has limited time only, Precise Mode is the best choice.

Precise Mode is offered for travelers in search of something in a hurry. This mode works like a normal GPS system which can always save time and efforts.

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Other features of Invisible City:Asides from the 3 different ways of showing a local map, there are other features that make this application unique and desirable. First, digital coupons are available; so the traveler can save lots of money in a trip. Second, this application has a data record system, which allows the user to record his traveling route and share useful information to friends. In a word, the application offers various ways of exploring a city, makes the trip interesting and effortless, and helps to record all the memorable moments.

Travelers without the application can get information or coupons simply by visiting the physical store, which operates like an information center. A local store will not only benefit the travelers, but also help this application developer to gain its popularity.

As the application developer brings visitors to a place, it helps to build the city image and creates opportunities for local merchants. At the same time, as the local businesses make profits through such application, they can have better service system and offer discounts for the customers. Most importantly, while travelers are benefit from this application, more people will willing to download the software, which also means more information resource will be available. A strong bond is formed as the system operates; and while the link is fully developed, it will keep the system running.

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Chunghwa Post Mailing Service Design

Chunghwa is the official postal service of the Republic of China. Founded in 1896, it delivers standard letters, registered mail, parcels, and express mail through the Taiwan Area. There are twenty-three large offices throughout the country which supervises some 1,300 smaller post offices.This project aimed to provide a holistic experience by introducing new services to the customers, including mail redirecting, mail tracking, and delivery notification. Several practical tools such as the state holder maps, SWOP analysis, character profiles, contextual interviews, customer journey maps, and service blueprints were performed during the idea construction phase.

Experience Design, Service Touch PointsSpring, 2011

Rethinking the mailing service for better user experiences.

Redesigning Chunghwa Post logo in green to build a stronger brand image.

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Competitors from both national and international.

The SWOT analysis is conducted to identify Chunghwa Post's strength, weakness, and threat, in order to find out the opportunities for future service improvements.

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Chunghwa Post has a long history in Taiwan and the service quality is good.

Service fee is fairly low compare to its competitors.

Offering a wide range of services from mailing to saving and insurances.

Mailings is related to National security, so Chunghwa Post is irreplaceable in some aspects.

Having an active attitude toward positive changes.

Service facilities and the administrative system are getting old so it is losing the fresh image.

Takes more time for mail / parcel delivery comparing to its competitors.

Less effective since it is a government-run business.

Offering too many services to the customers so that Chunghwa is having difficulties to focus on

the mailing service with its limited resource.

Strategic alliance with other businesses such as electronic commerce companies to meet the

current consumption pattern.

Strategic alliance with the chain convenience stores to offer pick-ups anytime and anywhere without further investments in expanding its service area.

More and more businesses are offering the mailing service with higher service efficiency and wider

service areas around the world.

Main electronic commerce companies are having business relationship with Chunghwa Post's

competitors such as Pelican and UPS.

Competitors are offering pick-ups in convenience stores so their delivery time is more flexible.

Strength Weakness

Opportunity Threat

Your reliable neighbor

With on-line shopping popularization, one can notice that the total number of parcels being delivered also displays a significant rise. However, as other competitors are joining the postal service race and offering fast pick-ups at the convenience store, Chunghwa Post need to maximize its strength and utilize the opportunities in order to stay competitive. Chunghwa Post is tough and tender, historic and fresh: it is your quite, reliable helper in the vicinity.

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Discovering service gaps through contextual interviews.66

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Service blueprint now. This draft was done to review the process that lie behind the critical service elements. As shown on the process, there are a number of points that require long waiting time or can even fail.

The new service blueprint with service improvements provides a better user experience.

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Mail Redirecting service

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Mail Tracking service

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Mail redirecting service application form designed for Chunghwa Post. Applications are available on post offices and website.

Making the service visible and tangible: all mails or packages using the mail redirecting service will have the sticker as a physical evidence.

Mail tracking service available anytime and anywhere via Chunghwa Post's app, website and ATM machines. The below picture shows the interface design of the app.

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Delivery Notification service

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Delivery notification design. Text messages will be sent to the mail receiver's phone so that the user can choose a preference for the delivery time and pick-up location.

Service impact of the Chunghwa Post mailing service design.

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Bang !

Bang ! is a retro rubber band shooting game that inspired by toys in the 50s. Simple materials in the game set excite your imagination and bring you back to playing like a child again. The nostalgia game set includes a DIY paper gun that allows you to shoot on the target cans and paper figures. Bang ! features many different ways of playing which is perfect choice for parties, celebrations and various occasions.

Packaging, ToySpring, 2012

Final photography of Bang: the overall package is in retro style, with a rubber band to keep the paper box closed.

Illustration of the traditional Taiwanese toy called "chopstick rubber band gun" made from 7 chopsticks and a grip of rubber bands. The idea of using simple materials and making process fascinated me a lot for its power to excite the players' imagination. It is this inspiring toy stimulated the birth of Bang.

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Mind mapping of the Bang project started from the idea of DIY.

In the 50s and 60s, classic toys like tin toys were made of simple materials and required some hands-on imagination. The image collage shows graphic, pattern, and color references of this era. Rough drawing lines, hand-drawn types, vivid colors being applied on raw materials like bogus paper and tin are some characteristics of these designs.

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Logo development including some very first logo types. Red, blue and black are constantly found on retro posters, illustrations or packagings; Bang as a retro toy set, red, blue and black also dominated its logo color throughout the developing process.

Final logo of Bang: a retro rubber band shooting game.

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Form study and graphic application of the shooting gun: side view without the trigger and grip.

Final dieline and graphic application of the shooting gun simulate print on corrugated cardboard. Top: main body. Bottom: grip and trigger.

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Some very first ideas of the packaging form.

Dieline templates of the packaging were drawn in Illustrator. Several prototypes were made in paper and E flute corrugated cardboard for propotion study and minor adjustments. This picture shows the final dieline and graphic application of the Bang packaging, which includes its principal display panel, product description, content information, Mfg. contact infomation, barcode...etc.

Inside the packaging box shows different ways of playing Bang.

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Used cans being hanged with sewing stitch and sprayed in silver for modeling usage, my balcony in Pasadena, California.

Prototype of graphic application on cans, made from paper and recycled cans sprayed in silver. Laptop screen in the background showed logo type development.

Logotype and principal display panel study: although the designs were done in Adobe Illustrator, I always think tangible materials work better for propotion adjustment.

Bang on display at Art Center student gallery, California, 2012.

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Demonstrative photography of how to play Bang.

Final photography of the packaging contents when first opening. Several steps of assembling are clearly described.

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Final photography of the Bang contents being folded and assembled. The model were made with chromatech on sprayed cans and printed bogus paper mounted onto E flute (1/16") corrugated cardboard. Photo taken in Pasadena, California, 2012.

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Drop of Flowers

When white milk meets golden Ceylon, or when thick ink drops dive into clear water... there are moments in our life so beautiful yet they only last in a flash. Some photographers have attempted to capture the moments through lens, but they can never preserve the exquisite randomness formed by natural forces in its original three-dimensional forms.Glass is known as the most dynamic, changing, fluent material, which makes it the ideal medium to capture the organic shapes as color drops dissolve in clear water. Made of colored glass particles coated with clear gather, Drop of Flowers freezes the mysterious moment as color drops from petals to water.

Product, Glass VasesSpring, 2013

Use of a glory hole to reheat a piece on the end of a blowpipe so that the piece remains pliable for forming.

A Due Colori shot by Alberto Seveso.

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Selection of the glass form study. Some sketches from diary. The initial concept shows the water line in a vessel but was later modified to a simpler form so it can be made by blowing instead of lost wax casting.

First attempt at the making of random shapes to mimic ink dropped into water. In the experiment, molten tin was poured into water and it solidified at just the right time, making cracking noises and creating all kinds of globs.

Examples of the globs: as tin solidified promptly, it created explosive, volcanic shapes which showed no similarity to ink drops. The idea of using tin to capture the random, delicate, fluent was aborted.

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Preparation of glass blowing: equipments, space, tools and materials.

The process of free-blowing. The Drop of Flowers series included three pieces and were made by a Japanese glass-blowing artist Kenta in Taipei, 2013. During the process, molten glass was quickly inflated to a blob before applied colord glass particles to form a color gradient. Several layers of clear gather were added on to the surface and manipulated into the desired shape. Each vase was shaped within an hour then put into the annealing furnace for three days for cooling down.

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Preparation of glass blowing: equipments, space, tools and materials.

The process of free-blowing. The Drop of Flowers series included three pieces and were made by a Japanese glass-blowing artist Kenta in Taipei, 2013. During the process, molten glass was quickly inflated to a blob before applied colord glass particles to form a color gradient. Several layers of clear gather were added on to the surface and manipulated into the desired shape. Each vase was shaped within an hour then put into the annealing furnace for three days for cooling down.

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Orthography of the final design: Drop of Flowers.

Photography with Kento, the glass-blowing artist infront of his studio in Taipei.

Drop of Flowers collection includes the orange "Bellis" (120*110*180 millimeters), purple "Orchid" (115*110*300 millimeter), and green "Eustoma" (185*190*150 millimeter). All made by Kento.

Professional photography of the purple Orchid with schilleriana.

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Professional photography of the green Eustoma.

Final photography of the orange Bellis in display.

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Cyn Clothier Collection

Celebrities, designers and social elites always lead fashion trend, because they create the seduction and charm that make people want to copy from. Fashion to me is more like a personal statement and attitude toward life. Three garments and looks are designed, hand-made, photographed and featured in the Cyn Clothier Collection as an expression of my aesthetics.

Fashion, Women's Clothing Winter, 2013

The Wood-Mountain garment on dress form.

First experiment of dying: silk being soaked in fabric dye in my bathroom.

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Logo design of the Cyn Clothier Collection. Fashion has always been a great inspiration to me; however, it wasn't until spring, 2012, did I start to design and make fashion pieces. The marvolous lady Jacqueline Apple and sewing master Justine Limpus Parish built my keen eyes and taught me some basic sewing techniques-- from then on the Cyn Clothier Collection has been established. Nature fascinates me for its diverse appearances and lifes and this collection aims to present and highlight different looks of our mother nature. Enjoy!

Fashion sketches on bogus paper.

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Original materials have a great mixture of soft and hard touch in the same color palette. The Earth-Architecture garment was made from remnants.

Material fabrication: finding possibilities of combining the fabrics.

Making the Wood-Mountain garment: draping fun. Layers of bridal tulle and silk were applied.

Trying the garment on a dress form for final adjustments.

Open exhibition at the hallway in Art Center College of Design, 2012.

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Earth-Architecture: made from remnants, the garment regenerates and celebrates the beauty of nature. Design around the idea of earth to architecture, this piece preserves the hardness of earth in its structural top and expresses the softness of culture from its fluttering train. Modeled by Carol Wang, taken in Pasadena, California, 2012.

Detail shoots of the Earth-Architecture garment.

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Earth-Architecture garment front view.

Earth-Architecture garment viewed from the back.

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Model wearing the Wood-Mountain garment with veil.

The bottom of this couture was made from layers of bridal tulle and silk so it flows with the breeze gently.

Wood-Mountain: plentiful lifes thriving deep in the mountains; in tales there are even fairys living in the forest. To represent this idea in design, the garment consists of a corset top and a long drape with layers of bridal tulle/silk. Its feather print corset illustrates beautiful organisms in the forest while the elegant drape marks their harmonious mutualism. Modeled by Hannah Chang, taken in Nantou, Taiwan, 2013.

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Final photography of Wood-Mountain garment with model in the forest: side view.

Final photography of Wood-Mountain garment with model walking on the road: back view.

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Free-Hand Sketches

Free-hand sketch is the most effective tool for designers to communicate and share ideas. And I am lucky to join and assisted in the Visual Communication 4 class during my visit to Art Center College of Design, so I had a great opportunity to draw something more then the products. The following pages show samples of my sketches done in Vis Comm class. Places visited during the advanture included but not limited to: LA arboretum, LA national history museum, LA zoo, Long Beach aquarium, the Nethercutt museum, Travel town, Planes of fame in Chino.

Visual CommunicationFall, 2012

Zebra from Google image search.

Building from the primitives. Quick sketches in the LA zoo.

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szu-yu liu portfolio 2015

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