Packaging: the pull-tab of a chocolate bar

I’m impressed yet again by packaging for something as simple as a chocolate bar! Of course, it would be a Korean company to think of something clever like this… But is it ‘over-designed’? Did opening a chocolate bar really need such ‘innovation’ and rethinking? In reality, does adding this ‘simplification’ actually complicate the action of […]

Slick alcohol wet wipes

I’ve never seen wet wipes packaged like this before! And also never spent time to think of the possibility for improving such packaging received in restaurants. I’m liking the simplicity of this one found at a Japanese yakitori restaurant in Causeway Bay.

bike sharing vs. bike sales

I saved notes for this post back in Sept 2010! Wow, I am so behind. Here’s a quick recap and a few thoughts: Beijing may not have bike sharing, but they sure sell bikes at very reasonable prices. At the beginning of the typical school year, September, I added 500RMB to my phone card at […]

Lucky Bookstore, Shanghai

It’s a week into the Year of the Rabbit and I’m wishing everyone all the best for the new lunar year! To keep with the luck, perhaps a visit to the lucky bookstore is an order: Happy Chinese New Year! And there couldn’t be a more fitting way to be greeted into the year of […]

Happy New Year! (and A Brandnü Way of Thinking)

Happy 2011! Wishing everyone all the best for the coming year :) Here’s to the first post of 2011 and an update of my own! Design Museum Boston is proud to present Tiffany Wan, the newest addition to our correspondents team. A graduate of Syracuse University and currently located in Beijing, Tiffany will be bringing an […]

local HK charms from G.O.D

I posted about Goods of Desire in the past and here’s another great little take away that they’ve launched. It’s a great way to take a bit of Hong Kong home with you. Part of what makes the travel experience is the “charm”, character, and uniqueness to a place. These small souvenirs from GOD address […]

must know Chinese companies

Recently, China surpassed Japan as the world’s 2nd largest economy. A couple months ago I had a discussion with a classmate about our adjustments to living in Beijing. One of the biggest adjustments that seem so simple and natural in our respective home countries is the idea of brands. We know who to trust, what […]

DIY: manage cords, dock the cell

If you know me, or you’re the 1 person who follows my blog, I’m sure you know my obsession for cord management. And when I saw this DIY cell phone cradle, I was so excited! (Yes, it doesn’t take much, sometimes..) Made from any large plastic container (or lotion bottle), you can cut it up and […]

pee splash guard

Another funny Japanese product: pee splash guard for the bathroom. To prevent splashed pee and easy cleaning! Easy attachement and easy peeling off! Who knew that pee splash guards are actually a needed necessity?! Or that such a product even existed?? Although, it could be of use in college apartments that are often disgusting and […]

tiles or coasters?

Wow. What a way to make a buck. I saw these glass tiles in a Japanese Wal-Mart-like shop in San Francisco. But aren’t these just the same tiles we can find in home improvement shops? What does this say about consumers? Are they not creative enough or resourceful enough to think about repurposing glass tiles? […]

eat your crayons!

Remember when you were yelled at as a kid for eating your crayons? Well now you can! Crayon (made of food!) is a set of food bars made by Luxirare. Crushing up various foods of the same color family and using marshmallow to hold the ingredients together, crayons are formed in a mold. The flavors are based on […]

wheelchairs in Vietnam

Looking through some old photos, I came across these tricycle wheelchairs on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City when I was visiting a couple years ago… I’d never seen anything like it before, or perhaps I’m too sheltered. I did a bit of digging and these chairs are actually manufactured in Ho Chi Minh City, by KienTuong, […]

Pintley: personalized beer recommendations

Pintley is a new community of beer drinkers, providing personalized recommendations based on how you rate beers. Sign up for an account, rate beers you’ve tried, and continue to update your profile with tasting notes and ratings to keep a record. Based on your feedback, Pintley recommends beers that you’ll like. You can also browse by […]

etching glass: how to

I started a project attempting to etch glass… When starting it, I didn’t realize it would be so simple! The vinyl sticker material used to make the stencil was the hardest part to master. If you’re trying this, a few trials should do the trick to familiarize yourself with how the material cuts with an […]

iamaKey

Lacie‘s “iamaKey” USB key is lovely! Lately, I’ve been busy backing up photos and reorganizing files. With the USB always with the house keys, iamaKey would be perfect for my absent-mindedness of always forgetting something.. haha.

manage your cords

It’s true that our lives revolve more and more around electronics and it’s peculiar that cord management of all our electronics has really become an issue for us! I love travel accessories and MI-O cell phone cradle via YankoDesign helps manage all those cords when charging your cell phone, so they aren’t dangling all over the place. There’s […]

yellow diaper stripes

Jan Chipchase writes a short entry about the failure and successes of color-changing diapers that alert parents of a wet diaper (or nappy): Yellow nappy stripes – a familiar, comforting sight for parents indicating that the contents of the container/nappy are dry – with a few drops of liquid the stripes turn blue. Whilst it […]

i want a scratch map!

What’s a scratch map you ask? My Scratch Map is like scratching a lottery ticket after you’ve traveled somewhere (perhaps you’ll want to win some lottery tickets to fund your exotic trip…haha) A subtle way to showcase (or show off) the many places in the world you’ve visited. Reveal the colors under the gold foil by […]

stampy digi-cam

A new look at the Polaroid and instant-photo? In stamp form! Stampy is a camera concept that allows users to ‘stamp’ photos instead of print them (or in addition to printing photos). The pixelation of the stamp is a visual detail that references the original digital photo…? I’m curious what the thought process was behind […]

towelbeachbag

HANS IM GLÜCK (“Hans in Luck”) is a towel and bag in one. Perfect for the current beach, picnic, summer season! Designed by Jan Dobmaier and available here. via SwissMiss Oddly it’s also perfect for those street vendors in Beijing who have to run from the cops when they come to stop any illegal sales of merchandise. Haha! […]