Mood Tree Desktop Memo Holder by Sameh Ibrahim Emam

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DI: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?

SIE : The main idea was to give a light touch of human interaction within a common national symbol of Japan. The Bonsai tree symbolizes harmony and peace, which was the perfect symbol to use as a concept for the design

DI: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?

SIE : Ease of use and understanding of the hidden meaning right away

DI: What are your future plans for this award winning design?

SIE : Manufacturing it on a global scale

DI: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?

SIE : It was a Japanese competition about designing stationery that can bring people together and make the embrace their differences

DI: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?

SIE : I may lease the production rights

DI: What made you design this particular type of work?

SIE : My love for human-focused design

DI: Who is the target customer for his design?

SIE : Mainly it will be in work and study places, so employees, managers, teachers, students, and customer services

DI: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?

SIE : It is a simple memo holder that can change human behavior

DI: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?

SIE : Because of the bonsai tree

DI: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?

SIE : Rhino, Cinema 4D, and Octane render

DI: What is the most unique aspect of your design?

SIE : It's Japanese essence

DI: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?

SIE : My brother who is working as a Film Director

DI: What is the role of technology in this particular design?

SIE : 3D printing wood

DI: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?

SIE : It was a result of many researches that talk about the amount of stress and anxiety in workplaces due to the nature of hiding feelings and current mood

DI: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?

SIE : The main challenge in this project was how to make this mood shower tool be seen as a normal and beautiful object to be placed on the desktop and also to match the Japanese culture.

DI: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?

SIE : by seeing your competition on arch-daily

DI: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?

SIE : I learned how to improve my presentation