Interviews with Ho Kuan Teck
Designer profileDesigner of the Day Interview
12 November 2020
I'm 3D artist for Movie and Game industry for 16 years, it's my childhood dream to become an artist. I'm also a bag designer since 2014.
When I create first pattern of embroidery for my mum when I was 14, I wish to become fashion designer.
My design style is more on blend the shape and keywords. more like translate abstract to shape. Most of the time I rely to my hand the most when designing, especially when I making bags mock-up by hand.
When I design I felt excited and motivated. Always have unstoppable idea input to my head.
My neighbour is one of the person who influence me the most. He is a philosopher, the way he think and the way he live is inspired me and influence me to keep my dream go further as a designer. He always told me we must think out the box and change our mind when stuck in one issue.
I growth in a lower-middle income families, being born in such an environment I have experienced a lot of works, and also meet different peoples. I always dream to become designer when I was very young, I believed designer can create my own life better and live better. I wish to become famous in future, and wish to have more chance to develop more good design. Especially handbag.
I always stretch my body like a cat when I wake up and have a rich breakfast after brush teeth and washing my face, this action helped me to be full of energy for a day. Before I start my work, I will watch on jungle image for 5 minutes. All these is very important to me for have enough energy work until mid night.
I always double confirm my design before I decide it's ready, I will check is the design is fit to all the note and idea or not.
My biggest design work is develop my own leather machine. It is a machine that optimizes the weakness of all machines on the market, and combine all the strong point. This design and development is helped me alot for my product making process
Design Interview
30 December 2024 · Topographic Tote Tote Bag
The main principle behind the Totepographic Tote is to connect fashion with nature and culture. It is inspired by topographic maps and the Chinese oracle bone character for "mountain," combining these elements into a functional and artistic tote bag. The black color represents minerals in nature, symbolizing hidden beauty and discovery.
The focus was to create a bag that is not only practical and durable but also serves as a bridge between traditional culture and modern lifestyles. I aimed to evoke curiosity and appreciation for the subtle details of the design while ensuring it meets the functional needs of daily life.
The Totepographic Tote will continue to be available through Myura's online platform and exclusive pop-up events. I also plan to explore potential collaborations with art exhibitions and fashion shows to reach a broader audience.
The design and production process took approximately 11 months, starting in July 2019 and completing in May 2020.
This design was driven purely by inspiration. My love for nature and the idea of blending cultural elements into functional design motivated me to create the Totepographic Tote.
The Totepographic Tote is produced and sold exclusively through my brand, Myura. At this time, I do not plan to sell or lease the production rights.
My passion for blending fashion with meaningful cultural and natural elements inspired me to create this tote bag. I wanted to design something that represents my artistic vision while serving a practical purpose.
While there were no direct influences from other designers, my work is inspired by the natural forms and textures of topographic maps, as well as ancient Chinese calligraphy and cultural motifs.
The target customers are individuals who value high-quality craftsmanship, unique design, and the integration of cultural and natural elements in fashion accessories.
Its integration of topographic elements and ancient Chinese characters into a modern, functional tote bag sets it apart. The attention to detail, hand-painted edges, and luxurious materials create a tactile experience that is both functional and artistic.
The name "Totepographic" is a fusion of "tote" and "topographic," reflecting the bag’s inspiration from topographic maps. It represents the connection between nature and functionality.
I used a combination of traditional sketching, paper mock-ups, and 3D design software to refine the bag's concept. The 3D software was especially useful for testing and optimizing the design.
The unique aspect lies in its seamless blend of cultural history, nature, and modern functionality, embodied in the topographic-inspired texture and the Chinese oracle bone character integration.
The design and production process were handled in-house, but I collaborated with material suppliers to develop custom materials that suited the design’s requirements.
Technology, particularly 3D design software, played a critical role in visualizing, testing, and refining the concept. It allowed me to identify and address potential design issues early in the process.
The design was influenced by market research and consumer behavior analysis. I studied trends in bag functionality and aesthetics, ensuring the design aligns with both practical needs and artistic preferences.
One major challenge was translating the complex concept into a tangible product. Traditional mock-ups were insufficient to capture the design’s details, so I relied heavily on 3D software to overcome this hurdle.
I wanted to share my vision with a global audience and gain recognition for my work. The A' Design Award provides a platform to showcase the unique fusion of art, culture, and functionality in my designs.
This project taught me to balance tradition with innovation. I learned to utilize technology effectively while maintaining the integrity of traditional craftsmanship.
The Totepographic Tote is more than just a bag; it is a statement about the harmony between nature, culture, and design. It reflects my commitment to sustainable, meaningful, and innovative fashion.
Design Legend Interview
27 April 2020
I'm 3D artist, with about 16 years working experience in Movie and Games industry.
When I was 14 years old I decide to become designer because of my teacher.
I choose to become a designer, this is my childhood dream when I was 11.
As a designer, I have designed quite a lot of different design like characters, concept drawing, props design. The most I like is handbag designs.
Think out of box, research more as they can. Nothing is difficult on this world, if your mind is set.
Good designer is doing a job, great designer is creating an art work.
Good design is relate to life, function, value and positioning.
The value of good design plays an important role in its category, it shouldn't be invest by everyone but at least it fulfill to the group of people who need or love.
I will design female handbags when I had time.
The dream project was car design, I wish to do it in future.
Think out of box, experience more in life.
Not design master, but movie director inspired me, James Cameron. "Titanic'
I love Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport, designed by Italian architects Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas.. A curving roof canopy constructed from steel and glass wraps around the airport, accommodating spans of up to 80 metres. Hexagonal skylights perforate the surface of this roof, allowing natural light to filter through the entire terminal.
My Lemniscate handbag, the most great part of this design was how the idea translate to the final product. I'm happy to say it was a greatest design from me for current.
Learn from mistake, always request critics. I always welcome people to critics my design, I can collect comments to improve myself or my design.
If I didn't become a designer, I will be a Marine farming researcher. This was my second favourite job.
Design is kind of method for idea communication with peoples, it can be a product or message. For me design is a part of life, without design there is no innovation.
My mother and my wife, they're the people who always support me to think further.
Never say can't or impopssible.
Day job. It was a restricted creative work, from design briefing to the final design is always have the shadow of others.
New Bag design. Will try to make the design more sustainable and easily transform for a whole series of bag for my brand.
I hope I can design the most influential designs for the fashion world one day.
I have no idea.
the design that relate to a needs, maybe.
I'm game designer, but I was excited to switch my job and focus in leather bag design. It's a very fun to have create my own brand and grow up every years.
Handbag design was my most satisfaction project, because every bag design from me have it own cencept and story behind. And all of them is my daily experience of life.
Depend on the project, it can be few weeks or few months to finalize the design . Usually I will take about 2 weeks to finalize y design.
Work is for job done, life is for great design.
For me, design set the trends.
Technology is for polish my design to be more presentable.
Depend on what I have design, for first stage is note book and pencil, second step will be Photoshop and 3d software. For making digital mock-up.
The color is like human expression, the ambient is to enhance color . Which mean this combination will create a strong feeling for the good design.
I would wish people ask me how to keep passion when designing.
My wife, she is my good partner when I can't improve my design.
No, most if my design is inspired by daily life.
Train myself in the skill I need, find the hardest project to start.
Awards and recognition for me is kind of assessment, it will keep me not to given up. To become famous, I think it is not easy.
The color I like is black, historical place is my favourite place to visit. spring is my favourite season, handmade goods is the most I like.
The funny thing I had experience as a designer was, my client didn't notice I was the designer he looking for and keep teaching me how to draw character.
Do what I plan and finished a milestone i have set everyday.
I didn't think about I will become a great designer. Even now I also not think about I'm or I will become a great designer.
I have think about future, but not thousand years from now.
Designer Interview
12 November 2020
I'm 3D artist for Movie and Game industry, it's my childhood dream to become an artist.
My company is a luxury handmade leather goods company, we run this company since 2014. Our company goal is to design our own bags and made it by hand.
Design, is to create something that can relate to daily use or for user life.
I love design leather product like handbags or leather goods.
Leather goods design is my favorite, it's a quite big challenge to design because thereI have a lot of similarities leather goods in the market with very limitations of design.
The first thing I designed is character design, which is for TV Commercial.
I love leather as a material for designing, I will choose to use 3D software for more complex development.
Researching is the most creative, because I can have a lot non logical thinking before develop the design.
I will focus more in final product quality and function yet the design remain the same.
When I design I felt excited and motivated.
I will felt neutral and try to get more comments from friends and customers.
Strong idea and concept make a design successful.
The way how to translate idea to final design will be my first considered.
As a designer, we need to design something good in design yet have quality,
The design field is always play an important role when develop new products or design. We can live without design.
The last exhibition was at Singapore last year, I have no any new exhibition unless I have get any notification from organizer or company.
Most of my creativity inspiration comes from everyday life. I like to think differently and try more before have any references.
My design style is more on blend the shape and keywords. more like translate abstract to shape.
I live in Singapore, the culture of Singapore is a combination of Asian and European cultures. Influenced by Malay, South Asian, East Asian, and Eurasian cultures, Singapore has been dubbed as a country where "East meets West".
I have enough information and research before designing, and have enough freedom for develop concept before designing for companies.
The briefing or requirement for designer must clear, leave the creativity for designer as much as possible when they doing conceptual. Companies can prepare some test for designer, this will quickly find the right designer for the company.
Before designing, I will try to understand a keywords or requirements, looking for inspiration from the surroundings, then develop all this element and translate to design.
5 of my favorite design item at home was: customize pendant lights, wall clock, leather stitching pony, leather sofa and cement vase.
The day in my life is that I am still alive, this is a day that allows me to continue to create.
Think out of box. If there is an idea, there is design, creative is endless.
Being designer, you can design your own work with no limitation. But sometimes client will limit down your creativity due to budget or marketing purpose.
As I always said, think out of box. Life is the source of inspiration.
Thinking is the most important skills for a designer.
Pencil and note book is always important for me. I will always carrying pencil and note book with me to anywhere.
I love to designing when I was travel with Rapid Transit, and will schedule at least an hour for designing a day after dinner.
It's depend on complexity of design, it can be done within few hours or few months. Mostly, I will spend about 1~2 months to design and develop a handbag.
The most frequent question to me is: Who was my target audience? Will the design related with function?
My most important job is to focus on my own work. As long as each individual is able to accomplish their own goals, the whole will be made stronger.
My clients was females.
Handbags and leather goods is the most enjoyed because it's a very fun to develop customer's requirements.
My future plan was to keep develop my brand with good design products.
I was develop my design by myself.
I have a series of works-in-progress design bags, still in develop. This series is inspired by South East Asia Chinese cultural, and key word is called "Nanyang".
People can contact me from email : myuraleather@gmail.com or call the phone: +65 9187 8320
Grand Interview
22 November 2024 · Topographic Tote Tote Bag
The inspiration came from blending natural landscapes with ancient culture. This creative journey began with a fascination for natural terrains, particularly the structure and layers of mountains. To add cultural depth, I incorporated symbols from Chinese oracle bones, creating a dialogue between humanity and nature, history and the modern era. This unique fusion conveys an interweaving of time and space through the design of the tote bag.
The handcrafted techniques of cutting and edge painting add an artistic touch to the tote, making the texture closer to the nature-inspired theme. Traditional craftsmanship brings each detail to life, creating a one-of-a-kind texture and echoing the diversity of nature. This process enhances the material quality, connecting the design more deeply with nature and providing both visual and tactile appeal.
The idea of mountainous capacity symbolizes vastness and inclusiveness, and I wanted to translate this concept into an accessory that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing. Inspired by the grand structure of mountains, this design strikes a balance between practicality and beauty, meeting everyday needs while showcasing the unique taste of the user.
Using 3D software for initial designs allowed me to quickly test the structure and form, and then traditional mock-ups provided a feel for the real-world textures. The combination of digital and analog methods let me explore bold shapes while ensuring the quality of the final product, achieving an ideal balance and refinement in details.
Italian calf leather was chosen for its soft yet durable quality, and its texture works well to represent the layered topographic effect. The choice of material is rooted in its premium and lasting qualities, embodying luxury while enhancing the natural aesthetic appeal of the design.
Black represents the stability and depth of minerals, giving the tote a sense of exploration. The understated black allows the user to gradually discover details over time, making the tote a part of their life journey, offering a deepened experience with continued use.
During the extensive development, a crucial breakthrough was finding the ideal structural design that would allow the topographic patterns to emerge naturally without compromising functionality. Fine-tuning the color and texture was also a key phase, ensuring the tote’s visual appeal while retaining its practicality.
My design philosophy is a fusion of nature, functionality, and luxury. This tote design goes beyond being an accessory, reflecting a lifestyle that integrates the textures of nature with high-end enjoyment, offering the user an enriching experience in daily life.
The suede lining creates a unique tactile experience, adding an element of surprise when the user opens the tote. This sensory design choice enhances the overall texture of the bag, making it feel closer to the user in use.
Future collections will continue this nature-inspired design language, bringing elements like mountains and minerals into more accessory styles. I plan to explore different materials and techniques, creating richer natural aesthetics and offering users fresh sensory experiences.
