Interviews with Daniel Lau

Our goal was to achieve a design that would be the all in one solution for a child’s sleep companion. This meant integrating as many features possible while keeping the user experience simple. Our removable shell design enabled us to hide all of the parental buttons inside the product while displaying a fully illuminated shell. The shell itself also acts as a push button for kids to turn on and off the lights on the design. The gyro sensor used for sleep cycle detection is also used to turn off the alarm. When the alarm is ringing, the child picks up the turtle and shakes it to deactivate the alarm. An added level of interaction.

We would like to continue developing new features while at the same time make this design more accessible to parents around the world. We would also like to further explore eco-friendly designs.

As a new father of two, I could see many new concepts being developed for adults, however nothing was out there that addressed the issue of sleep for children. As many know, sleep is one of the most important activities for young children. Especially with the rise in usage of electronic devices and bedtime being pushed later, children who are on a schedule of day care or school in the morning need every bit of help they can get.

We are currently producing ourselves

Toddlers all the way up to adults

Tick Tock Turtle is a fun name that we thought would really stick. The turtles Kai, Leilani and Makani were named with a Hawaiian theme in mind where green sea turtles are prevalent. We chose this because Hawaii and the turtle represents the beauty of the ocean, but also sea turtles have been a big topic of conservation. With our future designs, we hope to be able to raise awareness and make strides to provide a better environment for future generations.

Besides all the technical design features, we feel the most unique aspect of our design is the asymmetrical sleepy head. Although it poses more production challenges, it gives the turtle character and symbolizes our products core function to give a good nights rest.

Our design is one of the most advanced alarm clock for kids on the market. We have spent thousands of hours testing and fine tuning our sleep cycle detection feature. We also integrated many other features such as long wave sleep enhancing night lights, visual timer display, sleep training queues and sunrise light alarm.

With all commercial products, it is always a challenge during design to keep production costs at an acceptable level. We originally hoped to use recycled or sea plastics however there were cost constraints as well as material safety concerns that could not be addressed.

When you are a designer, you are in full control and are only limited by your imagination. I find great satisfaction in not only designing concepts, but also bringing them to life. I find the constant evolution of the design during the realization process a fascinating challenge. Learning and understanding the limitations of your product building blocks such as material properties and electronic components allows you to re-evaluate your design decisions but also discover new solutions and methods to achieve your desired concept.

I was given a unique opportunity to create a product of my own and thus also became a designer in the process.

I design home products for smart parenting. I have always had a love for cars and a wish of mine would be to one day try automotive design.

If you are worried about being different, then you are on the right path. That “different” is what will set you apart from the rest.

A great designer is always learning, and searching for the next thing that will take their latest design to the next level. What’s great about the time that we are in is the rapid growth of all the tools we have to work with. We are truly fortunate to be designers in this era of technological growth.

In a great design, every single design decision has been scrutinized and thoroughly thought through. Nothing is left unexplored, no stone unturned.

It’s only natural to want to put your best food forward. If you are going to design a product, you want it to be better than the rest whether it is for your own reputation, or for your company or brand image. There are too many designs being brought into the world every day. If you are not investing in something you believe to be good design, you should not be designing at all.

My kids treehouse

Never settle and always be seeking to better your design

I’m a big car guy so a few of my favorites include the Lamborghini Diablo, Mclaren F1, Ferrari Enzo and as of late the Mclaren P1. When looking at exotic cars, you could say they are all beautifully designed by the world’s top designers. The reason why I like them so much are because these few designs have that “magic” that make stand far above the rest to become timeless masterpieces.

I believe design is just the catalyst to a better society. Good design brings people together and when people get together and are collectively passionate about something, great things can happen.

I believe in the near future, we will see design by artificial intelligence. Already, there are instances of AI doing amazing things such as NVIDIA’s recent smart paint brush. Based on a few simple brush strokes, the AI can render a realistic landscape in real time.

Always start with the end user. What problem are you looking to solve, how will you help people with your design.

What came first, the chicken or the egg? In this case, I would say both.

Actually, I prefer that people comment about the product and its features. A successful product design not only should look beautiful, but it needs to serve a purpose and do it well.

In one word “innovative”. If the product is not the first of its kind, which very few are, there must be a lot of thought put into the design to make it truly stand out as a great design.

An ideal design partner has to be someone who can bring something to the table that you cannot. For example, a lighting expert in partnership with an interior designer can work wonders. My ideal design partner would be someone who could help take the appearance of the design to the next level while I can take the lead on designing the product to be functional. I suppose this is the result of spending years in engineering.