My name is Hoang Mai Lieu, born in Hong Kong, currently living and studying in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. .

Unlike many other Industrial Designers, my passion for this craft does not stem from a youth obsession for Lego. . Growing up, I picked up a lot of interrests and along with my attitude to excell in everything, I have built up an arsenal of skills and insights that distinguishes me for anyone else. There is only one you, so everything you make is... you! - I feel that this quote is strongly resonating with who I am which is the fuel for my work in the field of design.

Bal-LED

Brainstorming Ideas

Research to backup decision-making

Concept Development

Mock-up & Validating in context

2010

1st years project / client : Wearable Senses TU/e

At the faculty of Industrial Design, research is being done on new forms of technology. The Wearable Senses department of the faculty has been developing new ways of integrating technology into fabrics which opens up a new pathways for designing. As junior employees, we were given this new technology to explore new possibilities Bal-LED is a tool for ballet teachers to guide students with, dance is all about form. In a teaching environment, the teacher wears a suit which reacts on touch which lights up the designated area. The students suit will mirror this behaviour which comes down to a master-slave relationship. This open concept leaves much interpretation for the teaching environment itself which was intentional. Throughout this project we sought cooperation with dance studio Valentijn in Eindhoven.

Technology exploration & Integration

Final Prototype

Concept Testing through online medium

Concept Development

Technology Research

Brainstorming // Tinkering

1st years project / client : Philips Design

KIDDO

2010

Platform Design

Over the years, Philips has developed a new battery technology which allows batteries to be in any shape. The main objective of this project was to design an application for this technology. The upside of this battery is that it can be produced in bended shapes and its weight is also significantly lighter. Kiddo is a system based on a interactive bracelet. The bracelet changes appearance based on scanned barcodes found on ordinary consumer products. A platform has been designed (online platform, quests, rewards, point system) intended for children to explore the physical world. Connectedness with ones environment is the keyfocus of the system.

System Design

Cyber Jungle 2012

2nd years project / client : Intelligent Lighting institute

Inspiration through a videoreport

Linking video footage with material exploring

Rapid prototyping

Depiction of context for exploration

The roots of this project lies within the transient nature of light found in nature, aiming at the natural tides that occur e.g dusk & dawn. Natural light is ever so dynamical and can therefor create beautiful images. These sparks of beauty are not everlasting but temporary, thus the reason why the nature of light is transient. The aim of this project is mainly put on exploration. Cyber Jungle is a light installation which reacts on twitter messages (in the current setup it focuses on tweets send from Eindhoven). Essentially it aims to raise a sense of connectedness to ones environment and raise awareness of the invisible web of communication around us.

Shape Exploration

Final Prototype

Sketching
Sketching is a fast and efficient way to communicate ideas. Im capable of drawing quick ideas and make more elaborate sketches to convey depth of an idea or concept.

Making things Visual

I am a visual person who thinks in pictures. Having a history in Graphic Design Im capable of presenting ideas in an aesthetically pleasing way. I have a high proficiency in Photoshop, moderate understanding of InDesign, Solid Works.

Prototyping
Ideas are merely just ideas when they reside on paper. I feel a designer should be capable of creating physical objects, which is a strong communication skill. My skills include basic woodcrafting, programming and working with electronics

User Research
User research forms one of the cornerstones of Industrial Design at the TU/e. I am capable of doing literature research, use methods such as persona creating, storyboard telling, scenario sketching and conducting effective user tests.

Ideas & Concepts

When I brainstorm for ideas, I use various methods often working with a group of people. Throughout my time at the TU/e I experimented with several tools. In order to come up with ideas, I like to do things.. well, extreme.

Analysing & Modelling

While a designer should be open for changes and unconventional happenings, being able to approach things with a critical attitude is needed to steer a design process properly.

Design?
Everyone wants to create a better tomorrow, but to what extent will it be better and for whom? Theres one important factor that distinguishes a designer from an artist, which is responsibility. There are so many societal mishappenings in the world we want to solve through design, but to what extent are we actually solving problems and not merely reinforcing our own vision of the world? Theres a thin line to be crossed and I feel that as a designer, we can only make people think about them at best. I dont believe design should be this or that, every context requires a different approach. There is no measure of succes, or a devision between good or bad when it comes down to design. Design only fails when it doesnt serve its root intention which stems from the designers vision. The topic of understanding is something I try to aim for in all of my work. Especially in the world we live in today with so much information to our disposal, it is important for one and other to understand where everyone is coming from. Therefor, connectedness is key and in my work it is something I try to aim for. In order to raise more understanding amongst one and other, I think playfulness and joyfulness are very strong aspects that could bring people together. Play is an universal language, Joy an universal emotion. These assets are strongly linked to connectedness in my opinion. I value both aesthetics and function in design but cant help think that both are intertwined. While aesthetics could also serve in terms of user experience, I feel that there should be room for a designer to implement a bit of theirselves into design. Everything around us tells a story and thats why I feel that objects with more stories provide a richer experience. In a sense, this is related to art. Art has the power to make people think, discuss, aware and eventually bring them all together. Considering this, I believe design is capable of doing the same thing. However, Art is often a one-sided conversation mostly, Design for me is all about the interelationship of telling and listening, which all boils down to one topic, which is understanding.

About me

I perceive myself as a kid living in some sort of a cyberpunk novel. I find the fast growing world we live in very fascinating and I allow myself to submerge in this techdriven madness. I have a ton of hobbies but I dont necesarily identify myself with what I do. I could call myself an artist at best but that sounds somewhat corny. I feel that everything I love to do is interelated to eachother and moreover identify myself with my strife for a large experience palette. I have been drawing and making art ever since I was a kid, playing guitar for over 5 years now, breakdancing for somehwat 3 years and recently took on a new hobby of producing electronic music. I have a group of friends whom I perform dance shows with, do roadtrips with, make and discuss art with and basically just walk down the creative path with. Overall, Im an adventurous person that loves to explore new territory but the other side of my is all about perfecting skill and looking for ultimate proficiency.