Designs That Are Beyond Imagination

The One Academy’s students from the School of Interior Architecture & Design shone in the recent unveiling of the Daikin Youth Design Competition 2020’s winners. The Daikin Youth Design Competition was established with the goal of cultivating and nurturing Interior Design students by providing a platform to showcase their creativity and innovative ideas to the industry.

With the theme of “Beyond . Imagination”, competition entrants were encouraged to think big and different to produce a residential project design that goes beyond imagination. Lim Joe Yi clinched the Gold Award while Tan Sin Kai bagged the Silver Award. In addition, the academy’s Interior Design tutor Kevin Tan Wei Jie was also awarded the Best Mentor Award for his passion and dedication in teaching. Submissions were judged by an esteemed panel that consisted of IDr. Lai Siew Hong – Chief Executive Designer of Blu Water Studio, Dion Vercoe – Managing Director of Palladio Interiors, as well as Jason Sim and Hao Wang – founders of S/LAB10.

Lim Joe Yi’s winning submission is titled “Dark Luxury”, a cozy yet stylish and bold yet inviting design that is a new favourite trend these days. The implementation of dark-coloured materials adds depth and character to the space, with touches of gold to brighten up the mood and emit a luxurious ambience within the minimal colour palette.

“Even though dark elements are overpowering for residential spaces, the idea is to design a welcoming yet stylish house with the combination of gold and natural elements such as stones, timber, plants and animal-like deco that complements,” said Joe Yi, who researched many different and creative interior styles for inspiration.

“Besides having a creative mind in your design, you must also fully understand and research thoroughly on the idea to be confident with what you’ve designed,” she added, saying that design subjects and 3D technical skills learnt during her studies have helped her progress smoothly in the competition.

Tan Sin Kai’s submission titled “Portale” is inspired by Surrealism, a 20th -century artistic movement that believes that the source of artistic creativity lies in the unconscious mind and dreams, and expressing them to liberate the human mind. He went with the idea to help him explore and understand deeper about art.

“It is great that I’m able to present my idea and design to the judges who have been in the industry for years and to receive feedback from them,” expressed Sin Kai on the plus of the competition. “Design something with a reason behind it, as having a storyline for your design would make it more interesting,” he added.

Kevin Tan Wei Jie, who was awarded the Best Mentor Award, expressed that the recognition meant a lot to him as teaching is not just a job but an important role of preparing the next generation of interior designers, deeming the award as proof that he is leading students on the correct path. He had assisted both student winners by conducting tutorial sessions to discuss their concept, idea and application.

“My advice to aspiring interior designers is to design every design as if you’ll be using it. Always seek opinion as getting feedback helps to improve your design and also be humble,” commented Kevin. He also expressed his wish to see the interior industry grow in terms of adapting fast design solutions and changes during times like the current pandemic situation, so that the market would be able to incorporate easy-to-change and simple design solutions as a new normal interior design standard.

The One Academy is committed to providing the best art education programmes and continues to nurture its students passionately through its “Masters Train Masters” coaching philosophy, which has been practised for the past three decades, by providing diploma and degree courses namely Advertising & Graphic Design, Digital Animation, Digital Media Design, Film Visual Effects, Interior Architecture & Design, Illustration, Fine Arts and Paris Fashion Design & Pattern Making. For more information on The One Academy, visit www.toa.edu.my or call +603-7875 5510 or e-mail your enquiries to [email protected].