Sunday, November 12, 2006

IGO HK:SHORTCUTS TO HK LIFE

11:09 PM    No comments

The IGO HK:SHORTCUTS TO HK LIFE is an interactive map that combines with a complex cultural interfacing, visual communication and human connection through the reflection of the HK city power. It mixes 3D map, motion graphics, sound effect and digital snapshots to reach a new level of perception. In Chinese, we have various cultures in different areas, but HK is a special area which includes eastern and western culture. In other words, we can say that mix is the main characteristic in Hong Kong style. Cultures converge historically, but people who live in Hong Kong didn’t leave behind what they had created. Thus, all these various 50 inconsistent styles help you to experience how these kinds of styles could make this city so differently and to lead your eyes into their live.

The idea of this project is based on “inconsistence”. Just as culture affects the environment, so when east-meets-west culture evolved into this city, everything starts getting changing. There are so many inconsistent styles which include food, living styles and clothes integrating with east-meets-west culture. Using digital media to present them, a harmonious relationship between local Chinese and British colonial culture can easily make a comparison in front of the users. It not only promotes local identities but also introduce the value of the culture analysis.

Moreover, after surfing these clickable events, it also provides people who are interested in going to visit HK a direction. Of course, users can use the search function to list what they are looking for. That’s not enough! This site also helps users to organize and calculate the time to plan their own schedule. You can print it out and make it portable just like a small map. This project is not exactly a tour guide but also lets people understand a variety of the HK local culture deeply.

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Titles for the project

11:00 PM    No comments

possible names/titles for your project

15/16
That’s HK life
Crossover
HK, get a life
Made-in-HK
HK play around
IGO HK
HK mixing
50 inconsistent HK styles

Taglines
Shortcuts to HK life

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Monday, November 06, 2006

10 graphical ideas-2

1:40 PM    No comments


2. Skyscrapers in Hong Kong are the very famous symbols. I use some curve lines to lead the users’ focal points to the building and also present my concept of Hong Kong styles.

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10 graphical ideas-1

1:37 PM    No comments


1. I try to use simple lines and gradient colors to arrange the clean interface. Colors alter perceptions. Hong Kong is one of the modern and fashioned cities in the world. Using lines to present modern feeling is really a primary urge. It might make users feel more comfortable to keep surfing this site, because everything is easy to see and well-organized.

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Monday, October 30, 2006

8:23 PM    No comments

refined concept

The concept of the project is to explore the HK unique style and to promote HK culture all over the world which is applied in interactive design. Flying from the old kai tak airport to Chek Lap Kok Airport was a memory for people who had been in HK. This magnificent arrival is impressed by the new and old culture interweaving with each other. Wandering with the crowd, a forest of towering neon shows in front of our eyes. Not just as you seen in the postcard, the skyscrapers were spread out modernly. At Hung Hom station, everyone seems busy and clutches a red, white and blue nylon bag bearing gifts and foodstuffs for friends and relatives in his/her native province. It is an attribute to show the human communication. However, cultures converge historically, but people who live in Hong Kong didn't leave behind what they had created. Thus, there are still some great local styles to lead your eyes into their live.

In Chinese, we have various cultures in different areas , but HK is a special area which includes eastern and western culture.This project is a skilful combination of minimalist layout simplicity and respect for the mixed-up background of this modern city. The design concept revolves around the red-white-blue platsic bag, an element that cannot be ingored in tradtional Hong Kong style. It not only means cheap , attractive, durable and multifunctional but also means human communication. So I base on this concept to make users learn culture of the city and provide various options for users to tell them where to eat, what to play, what to buy, where to go and why this kind of unique culture has bee created and used in their normal live. This project will help people to know more about HK. It is not only a tour guide but also lets people learn a variety of the HK local culture.

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visual presentation of the portfolio

7:52 PM    No comments

In my final project, the design style is more and more simplified and emphasizing in development. All I want to create is an environment which makes users easy to use and clear to know how those functions work. This project comprises three parts:

Modern:

Because my project is about HK and will include various HK cultures, I choose to make it modern. I uses 3D map to extend the visual space and includes additions to complement the buttons of interactive animation. I will try to make several layers to create the visual effect. However, the sizable interface also includes a joint style of the old and the new, but it won't miss the modern rhythm that the image is provided by HK.

Simple:

This project is not merely for knowledge and information but is a tour guild. Every detail has to describe very clearly. To keep it simple I think that is the best way for users to follow the directions. I won't make the layout which has sub menu to click. I will provide a search function on the top and use simple symbol and color to represent the buttons. Using tricky shapes creates the balance of the layouts. I use red, white blue as my main background which is based on the idea where I come from. A simple layout composed of these three colors which arrange by vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines to create a perspective of the scene.

Clean:

Because this project includes many different media in it, every function must be clear to recognize that they are clickable. So I want my background to look very clean, the users won't lose their focal point. That's why I choose pure white as my background color and every layout uses those three colors to decorate it. Combined with 3D map, images and videos, I would like to convince users to move into the digital age. Because my background is very simple; I will try to make the images and videos brighter and more colorful.

1. animation- 3 pieces( Maya 7.0)

The purpose of creating this kind of 3D model is that it is playful. Not only are functions of M A Y A numerous, but M A Y A is also challenging to create some contexts and exaggerated characters. Most 3D models focus lies in having fun and my design is no exception. Moreover, because many animated movies use fish as their main characters, I also used a few energetic fish and an exaggerated character similar to the character in the Mask.

2. digital image- 5 pieces ( Photoshop CS2, Illustrator CS2)

(1) Ambivalence

People often experience conflicts: To go or not to go, to do or not to do, to speak or not to speak. Conflict arises when one ponders about something. The head of a kid represents innocence. The other two colors indicate forces pulling in different directions. These forces combat each other. The winner is determined when the conflicts of one side are greater than that of the other side.

(2) Let's Drink some Music

Music is not only for entertainment but has become a part of life. Music is like water. You need it all the time. If radio is like a cup and the headphones are on one's head, then music, like water, is present everywhere.

(3) We are featureless.

We do not have any unique characteristics. Walking down the road, one often sees other people dressing the same, having the same hairstyle, carrying the same type of cell phone. In fact, no one has characteristics that belong to him or herself. These characteristics are not your own creation or style but rather it is blind conformity, which leads us to become copies. An umbrella is used to cover a person who lacks confidence.

(4) T – M A S K

Masks represent different emotions, but people wear different masks to conceal their emotions. Based on this idea, I create three Chinese opera masks. Many people wear masks to greet others. To guess what lies behind a mask is difficult, but to remove the mask is still more difficult.

(5)birthday card

That is a birthday that I specially design for my friends.

3. sound- 2 pieces ( Logic express)

(1) Sonic Landscape

(2) Sound track

4. functionally working interactive projects- 2 pieces (Flash 8)

(1) 15 seconds flash animation- who's gonna pick you up

(2) Interactive site.

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Monday, October 16, 2006

take notes about the interview of my final project

5:05 PM    No comments

what was good about your presentation
1. it is easy and simple to understand what my concept is.
2. I explained the content step by step, route by route.
3. to ask her some questions is related with my topic, so the listener may get involved into my concept easily.
o what was not so good about your presentation
1. I didn't very clear to tell users how to navigate my website.
2. too many things include in this site and what I want to say make listeners feel confused.
3. the navigation is hard to understand what it would be, because I said that there are many signals to let you know that are clickable, but the listener can't understand.
o what was unclear about your presentation, and what questions did your audience ask
1. I think it is about the content that I want to show to the users, because some users didn't know how to use interactive function and can't imagine what it looks like. I think I didn't explain enough.
2. navigation is the main part of the website, but 3D map is good for visual effect not good for usability.

1. how to let users know the meaning of the red-white-blue plastic bag represented for?
2. does that symbol (the red-white-blue plastic bag) really have a great meaning for HK?
3. How to sort out the HK culture from Chinese culture?
4. can I get the different hk information in this site? ( she hopes that is different from the book)
5. if I didn't have the flash software, can I use the interactive function?
6. how can I know the buttons are clickable?
7. if I want to know the latest issues, what can I do?
8. do you set the target audience only for the visitors or also include in people who live in HK?
9. will you provide a search function for users ?
10. will you collect all the data by yourself and how would you evaluate them?

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Saturday, October 14, 2006

an abstract for final project

7:37 PM    No comments

the concept
It is my MFA final project in Academy Of Art University .Though its origins may be obscure, the cheap, durable and multifunctional red, white and blue nylon bag has served many an émigré returning from Hong Kong to China over the years, bearing gifts and foodstuffs for friends and relatives in their native province. Even today, many still use the bags to store or transport things.
the red-white-and-blue combination lies somewhere between the beautiful and the grotesque. But, like what I say, it is full of creativity and usefulness. It is part of life and living in Hong Kong and symbolizes its hardy and hardworking people.
So I use these three colors to divide my concepts into three parts.
紅Red is represented for food.( Cha chaan teng, Dim Sun)白White is represented for films and music.
藍Blue is represented for home living style.\nAll of the above are the living style in hk and use the MTR to connect them together.\n \nPurpose\nPeople who live in Hong Kong had grown up under strong influence of both eastern and western culture. Mix is always the characteristic in HK culture. We don\'t care too much whether it is from the east or the west, as sometimes we ourselves are neither of it. Actually, modern things change HK a lot, but there are still some traditional stuff that keep in HK eveywhere. MTR in HK is the main transportation. Let it lead you to explore the hk style more in-depth and create an atmosphere of living in HK.\n\n \ntarget audience\nAge range: 18-35\nCategory: my main focus will be on people who like to travel around and to be curious about Hong Knog culture.\nGender: gender is not a concern for " live in HK" as there isn\'t any reason to limit the gender of our target audience.\n\nEducational level: I decided to set the minimum level of college/university, because they may more care about the culture of world and be interested in the \n",1]
);
//-->
Blue is represented for home living style.
All of the above are the living style in hk and use the MTR to connect them together.

Purpose
People who live in Hong Kong had grown up under strong influence of both eastern and western culture. Mix is always the characteristic in HK culture. We don't care too much whether it is from the east or the west, as sometimes we ourselves are neither of it. Actually, modern things change HK a lot, but there are still some traditional stuff that keep in HK eveywhere. MTR in HK is the main transportation. Let it lead you to explore the hk style more in-depth and create an atmosphere of living in HK.

target audience
Age range: 18-35
Category: my main focus will be on people who like to travel around and to be curious about Hong Knog culture.
Gender: gender is not a concern for " live in HK" as there isn't any reason to limit the gender of our target audience.
Educational level: I decided to set the minimum level of college/university, because they may more care about the culture of world and be interested in the
Asia living style.\nNationalty: all nationality.\nColor bit: 32-bit color.\nConnection: broadband\nBrowser: Mozilla Firefox(Pc/Mac), Internet explore(pc), Safari (Mac)\nIncome :up to$800\nLeisure hour: 5 hours to surf internet and check email.\n \nForm\nInteractive website\nFunction\nI will create a 3D map to represent the whole Hong Kong\n area using subway to take visitors to everywhere they want. Just click on the route and will show the direction. The color helps you to recognize what topic you chose. You can clearly see the information because when you roll over, the buttons will show you a series of animation to tell you what is that for and of course, you can click on it. When you get into the white part, lots of movie will be combined as motion graphic with subtitle to introduce the meaning of content. Finally, the blue part is for home living. Using pictures and illustration to create some typical styles for users to see and you can arrange the layout if you would like to.\n",1]
);
//-->
Asia living style.
Nationalty: all nationality.
Color bit: 32-bit color.
Connection: broadband
Browser: Mozilla Firefox(Pc/Mac), Internet explore(pc), Safari (Mac)
Income :up to$800
Leisure hour: 5 hours to surf internet and check email.

Form
Interactive website
Function
I will create a 3D map to represent the whole Hong Kong area using subway to take visitors to everywhere they want. Just click on the route and will show the direction. The color helps you to recognize what topic you chose. You can clearly see the information because when you roll over, the buttons will show you a series of animation to tell you what is that for and of course, you can click on it. When you get into the white part, lots of movie will be combined as motion graphic with subtitle to introduce the meaning of content. Finally, the blue part is for home living. Using pictures and illustration to create some typical styles for users to see and you can arrange the layout if you would like to.
\n \nStyle\nBecause mix is the main characteristic in Hong Kong\n style, I decide to use both modern and traditional ways to present it. The website is created not only by pictures but also uses 3D to help me create an environment from different aspects. I will use red, white and blue these three colors to become my basic tone of design. What I want to do is to show the spirit of \nHong Kong style deeply and let visitors know when they see these three colors, their first impression is \nHong Kong.\n \nMix is always the characteristic in HK culture. We don\'t care too much whether it is from the east or the west. It means crossover. There is not only modern building but also tradtional Hong Kong stylish stuff that you can dig into. This project is a skilful combination of minimalist layout simplicity and respect for the mixed-up background of this modern city. The design concept revolves around the red-white-blue platsic bags, an element that cannot be ingored in tradtional Hong Kong style. Thankfully, the work to the strusture includes subtle and portable 3D map that stands a chance of getting involved what is made in Hong Kong and what belongs to Hong Kong. \n\n \n",1]
);
//-->


Style
Because mix is the main characteristic in Hong Kong style, I decide to use both modern and traditional ways to present it. The website is created not only by pictures but also uses 3D to help me create an environment from different aspects. I will use red, white and blue these three colors to become my basic tone of design. What I want to do is to show the spirit of Hong Kong style deeply and let visitors know when they see these three colors, their first impression is Hong Kong.

Mix is always the characteristic in HK culture. We don't care too much whether it is from the east or the west. It means crossover. There is not only modern building but also tradtional Hong Kong stylish stuff that you can dig into. This project is a skilful combination of minimalist layout simplicity and respect for the mixed-up background of this modern city. The design concept revolves around the red-white-blue platsic bags, an element that cannot be ingored in tradtional Hong Kong style. Thankfully, the work to the strusture includes subtle and portable 3D map that stands a chance of getting involved what is made in Hong Kong and what belongs to Hong Kong.

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Monday, September 25, 2006

five concepts

8:00 PM    No comments

1. Hong Kong style
Though we are born Chinese, we had grown up under strong influence of both eastern and western culture. Mix is always the characteristic in HK culture. We don't care too much whether it is from the east or the west, as sometimes we ourselves are neither of it.
Who will the project serve, and/or why will it be something that an audience will spend time with?
1. My main focus will be on 20-30 years old, male and female.
2. The purpose of it is to provide them the information of hk style.
3. My target audience may curious about new creative things.
4. This website will not only bring fun to them but also give them a chance to know more about hk.
5. Using interactive design makes users want to get into this site more deeply.
How will it be innovative, engaging, and socially / culturally / artistically relevant?
1. There will include a brief background of what is hk style.
2. the hk style has its unique culture.
3. Mix is always the characteristic in HK culture, so visually it must combine many elements about eastern and western art styles in this site.
4. using flash which includes a movie to create a environment that make you feel you are really in hk right now.
5. not only to see the movie but also to click on it.
Does the concept generally fit the final project criteria?
1. it’s meaningful and transform the concepts of the style in humor way.
2. it can let users know more about the different culture of the world.
3. the hk style is quite various without limits.
4. it is a little bit hard to understand the concept of this site, because it might include too much information and not eveyone is interested in HK cultured style.
5. the topic of the hk style is not specific. I might have to choose three main styles to introduce in this site.

Will you be capable of technically executing the project?
I think it works, but I have to figure out how to use flash/actionscript to make a combination with motion graphic.
Will the learning and development from each project serve you well beyond the program?
There is a concept in hk culture, expressed in Cantonese as, “even, attractive, appropriate,” and then “trend, explosive, compete.” So I will follow this thesis to design my final project.

2. I got a magazine
This magazine is really amazing. The internet and electric books will influence reading habits in the future.You can get a mental test and video immediately. Moreover, if you see any content that you like, you can click on it and read it more in-depth. It is easy for readers to use and you can get the latest information swiftly.
Who will the project serve, and/or why will it be something that an audience will spend time with?
1. My main focus will be on 15-25 years old, female.
2. They might have a dream to create their own magazines.
3. This site also includes various fashion information that you want to know.
4. Movies, pictures and the mental test that you can click to play it.
5. Layout the page and choose the article on your own.

How will it be innovative, engaging, and socially / culturally / artistically relevant?
1. it is all about your own magazine and everyone can see it.
2. use your imagination and arrange the best layout.
3. actionscript can support different interactive function to users.
4. it might bring a new trend to the magazine, because electric books will lead the reading habits.
5. not everyone likes to read the magazine online.



Does the concept generally fit the final project criteria?
1. this kind of magazine is creative and attractive to users and readers.
2. creating a magazine by your own is not only for fun but also for complacence of users.
3. not everyone likes to read the magazine that is created by others not reporters.
4. it doesn’t include much information that everyone wants.
5. not totally a magazine copy from the real one.

Will you be capable of technically executing the project?
All the movie effects I will create by after effect. All interactive functions will use actionscript to handle them, because flash can set elements selectable and able to drag.
Will the learning and development from each project serve you well beyond the program?
I have read lots of fashion magazine, but I found that readers have no choice to choose what they want to read. It is kind of wasting money and time to read boring articles. so if this program can satisfy readers’ value, it might be successful to make the users to change their users habits.



3. instructions on how to love
love is everything. There are some rules for love. We can divide into three parts of this project. How to present love? How to cure love? How to obey love?
Who will the project serve, and/or why will it be something that an audience will spend time with?
1. My main focus will be on 20-40 years, female and male.
2. Love is starting out with nothing but love, but there are many situations behind the love.
3. it provides the flash movies about love.
4. using colors to present emotions and showing what love is.
5. love controls everything. The purpose website is to instruct you how to love.
How will it be innovative, engaging, and socially / culturally / artistically relevant?
1. Everyone wants to do something that can make people feel happy.
2. Theoretically, there are many theories that reveal love is the powerful weapon in the world.
3. Culturally, different places have different ways to show the emotion about love.
4. after surfing this site, this site may innovate the inspiration about the behaviors of love.

Does the concept generally fit the final project criteria?
1. this concept is a little bit too board.
2. it is quite hard to specify what the instructions are.
3. there are different types of information about love that can make us understand how to present love in various ways.
4. the topic is simple and straightforward.

Will you be capable of technically executing the project?
I think I will be created it by Flash-based Website and Database, because there are too many content that I need to cover.
Will the learning and development from each project serve you well beyond the program?
I should narrow down the topic, because love is everything. But most things you may not know about love, the only thing I can do is to do some research about mental philosophy and do some survey and interviews with people.


4. on the freeway
driving could be fun or could be boring. I don't think the only thing that you can do when you are driving is holding the steering wheel. Set a place that make you feel that driving on the freeway is cool and delightful. You can not only listen to the music but also play some little fun games.
Who will the project serve, and/or why will it be something that an audience will spend time with?
1. My main focus will be on 20-30 years, male.
2. make driving become playful.
3. provide an environment to have a delightful journey in virtual world.
4. the purpose of this site is to bring the happy and relaxed feeling on the freeway, because there are many different things that you can enjoy when you are driving.
5. lots of function you can not only play with mouse also play with keyboard.

How will it be innovative, engaging, and socially / culturally / artistically relevant?
1. it will use different movies to make a combination with flash.
2. creating various driving modes lets users to choose.
3. collecting worldwide views and culture into this website.
4. the background is random.
5. lots of music for users to select to fit their mood.
Does the concept generally fit the final project criteria?
1. I think it works in actionscript. I have seen a website which used this method to interactive with users before.
2. Theoretically, it is only for entertainment not much useful information provided.
3. although I like this topic, it is still to general to become a specific topic.



Will you be capable of technically executing the project?
I am taking flash this semester and learn how to use movie clip to create an interactive function. But I think after taking actionscript, everything will become clearer to build the whole website.

Will the learning and development from each project serve you well beyond the program?
I would try to make it meaningful, because there are so many websites that provide fun to users. If this website wants to be special, the content must need to be stronger. I think people may not wasting their time to just play games.

5. design a poster
it is not that hard to be a graphic designer. Using different font styles and drawing with geometric shapes is very easy to create a fancy poster. You can choose where you want to post it, in the movie theater, at the school and any other places.

Who will the project serve, and/or why will it be something that an audience will spend time with?
1. My main focus will be on 20-30 years old, male and female.
2. The purpose of this site is to design a poster.
3. Using various patterns and fancy font styles to make the poster stylish.
4. After designing it, you can save it as JPEG and keep it.
5. You can choose where you want to post the poster and see how is the overlook.
How will it be innovative, engaging, and socially / culturally / artistically relevant?
1. Clients are always hard to satisfy. Let’s change the role. You can become a designer as well.
2. Changing and revising your aspect of beauty.
3. Getting into the design world.
4. A lot of truly creative people don’t even consider themselves creativity, so there provides a chance for them.
5. It seems to be the lacking ingredient in this website.

Does the concept generally fit the final project criteria?
1. It might not provide much information for users.
2. Just for fun but not educational enough.
3. It is interactive, because users can control by themselves.
4. Doesn’t have any theory to support it.
5. Technically hard to make it.
Will you be capable of technically executing the project?
I think I need mathematics and programming support, because I have to set the position precisely and let users easy to control. I still need to figure out how to program this function in flash.
Will the learning and development from each project serve you well beyond the program?
This program just likes a small package of photoshop without that much function, but what I have to do is to find out how to combine the 3D program and actionscript. It is not only 2D interactive deign but also 3D animation environment.

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Forget who I am

7:58 PM    No comments


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Monday, September 18, 2006

20 ideas of final thesis

4:07 PM    No comments

1. finding what you lost
people live in the world always keep finding and forgetting. This project uses images and old things to remind what you lost before. For example, what is your backyard in the childhood? If you don't remember it anymore, let's make it.

2. all junk in brain
sometimes you may think that your brain is empty, but actually it is full of junk which is something that you save it but you didn't know. You can use this program to help you calculate how many useless things exist in you brain. The more you know, the more you can delete.

3. connect the dots
everything is linked by a line. You need a cable line connect to the internet and then connect to the world, so making a flow chart to realize what you connect with is an important thing which can help organize your life more effective.

4. Awful Plastic Surge
Perfection always means beauty in people's mind. In reality, if you don't have money, the plastic surgery is just a dream, but right now it is easy and free to do this online. Just choose what kind of eyes and nose or the whole face that you want.

5. build your own store


6. design a poster
it is not that hard to be a graphic designer. Using different font styles and drawing with geometric shapes is very easy to create a fancy poster. You can choose where you want to post it, in the movie theater, at the school and any other places.

7. on the freeway
driving could be fun or could be boring. I don't think the only thing that you can do when you are driving is holding the steering wheel. Set a place that make you feel that driving on the freeway is cool and delightful. You can not only listen to the music but also play some little fun games.

8. make a wish
in Taiwan, we have various kinds of ways to make a wish. What you want to pray or wish that you can do it here.

9. create your pizza a day
create a recipe and give you a score. Is it good or bad?

10. instructions on how to love
love is everything. There are some rules for love. We can divide into three parts of this project. How to present love? How to cure love? How to obey love?

11. old living styles
old things have its value. Now everything is changing and changing, but if you want to keep something simple, many old things are pretty good choices.

12. the lazy dog
a flash movie

13. I got a magazine
This magazine is really amazing. The internet and electric books will influence reading habits in the future.You can get a mental test and video immediately. Moreover, if you see any content that you like, you can click on it and read it more in-depth. It is easy for readers to use and you can get the latest information swiftly.

14. everything useful is bad
electric equipment is full of everywhere. Material is limitless. Using great material to create new equipment is not always useful. Focusing on the functions might a good way to let these stuff get into your life. So just mix it over and choose a favorite color to provide you a new life.


15. crash testing
you can measure what kind of crash make you get hurt most, a car ,an airplane or a broken bicycle.

16. Around the World in one day
Dreams can't always come true for many reasons. When you feel upset, you would like to travel to change your mood. There are five continents on earth. We choose many famous views to show in front of the screen. Mix it up and take a photo. Print and bring to everywhere.

17. personal navigation system
create a community or use your direct feeling to choose a place that you want to live.


18. future box
you have lots of words that want to talk to someone but not right now. Just save these words into future box and you can't change it until someone read it.

19. home-made t-shirt
buying a t-shirt that you want to wear every moment is a tough thing. You can choose a fashionable pattern to make your own t-shirt and there is a model to help you wear better. Just throw the mirror away.

20. Hong Kong style
Though we are born Chinese, we had grown up under strong influence of both eastern and western culture. Mix is always the characteristic in HK culture. We don't care too much whether it is from the east or the west, as sometimes we ourselves are neither of it.

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