After a mass flurry of activity, emails and phone calls over the weekend, I will now need to make an emergency tip and fly from Sydney to Nanjing, China today. I’ll be there to inspect a product’s final finishing and fit. Not the most ideal time for me personally, but it has to be done.

I’ve been to China before, but not the Nanjing area, so I am looking forward to see a different side of this planet and perhaps some pictures of the city scape soon. I know I’ll have a 5 hour wait transiting Hong Kong so perhaps some blogging time there.

Even more bags for my eye bags now on the “red-eye” flights.

I have been recently interviewed by Mario Vellandi from Melodies in Marketing Blog on my thoughts on Design Strategy and Sustainable Behaviours.

Mario Writes:

To build some greater perspectives on product design in the modern age, I’ve invited DT of Design Sojourn to a little chat about the subject. DT helps build objectives, strategies and development plans for consumer electronics firms across Asia. He’s been a pioneer in promoting the field of Industrial Design, in many more regards than simply admiring fanciful oeuvres d’art et leurs aspects fonctionnels (French for art and functional objects). He reaches out to students and other professionals alike in sharing theory, trends, and best practices in the workplace and beyond, while celebrating the contributions of others to the field.

DT, thanks for stopping by and leaving some feedback on my post New Product Design Strategy. I feel that I’ve barely scratched the surface on this field, as most of what I’ve come to learn has been from my own experiences with CPG manufacturers, some friends, and my PDMA Handbook . What other kinds of strategies or considerations should marketers and product developers be making these days?

Check it out the full interview transcript and write up at my Design Sojourn blog.

The Lumos portable DVD, designed together with Tithima S. and E Chin, for Nakamichi, has been featured in the latest UK version of the T3 Gadget Magazine. (August 2007, Page 18). A wonderful review and do stay tuned for some scanned images when I get the chance to upload it.

Edit: Here are the scanned images and the detailed review after. The design was inspired by premium leather ladies handbags and the tactile textures found on it.

I’ll be back home in Singapore from 7th to 17th July 2007. I’ll be hoping to catch up with all my family and friends.

Very kind words from the review. This is the English translation of the Swedish text found in the magazine:

“Phoenix radiates class and is a revolutionary electrostatic speaker with HD-A technology from Nakamichi. It combines a unique design with high end sound. The light, ultra-thin membrane is capable of delivering a transparent, clear and well defined sound with exceptional control. Special components provide a detailed and distortion free deep bass even when the speaker is pressed hard. Phoenix convinces as it is hardly affected by room acoustics and sounds as good as it is beautiful to look at.”

Click to download the PDF version of the scanned pages from the Magazine.