Works
KEVIN
TJIA
PORTFOLIO
ABOUT ME
Hi! My name is Kevin.
Recently graduated in 2023, Kevin is half Dutch-Chinese raised in the Netherlands.
Having lived in three different countries and speaking four languages,
he comes from a multi-cultural background and loves learning new things.
My focus is mainly on UX design, product design, DX, and web development.
This web portfolio showcases some of my past projects related to these skills.
Please have a look and let me know what you think.
OMNITORCH
2020/FallProduct design
User Experience design
Duration: 1/2 semester
Having recently watched the Netflix series Dark at that time, I was inspired to build upon the idea of a futuristic looking flashlight by turning the tv show prop into an (almost) real product.
The project scope included designing the aesthetics of the product, its use cases, and the production to a limited degree.
The flashlight designed to be more than just a flashlight
Concept
Flashlights are typically seen as a practical tool - they shed light into the darkness. Now that everyone has a smartphone with flashlight function on them at all times, the demand for actual flashlights is becoming less and less; for its practical uses that is. The OmniTorch is more than a regular flashlight. It is a modern torch, an ambient light source, a fun plaything, and it looks cool.
Inspiration
This project was inspired by the Netflix series Dark.
The series features a futuristic flashlight, resembling a ball of light.
In the show it is used by the main character for his exploration, giving the resemblance of a modern torch.
After the series launched, this flashlight garnered quite the onlline attention for its unique design.
Others have created working prototypes inspired by the design,
but none that I had seen seemed polished enough to be turned into a sellable product.
Which is why I decided to try designing one myself.
Labeled side front view
Cross section & LED lightbulb plates for reference
REIMAGINED DIGITAL CALENDAR
UX research
UI design
Duration: 1 year
Digital & Mental Calendars, the differences
UX Research Project Overview
The mental calendars we create in our minds often look different from the digital and
paper calendars we use on a daily basis. Especially those that have strong imagery skills
tend to have a unique representation of time and are unlike the physical and digital
calendars we hold in our hands. Time is a relative concept which can be interpreted in various ways depending on
the individual and use case.
The proposed design is based on the researched mental calendars, and different viewpoints of what time is -
and offers those with such mental calendars that struggle creating the habit of using digital calendars.
METHODOLOGY
1. Research
2. Analysis
3. Prototype
4. Test
1. Research
Before having a look at what shapes and colors the mental visualizations of time are like, we need to ask if people actually do visualize time. To find in which scenarios people use visualization and to what degree, we conducted a quantitative survey inquiring about their visualization habits. Additionally, the respondents were asked to rate their self-perceived planning and organization skills to infer a correlation visualization, and planning- and organization skills where possible.
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54321
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Managing a schedule
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Sticking to a schedule
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Organizing your time
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Punctuality
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Meeting deadlines
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Planning ahead
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I put repeating events into calendars
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I put one-of events into a calendars
Quantitative Survey
Before having a look at what shapes and colors the mental visualizations of time are like, we need to ask if people actually do visualize time. To find in which scenarios people use visualization and to what degree, we conducted a quantitative survey inquiring about their visualization habits. Additionally, the respondents were asked to rate their self-perceived planning and organization skills to infer a correlation visualization, and planning- and organization skills where possible. Here, 5 stands for confident in their skills and conversely 1 stands for not confident.
Interviews
The purpose of these interviews was to delve deeper into the various ways in which people utilize visualizing
time; what its uses are, when it is used, and what shape it takes on. In the timespan of this research amongst the
126 respondents, we interviewed eight people that claim to regularly create ‘visual imagery of time’. Visualizing
time can be understood, and manifests in varying forms for varying purposes, thus resulting in vastly different
experiences depending on each individual. The interviewees were mostly asked similar questions, however, the
different interpretations and applications by each interviewee resulted in vastly differing responses. Rather than
comparing between sets of data, the goal was simply to find out in detail how and why people create mental imagery
of their thoughts in relation to time – which is why a small sample size was thought to be sufficient for this
research.
These sketches are examplary of a commonly found category of mental calendars. These sketches depict a circle with
a diameter spanning one year cycle. The orientation of each mental circle was observed to be unique and different
in each questioned individual. However, all year circles were subcategorized by smaller time spans, namely seasons
and/or months.
Market Research
Every smartphone comes with a set of applications out of the box, one of which is the ‘calendar app’. The default calendar app is often one and the same for each brand but depends on the operating system or manufacturer of the device. For those that do not make the switch to another calendar app, they are likely using one of the widely used default applications. Compiled below are example screenshots of five of the most downloaded and used calendar apps to demonstrate the trend of UI design in current digital calendars. Each column of the table below represents one calendar app; the rows each represent a screen held in common between the calendars. These rows are primarily characterized by the method of displaying information and the timespan the screen covers. Calendar apps that do not include a screen of any particular screen are signified with an ‘x’.
Prototype
To be added...
Web design
Event planning
Livestream
Duration: 6 months
The inaugural event was held in 2021, where the festival fetched 13 submissions, 6 of which were nominated and premiered at the festival.
The second iteration of TIFF is back in 2022, planning to be screened and live-streamed on December 10th.
TIFF 2021 event staff lineup
TIFF aims to create a brand-new cross-cultural platform, where everyone's unique voices are heard loud and clear without any limits or restrictions. The founding year, 2021, its title was 'Your Voice'. The festival was split into two categories.
Short Film
Competition
Members of Toyo University and its partner universities worldwide are invited to participate and share their voices by submitting their original short films. TIFF receives open submissions on the short film competition program.
Colaborative
Movie Project
Collaborative Movie is a single compilation of episodic films, each filmed in different countries. A selected number of partner institutions will collaborate with students from Toyo University.
Nominated works of Short Film Competition and completed work of Collaborative Movie were screened at Toyo University's Inoue Enryo Hall at the premier on December 11, 2021. The premier was live-streamed on the TGS youtube channel, of which the recording is shown below:
GRAPEVINE
Group ProjectWeb design
User Experience design
User Interface design
Duration: 1 semester
Aggregation was in development to support Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
TARGET USER -
Grapevine is designed specifically for those that struggle to keep up with the abundance of social media
platforms - and those who wish to follow updates of their friends and family, but from the ease of just
one
place.
We believe a large portion of these target users are seniors, which is why our UI is made especially
accessible for those with visual impairments or who are easily overwhelmed by clutter.
KONOMI KOME
2021/SpringBrand design
Infographic
Product design
Duration: 1/2 semester
A branding concept for rice products
Concept
A staple in Japanese cuisine most commonly eaten completely milled as white rice. To motivate the consumption a healthier alternative, KONOMI KOME offers a variety of brown rice differing in degree of milling. The brand showcases the many flavors of brown rice by breaking down these differences, educating the consumer as a tool to garner interest in the world of rice.
