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Tribute Wau Multifunction Pendant by Tina Winness |
Home > Winners > Design #74869 >Interview |
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FS: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
TW: The Malaysian Wau is the traditional Malay culture kite, and one of the national symbols, that represent several shapes such as birds and the moon. Waus are handmade and can be upwards of 3.5 meters in length. When I was little, it was commonplace but as time passed, the tradition started to fade away. One day, my husband and I decided to travel to the state where the Master Kite maker resided, only to learn that he had sadly passed from this world. Therefore, I was inspired to honour the tradition by designing a piece that not only displays characteristics of the Wau, but also blend in Chinese culture aspects to represent the diverse cultures of Malaysia.
FS: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
TW: I wanted the work to show the diversity of cultures in Malaysia, as well as to bring attention to our national symbol. In particular, I also wanted to bring aspects of the Wau into the design. The curved nephrite jade and gold filigree represent the vines in the motif of the Wau. The tails of Tribute Wau move with the wearer, making it seem as if it was soaring through the azure sky.
FS: What are your future plans for this award winning design?
TW: I would like to bring Tribute Wau to more places around the globe to share our national symbol to more people.
FS: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?
TW: In total from concept to realization, and including travelling for research and production, it took about six months.
FS: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?
TW: I was very sad to learn that the tradition of Wau-making had virtually all but disappeared. I wanted to bring more attention to our national symbol and these thoughts moved both my heart and pencil.
FS: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?
TW: This is a new design not currently in use. I am looking to produce this design as well as other similar designs that are more accessible to the public, most likely by leasing.
FS: What made you design this particular type of work?
TW: This was part of the process of learning more about the country I live in. I realised that although I was born and raised in Malaysia, I spent most of my time in cities and did not understand enough about our own culture.
FS: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?
TW: We travelled around Malaysia to learn in much greater detail about the kites, and thanks to them I was able to gain inspiration about the design.
FS: Who is the target customer for his design?
TW: The target customer would be someone who appreciates cultures and symbols of Malaysia.
FS: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?
TW: While Tribute Wau is clearly a traditional Malaysian kite in shape, it blends Chinese culture through the use of non-traditional materials such as the nephrite jade centrepiece. In addition the reverse side of Tribute Wau employs fine filigree representing the vine motifs that is present in most kites. Tribute Wau can be appreciated from all angles.
FS: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?
TW: The name Tribute Wau pays homage to the traditional kite of Malaysia, as such it is a tribute, showing respect and admiration for an art that has been around for centuries.
FS: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?
TW: Apart from my usual hand drawing tools (color pencils, pencils etc.), and 3D software, there weren’t any unique tools used in this project.
FS: What is the most unique aspect of your design?
TW: The nephrite jade centrepiece is a variation from the traditional cultural aspect which is unique. As well, the reverse side of Tribute Wau shows off another different aspect of the wau.
FS: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?
TW: Tribute Wau was entirely handmade. The nephrite jade was carved by a master carver in China as it was delicate and required specific skills.
FS: What is the role of technology in this particular design?
TW: 3D software made it possible to quickly design organic shapes and rapidly prototype models which were then used to refine the design.
FS: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?
TW: Tribute Wau was mainly research focused. As traditional kites are a rarity in modern life, travel was necessary to the farther regions of Malaysia in order to get an up-close, detailed study of the kite’s construction, shapes, and designs. Several casual interviews (or more accurately, conversations) with the locals to the region yielded more historical information.
FS: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?
TW: The major challenge was getting the nephrite jade carved. We had to travel to China eventually in order to find a master carver skilled enough to take on the work. Even then, in the process, two pieces were unfortunately broken and we had to settle for a slight compromise in the carving.
FS: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?
TW: I wanted to show Tribute Wau, as a representation of our national symbol to as many people as possible. A’Design Award seemed to be ideal as it is the biggest international design competition.
FS: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?
TW: I gained valuable experience in collaborating internationally as well as learning new aspects about working with jade. In addition, communicating and working with jewellers from another country has been very enlightening.
FS: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
TW: I think we’ve covered just about everything. We would like to welcome any visitors to Malaysia to have a hands-on experience in making waus as well as visit the International Kite Festival for a truly unique experience.
FS: Thank you for providing us with this opportunity to interview you.
A' Design Award and Competitions grants rights to press members and bloggers to use parts of this interview. This interview is provided as it is; DesignPRWire and A' Design Award and Competitions cannot be held responsible for the answers given by participating designers.
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