To be a good designer you have to be a good problem solver. We couldn’t agree more on this point from Jesse Keith, New Zealand turned Singapore designer, who spoke at our latest Inspiration Session. As Owner/Design Director of Vivid Origin Ltd, Jesse themed his session: Global Designs Start from Humble Beginnings. He started out at Massey University; and since has worked in some of Asia Pacific’s most vibrant cities and alongside internationally regarded designers at Bang Design (Sydney), GE/Fitch (Singapore), and Haworth Furniture (Shanghai).

Currently based in Singapore, Jesse was in New Zealand for a visit home, and spoke to our group about what it takes to be a designer. First and foremost, he says, to be a designer you have to be a problem solver. He also finds it important to understand customer values, technology, engineering, production, and project life cycles, creating engagement with users, valuing simplicity, and discovering user insights.

Jesse shared some insight on what it’s like to work in China. He’s noticed a change in design approach there: young Western trained designers are challenging the status quo. One trend driven from this change is the idea of designing a product as a platform, where multiple products based on the same platform could be customized in their own way, much like how cars are produced.

He also mentioned the impact of the connected society, maintaining that China is very well connected with the Chinese social media platform WeChat out performing Facebook in many respects (See Jono’s blog Big Land, Big Ideas: Insights from China).

Jesse’s experience with consumer electronics, commercial furniture, domestic hardware, and bespoke environments led him to start his own company, Vivid Origin. Vivid Origin provides design and development services to clients throughout the APAC region. We wish Jesse well with his new venture. Exciting times ahead.

Check out Jesse’s presentation below, and view his portfolio online at www.jessekeith.com.