Flightcase 2015 showcase Hong Kong

FlightCase 2015 showcase

FlightCase committee | 2015 Study association i.d Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering Delft University of Technology Landbergstraat 15 | 2628 CE Delft www.id.tudelft.nl +31(0) 15 278 3012 FlightCase-svid@tudelft.nl Printed by Quantes Den Haag Graphic & Design Luca Baldini & Lodovico Marchesini

Hong Kong

FlightCase 2015 publication

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Flightcase yearly program organized by the study association the First impression of Hong of Kong’s faculty of IDEHong at theKong TU Delft. streets from central.

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foreword dear reader.

Words by Yvonne Gillis, chairwoman of FlightCase 2015.

THIS PUBLICATION TELLS THE STORY OF FLIGHTCASE 2015, a project in which a group of twenty-eight master students and two professors from the Industrial Design Faculty of TU Delft visited Hong Kong in July 2015 to collaborate and exchange knowledge with several companies.

In July 2015 a highly motivated group of students and professors of the IDE faculty went to Hong Kong. In three weeks they explored their capabilities as industrial design engineers and showed their added value in a professional international setting while immersing in a new culture and having fun. This publication provides information about the FlightCase study program undertaken by the students in which they worked on cases provided by Hong Kong based companies.

Last year in October 2014, after a successful FlightCase 2014, this question was asked to our committee: ‘Do you want to organize a trip to Hong Kong again?’ It felt like a rhetorical question. Of course, we would love to go to Hong Kong! The nine committee members were triggered by the promise of organizing a trip to this dynamic city, which provides a lot of opportunities for the young professional designer.

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FlightCase 2015 started in November 2014 with setting up acquisition, selection of participants and organization of the trip.

In April the FlightCase program started with the research phase in the Netherlands. During this phase we have done internal and external analysis. [This was the moment we met a new business culture and every day students become even more excited to go to Hong Kong]. The summer was the most exciting part, in Hong Kong we worked closely with the employees by organizing workshops in which we brainstormed about new product ideas or strategic solutions.

In October the committee started connecting with people from the network established by FlightCase 2014 to construct a FlightCase 2015. We have been in contact with a lot of people who helped us to make this fruitful experience happen. Therefore we would like to thank Mainetti, Lee Kee, Tai Sing and Yulutoys, who believed in the added value of our students. Secondly, Daan van Eijck, Ena VoĂťte and FlightCase 2014, who opened the doors for our students to experience Hong Kong. Furthermore, we also want to express our gratitude to Wilbert Willems and Eric Yim who connected us to the companies we had a phenomenal collaboration with. Thirdly, FlightCase would like to thank the executive board of Study association i.d for supporting this project. Last but not least, FlightCase wants to thank our professors Dirk Snelders and Annemiek van Boeijen for supporting us during the cases and finally Cees de Bont for the facilities offered in Hong Kong. We as committee are so proud of the results achieved by all extremely motivated FlightCase participants who worked so hard to let the companies benefit from our collaboration.

I’ll forever be grateful that we as Industrial Design students had the opportunity to experience working in Hong Kong to team-up with students from my own faculty and to get inspired by people on the other side of the world. I have learned a lot from everyone involved and I am happy for the unforgettable memories we created together.

Thank you and enjoy, Yvonne Gillis.

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table of content Introduction.

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Committee.

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Participants.

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Companies.

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Cases.

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Activities.

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Thanks.

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01 introduction

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Dirk Snelders is professor at the TU Delft and coordinator of the MSc in Strategic Product Design.

Annemiek van Boujen is assistant professor and co-writer of the renowned Delft Design Guide.

“travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness�

mark twain Words by Dirk Snelders and Annemiek van Boeijen

Nowadays, design students travel all over the globe, not only for adventure and fun, but also to learn. They travel to get inspired for new product ideas, to understand and connect to the people they design for. And they travel to understand about business, production, teamwork, and connect to people who make their design dreams come true.

With an ever-shrinking world where people from different cultures connect, attention to internationalization in education is key. Therefore, we are proud that our students take the initiative to yearly organize an international research trip called FlightCase. A trip organized by and for design students.

This booklet gives a picture of FlightCase 2015, in which a group of 28 master students - most of them Dutch, but also from Taiwan, Germany, Italy and Greece - from the three masters Integrated Product Design, Design for Interaction, and Strategic Product Design worked on various cases for four clients in Hong Kong - China. We were asked by the students to join FlightCase 2015 to represent the faculty and to coach their projects. And so we did.

After about 10 weeks of preparation and research in Delft we went to Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Dongguan to meet and work on new product ideas and business strategies for: Mainetti, a multinational company and largest producer of cloth hangers; Tai Sing, a Chinese production company for large brands of speakers and headsets; Lee Kee, producer, trader and consultant of zinc alloys and their applications in industry; and Yulu Toys, a Dutch start-up company. Doing projects for these companies was a great opportunity for our students to learn about production and anything that is involved to realize ideas.

Synchronizing design thinking with production thinking appeared to be sometimes

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new and challenging but for both, clients and students, it appeared to be very useful. The students were not only to learn something from the other disciplines and culture - they also showed a high motivation to give something back in return, and be of use to the clients. For example, an important concern of the production companies was the transition from a production company for various brands to a brand owner, producing products for their own brand. The students did their very best to find the most appropriate possibilities; design concepts and strategies, presented in various forms such as oral presentations, posters, video clips, workshops, mock-ups and reports.

The hard work was complemented with Karaoke, games, a night on the beach, and entertainment provided by the clients, who provided delicious food and drinks, and showed the students around. The Design School at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University proved to be another important factor in the success of the trip. They supported FlightCase by offering a location to work on the cases, and they opened their student dormitories to house the students. Finally, the Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI) and PMQ - the home to 100+ local young createpreneurs - showed their facilities, and the Dutch Consulate invited FlightCase at the residence, explaining what China offers to Dutch entrepreneurs.

As two professors from the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering at TU Delft it was our great pleasure to join FlightCase, and support the students’ research and design work. We were impressed by the degree of organization of students, and their drive to make FlightCase a success. At times we would find ourselves put forward as main representatives for FlightCase, introducing the students to the companies we worked for and the institutions we visited. It has been an honor that we could do this; we were as impressed by the capabilities and achievements of the students as the companies were, after the work was done.

We hope that this booklet will inspire new students to organize and/or join future FlightCases. We hope it will persuade clients to provide new cases, and staff to support this international FlightCase initiative. It is an adventure of hard work, super-fun, and a winning formula for all parties involved!

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Dirk Snelders & Annemiek van Boeijen

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02 the committee FlightCase yearly program organized by the study association of the faculty of IDE at the TU Delft.

Luca Baldini (Publicity), Kaj Looijse (Cases), Maaike van Selm (QQ’er), Evelin Habing (QQ’er), Chiel Borgonjen (Activities), Maggie Sheu (Treasurer), Eline Koelman (Secretary), Yvonne Gillis (Chairwoman), Lodovico Marchesini (Acquisition).

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Flightcase yearly program organized by the study association of the faculty of IDE at the TU Delft.

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03 the participants Flightcase yearly program organized by the study association of the faculty of IDE at the TU Delft.

19 students, 9 committee members and 2 professors joined FlightCase 2015 in Hong Kong. We collaborated with 4 companies in different fields. This picture was taken during the closure dinner at the Club of China, in the old Bank of China building.

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Flightcase yearly program organized by the study association of the faculty of IDE at the TU Delft.

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Kate

“Work hard play hard - our theme of the FlightCase trip really became true and I loved it!

As a DFI student (but also the IPD students), I learned a lot by applying strategic design methods on real business cases in a new cultural context. Having experienced the Asian culture for the first time, I can now understand the struggle of global companies in their effort to appeal to customers in the western as well as Asian markets. It also became clear to me that there is no strict separation between the three design fields taught at IDE, we all are designers working in a team towards the same goal – holistically.

During preparation the distance between the Netherlands and Hong Kong made communication with the companies challenging but when we got there, they all appreciated and contributed to the projects. I will remember them as friendly, personal hosts as they invited us to their favourite places and restaurants in Hong Kong.

Besides working on the cases, the committee did a great job with planning fun team activities and day-trips! My personal tip for future participants: Do not be afraid to explore the city by yourself or get lost in it - it’s all part of the experience!”

Anna

“Before we went to Hong Kong, I have never been outside Europe.

This culture-shock was huge.

Working with a company is always hard, but with FlightCase it was taken to a whole other level. Every evening I was thinking:”wouw, today I learned a lot more (by practise) than during a lot of lectures in Delft.

The whole program was stuffed with things to do, but further on in the trip we got more free-time to actually go out and see what Hong Kong had to offer.

I would recommend everyone to join FlightCase, because it gives you another perspective on designing.”

Tal

“Hong Kong is hot in many ways. The companies and their hot cases we had to work on, the exquisite choice of food, the random adventures in Long Kwai Fong. It all made me sweat so much. Even while standing still. Even in the shadows. But the times I stood still in the shadows were ironically overshadowed by everything else we had on our packed schedule.

Seriously though, it was great to spend those three weeks with the group we had and to work for the companies involved. The trip was intense, and there was always either work to do or things to see or food to eat or people to meet. The mix of working- and spending leisure time abroad made me feel rapidly integrating into the culture.

I will not claim to have ended up being entirely fluent in Cantonese; and there is probably a multitude of everyday customs that I have not yet mastered but #FlightCase15 definitely was a step in the right direction.

Thank you, FlightCase committee, for all the hard work you did to make this happen; Mainetti, Tai Sing and Yulu Toys for the interesting work and dialogue we had, and thank you Hong Kong for being such an amazing place.”

Chan Mi

“I’ve been in Hong Kong many times but had the best time with FlightCase. It was a whole new experience. Working close to the companies in Hong Kong, one of the most dynamic city in the world, and contributing to bring them to the next step was very exciting and meaningful. Of course there were many difficulties and fails that I had to face. However, soon I found these were the most valuable experience to grow up as a designer. Also, nothing can be sweeter than the moment when you toast a glass of cocktail with your buddies after successful finishing the cases. When I look back, I love the every single moment I spent with FlightCase. I am very happy and appreciate that I had a chance to participate in FlightCase 2015.”

Maarten

“While looking through the photos of the trip I searched a moment to write about. The further I scrolled down the more I got remembered on the amount of awesome events, parties and things we did. Thanks again FlightCase committee! I got to enjoy myself better along the trip since you get to know the others better and better and you build on friends around you to share the experiences with.”

Romy

“So many thoughts on what FlightCase 2015 made such a valuable and beautiful experience: The people I got to know, all so different but together forming a colorful unity in which everyone got to shine in its own way (during the cases as well as during our nights spend at Lan Kwai Fong).

The opportunity to work in a global business environment, learning from other work cultures and being able to apply your skills in this professional setting. And of course Hong Kong, the city in which you can choose to emerge yourself and get lost into a sea of people or hike your way through the most beautiful nature. In these weeks I found out that five hours of sleep a night is more than enough; the experience gave so much energy in return that it made me feel alive more than ever.”

Marloes

“My favourite work memory is: when went to Lee Kee the first day and were all nervous to find out how it would be, and then they were super nice and immediately took us to lunch and made us feel welcome My favourite party memory is when we were in soho and dirk and Annemiek were partying with us and there were all the crazy play backing artist in glittery outfits.”

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Martijn

“My favourite FC memory was on top of the old China bank. That feeling of calm and contentment after two cases was great! One of the learning experiences for me was how we added value for companies like Lee Kee and Mainetti. I did not expect these type of companies, their commitment and the fact that we could add value. Another learning experience was Yulu Toys.

They taught me just how different non-industrial designers can think, and the problems that arise with this wrong preconception on creativity.

Thank you for the cases and the cool trips!”

Maxe

“FC was a ‘whirlwind’ of challenging cultural, design, business and fun experiences with a Asian twist!

An inspiring reflection of our methodological design approach for problem solving and Dutch way of communication and interaction in business. Perfect preparation for future projects and design practice!”

Renske

“Travelling to Asia and really work for a company is a unique experience and I am really happy FlightCase offered me that opportunity. It was really insightful to experience working together with companies from a different cultural background. I found it hard to discover what their expectations were and consequently, whether I could meet their expectations. It was, for me, an eye opener and definitely a learning experience I hope to apply in the future. All in all, I think I learned a lot, not only from working with the companies in Hong Kong, but also collaborating with my fellow students from different master backgrounds. Especially when it was though to find out what the company really wanted.”

Elektra

“I believe that every designer upon this planet is looking passionately for inspiration...and inspiration is a pursuit of diversity, of scenes that you’ve never seen before, of sounds you’ve never heard before, of cultures you’ve never experienced before, of a type of living that is new for your standards. Hong Kong was a perfect place to look for all these! It is small but big, crowded but empty, industrial but domestic and as embellished but minimal as you wish.

As perfectly stated by a local, HK is like a microchip! So, without much thinking and without any doubts prepare your application, fill in your visa and join the next FlightCase to explore it yourself!”

Laura

“I can’t imagine there is a better way to get to know a crazy city like Hong Kong: Getting a taxi in your business outfit while you’re in the middle of a rain shower, exploring beautiful rooftop views and training your chopstick skills while having dinner with the CEO of a company. Most thanks to the 30 amazing, creative and lovely FlightCase nees and the cockroaches that took care of Evelien’s and my room in the Shenzhen weekend.”

Stefan

“FlightCase changed the way I approach design challenges. The trip gave me an insight in the importance of communication between designer and manufacturer. Not all can be summarised in numbers, formulas and emails. Sometimes you just need to get drunk with the CEO to have that moment of sincere communication which lays the foundation of creative cooperation. I’ve learned to seek more of those moments with the stakeholders in every project, not necessarily dependent on alcohol, but you know, if that is what it takes.”

Mesbah

“It was an unbelievable experience!

The people were great, the country was amazing, the companies were a privilege to work with and above all the FlightCase fellowship was awesome!”

Niels

“When I heard I was chosen to join FlightCase, I was super excited! I was looking forward to go to Asia, where I’ve always wanted to go and also to work with lots of cool new people for real Asian companies.

Many people ‘warned’ me for a culture shock beforehand, but I hardly ever experienced such a thing. On the contrary, I really enjoyed it all! Including the special foods. Also, I was really surprised by the common things we have, in Asia and in Europe, and how easy it was for me to fit in.

I really enjoyed working on the cases with very motivated other students AND companies, where I felt very welcome and appreciated.The three weeks were over too quickly and I really would do it again if I had the chance.”

Sebastian

“FlightCase was an amazing experience thanks to all the people that were involved. A great opportunity to work and see the Asian market from multiple points of view. But also to get acquainted with another culture and way of living, facilitating a burst out of the bubble of preconceptions you may have had of this ‘other world’ before visiting. The local people of the companies we worked for were very hospitable and made us feel welcome very fast. Although at times things could get stressful and the pressure was on, it was all worth it in the end. FlightCase sure was horizon broadening and I’m really glad I signed up.”

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Tim

“I did not expect anything to happen special, except that I was going to work hard for 3 weeks in a row, and get an amazing opportunity to do so. Being taken seriously, and therefore work like you’re worth it.

In reality it was just the same, working like your opinion counts, and proving it every second.

Though this time, I was in three amazing teams, together; motivated till the end, till deep into the night and early in the morning.

The work remained, though the motivation was gone soon, finding that our tasks as Innovators in such an eager country was one of the hardest things to do. The motivation to be a game changer, helping the client in every way and succeeding like I wanted was unreachable.

This made me realize why I was here, why I started as a designer.

And probably why we were hired, because we are all passionate to create!

Seeing that you can only succeed as a designer if you are passionate to succeed, motivation is not enough.

This aside, every day was a success, walking over highways, sailing to the city centre and having endless hiking through nature and culture.

There could not have been a better start than the first day Hike. Finding the beauty of the Island, before going into the concrete jungle.”

Luca

“I was really impressed by how smoothly and great the experience went. I learnt that in order to gain the most out of it you just have to be prepared to change, adapt and improvise. Exactly the opposite of what I am. So If the aim was to have personal grow, learn about your capabilities as designer and be immersed in a new culture, it was definitely a huge success. Re-do-it experience.”

Frida

“Hong Kong FlightCase was one crazy chaos but I loved it! Getting a glimpse of the Hong Kong business world was really interesting and teaching the Hong Kong people at different companies our way of thinking was a great experience. As a suggestion I would say: try to explore Hong Kong on your own pace as well, go eat some dumplings at weird local restaurants and go up a rooftop to let your breath be taken away by the best skyline I’ve ever seen!”

Javier

“Hey FlightCase, Hong Kong has been a wonderful experience to me.

The Hong Kong FlightCase is a multi experience covering different sides of the trip, ranging from being exposed to Hong Kong culture to the business side of being a consultant. FlightCase is definitely a trip with good memories and it will expose you to massive growth as a designer. The trip is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am glad I could have been part of it.”

Eline

“To be honest, I’m not a traveler.

Organising this trip gave me a chance to visit Asia for the first time in my life - and what an amazing experience it was! Through the hospitality of our partnering companies and hosts we received a unique introduction into Hong Kong and China and their inspiring culture. I am so grateful to have been a part of this project and have learned more than I could have wished for. I witnessed our collaboration between students and companies sparking creativity, optimism and motivation on both sides, which I hope we can all keep strong and nurture into new beautiful projects.

Thank you everyone involved for all the joy and energy that you put in, I will always hold the memory of FlightCase dear to my heart!”

Maaike

“FlightCase 2015 - it has been an experience. After eleven months of hard work and three amazing weeks in Hong Kong I have an infinite number of memories and it is impossible to decide which one is my favourite. What I can tell you is that I in Hong Kong I had the some of the most interesting taxi rides of my life, ‘one beer’ never really means ‘one beer’ and those three weeks passed in a blink of my eyes.

Everyone reading this, holding the beautiful publication created by the amazing committee, has his or her share in making FlightCase 2015 the success it has been and that is what I think makes this project so valuable. At the moment of writing I think it is almost exactly one year ago the FlightCase 2015 committee had its first meeting. We had no idea what we got ourselves into, we only knew it would be a great challenge. The committee, of who I am enormously proud, the participants, the companies, the professors and all the people that supported us in Delft, thank you all for FlightCase 2015.”

Kai

“I loved the entire trip, the cool people I have met, the work we did for great companies and the emerging in the high pace atmosphere of Hong Kong. The combination of designing for real companies in a four day pressure cooker and filling up your weekends with cool activities and great parties was the best. Thanks Hong Kong for the great experience, I will definitely see you again!”

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Evelien

“My year as the chair of Study association i.d was like a rollercoaster, some days fully planned with meetings and some days full of enthusiastic committee members organizing the greatest activities. For me it felt like an honor to become part of FlightCase, to finish my board-year with an exceptional looping. The trip was indeed exceptional; the city, the long days of hard work, the fancy dinners, the factory visits, the beach trip, the food and chopsticks, the cockroachexperience, and most of all the other twenty-nine amazing people who made it a journey to never forget.”

Chiel

“Whenever I think back to Hong Kong a smile appears on my face. It was lovely to experience the hospitality of the companies, I’ve never felt more welcome at a company than in Hong Kong. And I am amazed by the work everybody delivered even though it felt like we only had fun. Especially with the Yulutoys day where we made 12 posters, many sketches, very beautiful prototypes and a movie all in 1 day while having fun. If it wouldn’t cost me another 8 months, I would do again in a heartbeat.”

Lodovico

Maggie

Yvonne

For the companies, I hope we have given them some new design and ideas. If not, at least used design as a disruptor or a source for inspiration.

“I must be honest, Hong Kong and I have had previous relationship prior to this year yet somehow and in a lot of ways she still gave me the most ridiculously chaotic hard working hilarious memorable three weeks that I had the pleasure to be apart of. Watching everyone fully enjoy themselves In Hong Kong only made the previous 9 months sweeter knowing the hard work we put in as a committee, I am honestly so proud of them taking up the challenge and always pushing for more. My fondest memory would have to be two things; the good ol morning music that blasted from Chiel and my room every morning signifying the start to our day, and lastly the first 5 minutes after we arrived to our dormitory in Homantin where everyone in our block was just dancing in the hall all simultaneously realizing that the next three weeks would be ridiculous.”

“This study trip was a great adventure!

I can still remember the first morning; we were all dressed up, waiting for a taxi, excited and ignorant. It didn’t take long till we got used to traveling and working in Hong Kong. It was fascinating to see how every student stepped out their own comfort zone to explore a new culture and challenged themselves and other students during the whole project. Hong Kong you are amazing!”

“FlightCase 2015 was an ambitious trip with high goals. I set out on this trip with a vague idea to learn aquisition, writing proposals, to learn how work in a dutch-oriented culture, to explore a potential working country, and explore the Hong Kong design industry.

FlightCase 2015 has achieved each goal and more.The trip has allowed me to gain both personal confidence and life long friends. In the process, I learned about myself, what my limitations are and skills for being a better designer. Some of you may have seen my battles with money, as numbers definitely don’t come naturally, thus I am truly grateful for those who have supported me to the end.

This trip has pushed me to experience Case on Tour (a design trip around the etherlands to four different companies), is a connection to my current company for my master’s graduation project.

I believe, in the near future, and upon looking back, I will have found FlightCase 2015 a life transforming event.”

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04 the companies

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A total of four companies worked with us during July 2015. Three have gave us some reflections about the experience.

introduction special words Words by Paul Tai Regional Director, Mainetti Group.

FlightCase was an interesting combination of international business insights and China business. During the preparations and the four-day workshop, exchange of knowledge, ideas and culture were fully demonstrated between TU Delft Students and our local staff.

The programme was an excellent experience to engage the students to turn our ideas into action. They used the creative and organized “Delft Design� approaches to stimulate the minds of our staff and created an attractive catalogue for our new business project. All these new concepts generated from the discussions inspired our Business team to do further business planning and product development. The results were far beyond any of our expectations.

Last but not least, we were very much impressed by the creativity and the enthusiasm of the students. The trust established between our two organizations will give both parties the opportunity for future development from the earlier stages of product design.

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“The student teams gave Mainetti new perspectives on business opportunities and direction for the coming years.�

Words by Emily Chow, General Manager Sales & Marketing Mainetti (HK) Limited.

It was a great pleasure for Mainetti to collaborate with TU Delft University for the FlightCase 2015 Hong Kong study trip. The student teams gave Mainetti new perspectives on business opportunities and direction for the coming years. The project has also helped prepare Mainetti to enter into new territories such as B2B, B2C and C2B with great confidence.

During the four-day workshop at our Hong Kong office, the students demonstrated their passion and enthusiasm which greatly motivated everyone in the office. They helped Mainetti lay out the product road map and develop concepts for new business model planning. The brainstorm, conceptualization, and implementation sections gave our staff many new ideas and forward thinking for our business.

Mainetti also organized a Hong Kong city tour, Shenzhen factory visit, and Hong Kong Design Institute visit for the students to learn about Asian culture, Mainetti culture, and design culture in Asia. Moreover, through the interactions with students it was also a great opportunity for us to learn more about European culture.

We highly appreciate the efforts from the professor and students. I would highly recommend other corporations to engage with students as much as possible.

They will energize your team to develop more ideas and think outside the box!

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At the end of the Mainetti’s case.

All together at the PolyU in Kowloon, Hong Kong.

A student that participated and an employee of Mainetti talking about the case.

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“We look forward to collaborating with TU Delft again in the near future”

Words by Jessica Ho, Assistant Marketing Manager at Lee Kee Group.

It was an exciting and memorable experience to work with TU Delft students on the FlightCase project.

We were impressed by the students’ innovative ideas on how to brand our corporate from different perspectives. Lee Kee is looking for a new approach and creative ideas to our branding strategy to reflect our core values and to be well communicated with our stakeholders globally. A daunting challenge it was but the students had accomplished it in flying colors. Not only because of their excellent delivery of outcome, but the whole co-creation process was infused with energy, creative thinking, free flow of ideas, and most importantly, professionalism. We were inspired. We revisited our assumptions. And we came up with an innovative yet down to earth solution which couldn’t be achieved without the students’ youthful input.

We greatly appreciate the opportunity to participate in the FlightCase project. We have no reservation recommending such a positive and rewarding experience to our industry peers. We look forward to collaborating with TU Delft again in the near future!

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At the end of the Lee Kee’s case.

Half of the students worked on Lee Kee in Hong Kong.

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“My suggestion to the next year companies is to have faith in these young men and women, challenge them with some difficult topics.�

Words by Ronson Leung, Manager Business Development at Tai Sing.

The FlightCase project has been a very special experience for us. At the start, we really did not know what to expect from a group of European master students who do not have much background of our industry. But it turned out that it was precisely because of their inexperience with our particular industry, they were able to put things in a very refreshing perspective; breaking away from the thought process that we have already got too used to. Moreover, owing to their demographics, the students themselves constitute a very important target end-user group sought after by our branded customers. So their opinion is very valuable to us trying to understand this specific market segment.

Judging from the amount of research and preparatory work, we can see that the students have devoted a lot of effort into this project. Their output was of a very high quality, in terms of both content and organization. With that said, the one thing which produced the most lasting impression on us was, however, not their work, but their personalities. They were like a breeze to the mundane factory environment. Their cheerful characters have brighten up our days and brought us liveliness. The students were very articulate and expressive. They were all good communicators.

My suggestion to the next year companies is to the have faith in these young men and women, challenge them with some difficult topics. I am sure they are able to find creative and unfamiliar solutions, challenge us back with our routine mindset and methodologies.

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The end of Tai Sing’s case at their facilities in Dongguan.

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Jockey Club Innovation Tower, School of Design PolyU, Hong Kong.

05 the cases

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introduction young industries Words by Maggie Sheu.

The success of FlightCase 2015 can be dedicated to Hong Kong Young Industrialists Council (HKYIC) and Cees de Bont, Wilbert Willems, Daan van Eijk, Eric Yim. This council is composed of young companies within Hong Kong, awarded as ‘model’ companies or innovative leaders in their industry.

Three companies, Tai Sing, Mainetti, and Lee Kee, of the four were part of the Young Industries Council. These companies have strong background and knowhow, while willingly open to new methodologies brought by student from the Technical University of Delft.

Together FlightCase participants experienced a memorable gathering where the east meets the west, “the lifetime experience” CEO dinner at the China Club: a beautiful place to finalize our collaboration after working with them.

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Kowloon, Hong Kong.

Flightcase yearly program organized by the study association of the faculty of IDE at the TU Delft.

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a zoom in a case: “The experience was worthy and unforgettable” Words by Elektra Safari, Reporter Group A2: Elektra Case: Mainetti A case with an Italian hint: Mainetti.

The kick off of FlightCase 2015 starts with 30 highly motivated IDE’ers almost ready to explore the crazy heart of the main ‘design hub’ in Asia, the city of Hong Kong. Among those was our group of 8, with Joeri, our case leader that later left his place to Tal, the leader’s “buddy” Mesbah, Evelien, Yvonne, Kaj, Sebastian and Elektra. All still unfamiliar with what is going to follow soon after our arrival in the city.

The first lecture started at 13.00 a.m. on a rainy endless Wednesday at the university. Busy day, moody weather, difficult hour. Not everyone was on time, however the tiny hall in 3ME was always full. Today’s lecture is about introducing the participants to the scope of this whole trip but also to the first and most important case we had to work through, the case of “shaping fashion”, specifically that of Mainetti. How can you approach a case that involves a company characterized as “the epitome of a world wide business”? How to do it just with your junior design skills? What can such a company expect from us and, in turn, what can we provide them with? How can we address their case successfully, understand their real desires and goals and of course: how can we offer value to their existing expertise and business? Lots of similar questions were raised in our minds as designers that needed a slightly more professional approach than what our experience has taught us so far. Before departing, we were as prepared as someone can be after analysing a new case, coming up with a number of satisfying concepts and knowing little about the people he is working for as a result of a bunch of Skype meetings. And that to experience soon after arrival that all his plans have to be altered to meet the reality of the case. Despite the challenges we were set in motion to figure out during this collaboration, we were lucky to deal with a crowd of Chinese employees much more friendly, open, pleasant and organised than we initially thought! The experience was worthy and unforgettable I would say, and I believe I speak for the rest of the FlightCase participants. From the joined trip around fun parks and museums in Hong Kong to the unlimited cups of hot chocolate and the Pizza Hut lunch around a conference table, everything was there to make us want to find a job for Mainetti later on. Just perfect. In turn we still hope to have delivered our best and added some value to the lovely people of the hanger’s world!

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first case mainetti Words by Maggie Sheu and Eline Koelman.

Before Research Phase.

Before the research phase, Mainetti worked closely with the FlightCase committee members to create a design brief addressing Mainetti’s needs while at the same time open enough to give students enough space for innovation.

Research Phase.

During this phase, all the participants spent time analyzing Mainetti. Mainetti is the leading clothing hanger company. It has more than 50 years history in the hanger industry, with a main focus on Garment on Hanger (GOH) in business to business (B2B) retail. During FlightCase we have worked closely together with Asia’s regional director Paul Tai and his team in Hong Kong. Each Wednesday Morning, all four case leaders would get up early to skype with Emily Chow, Mainetti Asia’s general manager sales & marketing.

Day 0.

Even before the four case days, Mainetti organized a factory visit for the FlightCase participants to gain insight in Mainetti’s strenghts and core activities.

We are grateful for Maintti for giving a bonding experience with Hong Kong through an amazing tour of Hong Kong Island: taking us up the longest escalator, historical ferris wheel, small traditional alleys into beautiful temples and

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Team A1 Case leader: Marloes Koenraads Luca Baldini Martijn ten Kate Stefan van der Heijde Anna Sneijdoodt Eline Koelman Niels Lie Team A2 Case leader: Tal Amram Kaj Looijse Elektra Safari Sebastian Cornelje Mesbah Sabur Yvonne Gillis Evelin Habing Team A3 Case leader: Laura Koot Maggie Sheu Maarten Zoet Javier Rosales Chiel Borgonjen Maxe Van Heeswijk Kathrin Hoefer Team A4 Case leader: Romy Buquet Renske van de Berg Timothy Jager Frida van Muiswinkel Lodovico Marchesini Chan Mi Kim Maaike van Selm

introducing us with traditional Hong Kong food.

A visit to the Hong Kong Design Institute to learn about their educational programme and practices allowed us to reflect upon the resources and difference in design approach.

Day 1.

During the Hong Kong phase, several activities were organised by and undertaken together with Mainetti. To begin our official collaboration, small presentations from each group were given to the Mainetti managers. The first two days were spent mainly working with Mainetti staff in their Hong Kong headquarters, while the remaining two days were spent working in our workspace at Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU).

Day 2.

Mainetti provided us with post-its, markers, posters and they, in return, experienced a series of creative facilitation session on branding, brainstorming and exploring their views on potential customers. This finally allowed them to view their saturated industry in a new light. Each group was divided in their personal room. Most groups conducted a creative facilitation session with Mainetti employees. These sessions, along with the research, became the basis for further design.

Day 4.

On the last day, many of the Mainetti staff including Mainetti’s regional manager for Asia, Paul Tai and all FlightCase participants gathered on the top floor of Hong Kong PolyU’s Jockey Club Innovation Tower to present our final results. This case allowed us to learn how a mature company keeps on top of the market, and was greatly inspired by Paul Tai’s insights and feedback. FlightCase participants were energized and motivated by the open friendliness of Mainetti and the realness in professional sense of the experience. We hope we also brought new insights and inspiration from a designer’s perspective to Mainetti!

Reflection.

We learned a lot from Mainetti, not only as a company, but also culturally.

Everyone was very open and hospitable, with a lot of positive energy from both sides of the collaboration.

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A student presenting the final results of Mainetti’s case at the PolyU.

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second case lee kee Words by Kaj Looijse.

Introduction.

Lee Kee group was the first case in Hong Kong. After only two days acclimatizing to the Hong Kong atmosphere it was time to get to work at Lee Kee Group, a Hong Kongese family business founded in 1947. They are a raw metal supplier/ consultant that is specialized in Zinc and Aluminum alloys. They supply the metals to manufacturers that will create products for brand owners. With two groups of 7 students and one professor we helped Lee Kee Group with creating a branding strategy that is coherent with these ambitions.

Research phase in Delft.

In the research phase we analysed Lee Kee Group internally and externally to get a broader understanding of the company’s brand and market they are operating in. A report summarizing the most important insights was delivered to the company.

Teams.

The Design phase in Hong Kong consisted of four days in which both groups separately created a branding strategy. Lee Kee Group arranged a very inspirational space at their headquarters where the groups could work, brainstorm and, of course, take an occasional afternoon nap.

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Tem B1 Case leader: Marteen Zoet Lodovico Marchesini Maaike van Selm Laura Koot Marloes Koenraads Kaj Looijse Frida van Muiswinkel

Designing phase in Hong Kong

Team B2 Case leader: Martijn ten Kate Kathrin Hoefer Niels Lie Maggie Sheu Romy Buquet Mesbah Sabur Sebastian Cornelje

Day 2.

The second day the groups prepared creative sessions with the employees, which helped enormously with creating a common understanding of Lee Kee Group and their values. In the afternoon there was a guided tour through the factory where the different alloys Lee Kee Groups sells are produced.

Day 1.

The first day we were welcomed at Lee Kee by the CEO Clara Chan and Jessica Ho. Clara gave a great presentation about Lee kee. After that the two groups presented their insights from the research phase. After an entire morning of presentations and fruitful discussions, Lee Kee Group took us out for lunch in a nice traditional Chinese restaurant.

Day 3.

The third day is where all the extra information the groups gathered through the sessions and the research got translated into the proposed branding strategy. It was a long and productive day which started at Lee Kee Group and ended late in the evening at the cafeteria of Homantin Halls.

Day 4.

The last day the groups were hectically finishing and practicing the presentations.

In the afternoon the two case leaders Maarten and Martijn presented the work of the groups to a delegation of Lee Kee Group employees and Clara Chan. The presentations were well received with champagne and some nice words of Clara Chan.

Reflections.

We are very thankful for Lee Kee Group’s hospitality and the enthusiasm, which made it a great experience for everyone. It really motivated the students to work very hard for a great result. In particular we would like to thank Clara Chan and Jessica Ho, without you this would not have been possible!programme and practices allowed us to reflect upon the resources and difference in design approach.

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At Lee Kee during the days of the case.

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third case tai sing Words by Luca Baldini.

Introduction.

Tai Sing is one of the most important manufacturers in China. It produces products for different brands, and it is highly specialized in headphones, headset and speakers products. It was founded in 1990, and it has an important history in this field, always being ahead in the latest engineering manufacturing and testing procedures. The FlightCase team worked closely with mr. Fung Chan, the managing director of Tai Sing, mr. Ronson Leung, the business development director and miss Kasey Wong, assistant of mr. Fung Chan.

Research phase in Delft.

The research phase in Delft consisted of three weeks of extensive research and development of the brief given to the students. The brief was designed by two committee members, Luca Baldini and Yvonne Gillis, together with Tai Sing. The research phase in Delft was comprised of trends analysis, customer research and future scenario creation. At the end of the research phase two reports were sent to Tai Sing, one per group.

Teams.

The first team (team A) had a focus on the strategic side, considering the expertise and experience of Tai Sing in dealing with different customers simultaneously. The second team (team B) researched more the product side, wherein the engineering

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Team B3 Case leader: Maxe Van Heeswijk Luca Baldini Stefan van der Heijde Anna Sneijdoodt Yvonne Gillis Chan Mi Kim Elektra Safari Team B4 Case leader: Timothy Jager Renske van de Berg Eline Koelman Evelin Habing Javier Rosales Chiel Borgonjen Tal Almarn

knowledge and background of Tai Sing was taken into account. The methods used during the research phase are basedon the Delft Design Guide, of which Annemiek van Boeijen was co-writer. The most used ones were the persona creation, the trends analysis, the SWOT analysis, the internal and external company analysis and the customer journey.

Designing phase in Hong Kong Day 1.

During the first day FlightCase hosted Tai Sing’s people at the School of Design of the Polytechnical University of Hong Kong. All morning and afternoon was spent to present and discuss the findings of the research phase from both groups.

A first attempt was made to align the design thinking mindset and the engineering one. At the end of the first day the direction was established of the workshop days in China.

Day 2.

The second day the students worked at the PolyU in Hong Kong, preparing the co-creation session and creative workshop to be hosted in Dongguan the following day. The two groups were mixed according to the specialities of each person, in order to make the best out of it. Two workshops were designed for Tai Sing employees, both for unfolding ideas and to show how to conduct creative sessions within the company.

Day 3.

Early in the morning a bus came to pick up the students from the PolyU dormitory.

It took them to the border with China, direction: Dongguan. Once arrived at the factory, the students had a tour in order to gain more insights on how the manufacturing processes work. Later in the afternoon two sessions of about 2 hours and an half duration were conducted by the students together with the employees from Tai Sing.

Day 4.

The last day the students worked in group to sum up and finalize the tools for Tai Sing. Afterwards a session of presentations and discussions was hosted at Tai Sing manufacturing plants. The final deliverables were movies, sets of tools and a booklet that described and explained the tools used and how to apply them in the future without the help of FlightCase.

Reflection.

The collaboration was fruitful and inspiring for both parties. Students had the chance to come closer to the manufacturing world and processes of the biggest manufacturing country in the world, China. The clash between design thinking and engineering thinking was useful to start understanding the different perspectives coming from the two sides of designing. The result was a set of tools designed for Tai Sing to inspire and to trigger its employees, together with a final report where the results of both teams were combined. The Dongguan experience was also out of the ordinary and students had the possibilities to talk and share opinions and way of working not solely with a different culture but also with a different working mindset. All of this wouldn’t be possible without Kasey Wong’s support and the inspiring feedbacks from Ronson Leung and Fung Chan. We would like to thank them all.

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Tai Sing factory visit in Dongguan.

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Tai Sing and the TU Delft students working on the case at the PolyU.

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fourth case yulu toys Team C1 Case leader: Mesbah Sabur Luca Baldini Martijn ten Kate Tim Jager Yvonne Laura Koot Evelien Habing Team C2 Case leader: Niels Lie Kaj Looijse Romy Buquet Javier Rosales Marloes Koenraads Eline Koelman Maxe van Heeswijk Team C3 Case leader: Anna Sneijdoodt Maggie Sheu Maarten Zoet Sebastian Cornelje Frida van Muiswinkel Lodovico Marchesini Kathrin Höfer Team C4 Case leader: Chan Mi Kim Renske van den Berge Elektra Safari Tal Amram Stefan van der Heijden Chiel Borgonjen Maaike van Selm

Yulutoys was the last case of the FlightCase trip. The company was founded in the Netherlands, but is now located in Hong Kong. The company is owned by Jochem and Thijmen, two Dutchmen with a business background. The case didn’t have a research phase in Delft but went straight to a brainstorm and design case in Delft and Hong Kong.

The kickoff of the case was a lecture of Matthieu Gielen, an assistant professor with the specialization of design for children’s play and Participation of children in design: contextmapping techniques. He gave us the insight in how a child perceives the world and how to design for this.

The next activity of Yulutoys was a workshop from Maarten Zinkstok from SunIdee.

This was a general workshop on creative facilitation with Yulutoys as example case. During the cases of Tai Sing and Lee Kee, the groups from Yulutoys came together to work out some ideas and continue on the possible new toys. The toys designed in this case had a high chance of market implementation.

In Hong Kong all the products were finished for the presentation. We created an exhibition with twelve concepts, where each concept had a working prototype and a poster with explanation of the play pattern, sketches and computer models.

The presentation started with a movie of the design process for Yulutoys, and continued with twelve short presentations and a demonstration of the concepts.

The Yulutoys case went very well. In the beginning the case leaders had established a good relationship with the company. And during the case Yulutoys provided us with a lot of feedback and steered us in the direction they wanted.

The last day in Hong Kong, when the time pressure was high, the group worked as a well oiled machine. As we are writing this, a couple of toys are in the process of production which is the best compliment a designer can get. We want to thank Yulutoys for the opportunity to design for them and inviting us to Hong Kong.

Words by Chiel Borgonjen.

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Monastery of 1000 Buddhas, New Territories, Hong Kong.

06 the activities

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introduction Words by Lodovico Marchesini.

Working hard is surely what we accomplished during our time in Hong Kong, but all work and no play is something we designers simply do not understand.

Hong Kong provided us with the largest playground for us to explore in, whether it was from sipping cocktails on skyscrapers that touched the sky to hiking through paths through the densest jungles to reach an isolated paradise beach. We fully emerged ourselves in the culture, visiting temples, tasting the local delicacies, and truly transforming from your ordinary Hong Kong visitor to a bonafide Hong Kong resident.

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Dragon’s back trail, Hong Kong island

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dragon’s back Words by Lodovico Marchesini.

FlightCase 2015 spared no time diving into Hong Kong’s nature, to be specific no less than 10 hours after stepping of the plane, by conquering the Dragon Back Hiking Trail. We were jetlagged, many not having slept for more than 4 hours, but our excitement and adrenaline were at full throttle. We began our ascent of the trail, waterbottles in hand for we would surely need them with the beating rays of the sun bearing down our back. We were greeted with spectacular views of the backside of Hong Kong Island and the vast expansiveness of the nature that surrounded us. It was surreal to believe we were not only in Hong Kong but already on top of it, altitude wise. As we continued the hike we reached our reward of a fine local meal and kickoff speech by our chairwoman, after which we all ran sprinting, throwing all our belongings to the ground, towards the ocean at Big Wave Beach to cool ourselves down and truly foresee on how ridiculous these next few weeks would be.

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Mainetti, one of the company involved in FlightCase took the students around Hong Kong for a day to discover together the city.

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mainetti tour Words by Luca Baldini.

Sunday the 12th of July we met Mainetti’s crew at the Star Ferry Pier in Kowloon.

It was 39 degrees Celsius, humid and super hot. We landed in Hong Kong only few days before. But indeed we had an amazing in-depth experience of the city.

Thanks to the enthusiasm of Mainetti’s people we enjoyed every minute of the tour, starting from the Pier up to a nice lunch in a typical Chinese restaurant.

Once we disembarked at the Pier on Hong Kong island, we had a private tour at the Maritime museum, where the history of Hong Kong was explained to us by expert guides. Afterwards we had an amazing view of the whole city and the archipelago of Hong Kong from Hong Kong’s ferris wheel. After refreshing a bit in the luxurious shopping mall next to Hong Kong central station, we moved all together to the Market and finally to the Man Mo temple, where we had the chance to see one of the oldest temples in Hong Kong. The sacrality and the authenticity of the place was outstanding. The dinner went from duck dishes to jellyfish dishes, we could taste all the specialities of Hong Kong and we all enjoyed it a lot. It was also the same restaurant that we picked for the final dinner with all the participants and the committee. Indeed we were delighted by it.

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shenzhen Words by Maaike van Selm.

It seemed like an ordinary Thursday night in Shenzhen, local people were having a relaxed drink in the SoHo bar, but then the FlightCasers arrived. After a week of cases in two different cities, it was time for a night all together full of cocktails, dancing and celebrating Yvonne’s 23rd birthday. The FlightCasers shared their dance moves and enthusiasm with all those who were present in the Soho Bar and it was a great night. The next day Mainetti gave FlightCase a tour through their factory, as introduction for the Mainetti-case-week. After a delicious lunch the Mainetti-bus brought us to the factory in Shenzhen where everyone was amazed by the size and the output of the mass-production-factory. Divided in the four case-groups we were led through the different parts of the factory. The production hall, the quality control department, the office and the facilities for the employees. This all was a great experience and it was very interesting to see what a mass-production factory in China actually looks like and how it feels to walk around in it. Especially the amount of injection moulding machines was insane, we had never seen so many in one hall before. After the bus dropped us off at our hotel again and it was time to refresh, to take a nap and to go to the amazing food-hall we discovered on Thursday night. The food-hall is a two-floor building full of small stands that sell delicious, weird and never-seen food. Friday night everyone was relaxing and visiting the SPA of the hotel.

On Saturday morning there was time to sleep in or explore Shenzhen, and in the afternoon a mini-version of the Dutch TV-show ‘Wie is de Mol’ was held.

The group was divided in seven small groups and there where two ‘mole’s’. The mission was to find Evelien and Maaike with a couple of hints. They were hidden somewhere in Shenzhen and the group who would find them first would win.

This task seemed a lot harder than expected but in the end Evelien and Maaike were found and the whole group had a nice dinner together at a restaurant in the OCT-Loft. After this delicious meal we went to a real Chinese Karaoke bar to complete our China-experience. The Karaoke bar was (of course) in a very big building with a lobby full of gold and marmermarble, and an elevator with one button to the right floor. At the moment you ‘enter’ the bar there is a small ‘shop’ where you can buy beer, snacks and spirits and then the staff will lead you to your very own karaoke room! So, we had a room filled with 30 people, a karaoke set, beers and snacks and so much fun till three in the night. Some of the highlights: Chan Mmi’s version of Wuppa ‘Gangam style’, a duet performed by Annemiek and Dirk, the boys-concert and the all girl version of ‘Ggirls just wanna have fun’.

Sunday morning there was time for some shopping and exploring of the city and at the end of the afternoon everyone left Shenzhen. Some by taxi, some by public transport but at the end of the day we were all back in the Homantin Halls, full of China-experiences.

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Border between China and Hong Kong.

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Hong Kong Design Institute

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Hong Kong design institute Words by Luca Baldini.

Friday July 24th we were literally embraced by the amazing building designed by the French architecture firm Coldefy & Associés. The white structure against the blue sky of Hong Kong was a pleasure for the eyes. Again we were accompanied by the enthusiastic team of Mainetti, to which we own most of our non-touristic insights of Hong Kong. After having an extensive introduction of the Hong Kong Design Institute from its professors and coordinators, Dirk and Annemiek presented the Industrial Design Engineering faculty and explained how the FlightCase collaboration works. Mainetti’s people together with the HKDI’s coordinator took us around the facilities and the laboratories of the HKDI. We shared our design thinking approach with some of the students from the HKDI who were also present that day. It was a nice experience and we could have a closer look at the different approach that Hong Kong has towards design. It has the perfect end, together with the CEO dinner that we had the night before in the amazing Old Bank of China building. Thanks to all the effort that the collaborating company and Mainetti’s team put in showing us the wonders of Hong Kong, its culture, its busy streets, its overcrowded public spaces, its way of designing, its way of working. We will never forget it.

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At Ho Man Tin beach, New Territories, Hong Kong.

ho man tin Words by Lodovico Marchesini.

As the trip’s final days are ticking away and there are no more cases to be done, what better way to leave Hong Kong then an all out camping trip to one of the most isolated paradises that exists in Hong Kong? Of course, in order for this beach to be isolated we would have to hike through dense jungles and beautiful outlooks to reach it. For us this would be no problem as we have already conquered the dragon’s back trail, so we strapped on our shoes, threw our backpacks over our shoulders and headed out on our journey. The bus dropped us off at our starting point seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Nevertheless we began our climb. All was well, the sun shined, the air was fresh and crisp, and there was sense of rush and excitement to reach our destination. After a few intense altitude climbs that left us catching our breath we reached our destination!

Before our eyes was a friendly cafe in which the owner gladly welcomed us with open arms and provided us with “refreshments”. We threw our stuff down and enjoyed frolicking on the beach, blowing up our inflatables, taking selfies, but most of all just letting it all soak in. As the sun began the lower on the other side of the beach a new development was being built, one that would be known as Camp FlightCase consisting of numerous camping tents forming a circle. As the sun was gone we all quickly headed to the cafe to enjoy the most enormous barbecue any of us had ever seen. There was steak, chicken, king prawns, and veggies galore all prepared by FlightCase’s very own master BBQ chefs. All was good with our tummy’s full and smiles on our faces that reached from cheek to

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cheek. We finished the night by dancing around a campfire, enjoying s’mores and refreshments while also taking the occasional dip in the ocean simply because we could. The next morning we all awoke groggy, some more than others, yet still pleased with where we were: it’s not bad waking up to the ocean waves. As we gathered our belongings, people began to wonder whether we had to hike all the way back. Nevertheless two speedboats came to our rescue and as we climbed on we tearfully waved goodbye to our beach paradise. As we sped to Sai Kung in our speedboats, not a single participant could hide the smile on their face. It truly was a fitting end to such a memorable and life changing experience.

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thanks

Many people and many institutions helped us to organize this trip. We would like to thank the TU Delft, the Study association i.d, the professors and the PolyU. We would like to thank the students that had faith in us organizing the trip, without them nothing would have happened. We want to thank the companies, Mainetti, Lee Kee and Tai Sing, for their inspiring works and teaching. We would like to thank Hong Kong for having hosted and welcomed us so softly and so wonderfully.

The FlightCase-Committee

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FlightCase 2015 Hong Kong publication