My Internship In Taipei
01
03 Details of...
Work processes Before I departured...
LEARNING GOALS
02 Where I worked
THE COMPANY
05 04 How much I...
LEARNING
06 This is the...
CRITICAL REFLECTION
Talk about...
THE INTERNSHIP
CONTENT
Student name & student no.: Wong Ho Yeung / 15020075d Dates of internship: 4/7/2016 - 28/8/2016 Internship company/organisation: Even Workplace Supervisor & contact no.: Even Wu (+886-2- 8666-0120)
LEARNING GOALS In internship contract, I listed five learning objectives. The first one is learning skills of woodcraft. In polyu, I had not many opportunities to develop project with wood. There are many skills in handling wood like different joints’ types and polishing methods. I think it is good for learning those skills with professionals, beside, there are more machines and tools I can try to use during internship.
The second one is applying knowledges and abilities of design in real business. I learned a lots like practical skills and theoretical knowledges but there is one more step to apply them to a real market and business. I believe this sill is difficult to learn from books, it also can be learnt from watching and trying in a real business. The internship program is good to provide this opportunity to me to get close to the market and business.
The third learning objective I listed is cooperating with people and work in project. To launch a product, many people need to participate in the process. As a product designer, I may need to work with other designers, engineers, seniors, marketing managers, etc. In a company, I can have more opportunities to work with these people and learn to think in their direction.
The fourth thing I listed is improving communication skills. I think I have to improve it for better explaining my ideas to others. I faced some experiences before in poor communicational atmosphere, even the project can be finished but not feel happy can well cooperation in the process. Therefore, to me, I believe better communication is the first step to cooperate with someone.
The last thing I mentioned in the list is building confident in work and design. As a designer, we should have more confident to present our idea. Be confident can let others more believe in your ideas and designs.
Before I found my internship company, I asked myself what I like to do, what I like to try and what I like to learn in my internship. I am interested in learning craftsmanship because I want to try more in make product with different material and with my own hand. In last year, I did a lot of project with 3D cad building. Usually, I started building and developing 3D cad model after drawing some sketches. We judged and adjusted the form by looking the screen or 3D printed model. Even the final products are 3D printed in most of times. However, I believe the value of craftsmanship and think it is irreplaceable. Up to now, there is limits of 3D print and industrial production. As a designer, I need to get the balance between industrial and crafts products. Especially in modern design.
In the very early time, I already decided to finish my internship oversea. I had an experience of working in Hong Kong for 1 year before I went back to school. As this reason, I want to experience some things new. I found the company in taiwan and Europe, most of them are design firm or crafts workshop. Finally I got some replies and offers. I took the offer from Even because of some reasons and I will mention them later.
As I have to work oversea, more basic things I needed to prepare like booking house and flight tickets. Beside, I had to do some more researches on the company and read some books after wood craftsmanship before went to Taiwan, also, prepare my portfolio.
THE COMPANY My internship company is Even Studio. It is a woodworks handcrafted studio producing limited wood furnitures and housewares and selling online. Sometime, they also hold some workshop and join handcrafts market. Even, which means equal and fair. They believe everything on the planet should be treated equally. Based in Taiwan, think green, and being eco friendly, Even’s handcrafted woodworks show great environmental concerns.
To respect global environment, they use fine recycled wood and inject brand new life into it. To treasure every single material, there is no mass production but fully hand made efforts. All works are everyday furniture designed within art, simple but sophisticated. Even’s works have a touch of humor, a reminder of pure soul, and a magic power of healing. There is no doubt they could be your life long friends. Keeping Even’s faith in protecting the environment, with every handcrafted work accomplished, a newly planted tree grows on earth.
Even studio is located in Xindian District, New Taipei City. Even Wu, my workplace supervisor (and also the manager and founder) changed function to a old house. She made the bedroom to a office and restroom. The rest of places to workshop. Although the space is not ready large, all needed machines are there. I saw some machines that not in polyu workshop like planer, router, pneumatic grinder,etc.
As Even studio is a small company, there is no department in it. All staff have opportunity to do anythings. In production, we have to produce products already ordered and making some other products for handcrafts market. In design, we have to design some course for workshop, design new product, packaging and leaflet. At the end, we still have some daily duty like cleaning machines, watering, vacuuming for maintaining place.
There are two staffs working in Even Studio (not included Even), they are called Joe and Wilson. Joe focus more in marketing and Wilson focus more in producing, however, as I mentioned before, actually they needed to do everything and usually work together.
I am very happy can worked with them because they taught me a lot of things and helped me a lot in living in Taiwan.
n o s l i W J o n Joe athan V i c t o r Even Woody
WORK PROCESSES In these 8 weeks I worked in different projects and learnt a lot. Everyday, I wrote what things happens in my travel journal. And here are all things happened to me in internship.
WEEK ONE This is my first week in internship. When I first time went to the studio, Even and other colleagues introducted the machines to me. Even gave a daily duty to me, that is watering the plants. The most popular product in Even Studio is “THE FLAVOR OF MEMORY�. I had to do part of the production process, that is filing and polishing the surface of seat.
There is some process difficult do in studio, so I and Wilson went to National Taipei University of Education, the alma mater of Even, Joe and Wilson, used the machine there.
As sometime Even need to make product with woods from old furnitures. I and Victor needed to dismantle old products and took woods form them.
WEEK TWO In this week, I meainly keep focus on processing cookie chair. As the high quality request of surface finishing. Each chair is needed at least one and a half days to handle. In the week, I finished no more than five of them. I started to understand how patience is important in design and craft. sometime fast is not everything, quality is more important and valuable.
Even needed me to design a workshop for normal people with a course in few hours. Therefore I deisigned some wood products and draw some sketches for presenting to her.
WEEK THREE As preparing for the workshop, Even decided to put new product wood earphone holder and existed product cookie.
There was the other job to me, that was designing a package for chocolate chair and a new leaflet for exhibition. I spent a lot of time of it because I wnted to try some more special types of folding methods for leaflet.
WEEK FOUR & FIVE As there is large number of cookie’s charms needed in the market. I represented to handle the surface finish of semi-finished cookies in these two weeks mainly. It is a long time and hard job, however, I still enjoys with it. It felt good that I could made products by my own hand.
There is a day Wilson called me to go with him to another wood factory to do the planning process. We also brought some wood to there to merge them.
Before
After
WEEK SIX This week beside kept doing the cookie’s charms, I also needed to make some sample of leaflet in aomputer of comparing. And also there are another part of old wood I needed to handle.
WEEK SEVEN & EIGHT Because it is the time coming to the end, I told Even I wnated to try more things especially some skills that may be useful in my future. I and Wilson went back to University to process the old student desks and chairs. That is a good experience can visited workshop other than PolyU. In my opinion, The types of machines in this universuty are more than PolyU, some processes are difficult to do in PolyU but no problem in here.
Also, I had opportunity to participate some other productions, like “MAGICIAN’S RABBIT”
Even wanted me to draw the illustrations of products, therefore I spent some of time in these 2 weeks to do it.
And also I was responsible for add logo on package by heating.
THE INTERNSHIP I have different roles in studio in different time. I am worked as an assistant in company. Most of time I need to worked with other staffs and help them.For example, I Need to help Wilson to take woods to other company/ university to do some additional works. I worked as a crafter in production line. For example I needed to polish rough semi-finished products to Fine products. Also, I am worked as a designer when Even needed me to do some design for exhibitions or workshops.
Most of the time, I worked with staffs in studio. However, there is some time, as there is no the machine we needed in studio, we have to go out and do work in other place. At that time, I may needed to cooperate with other people, for example, school workers and student in National Taipei University of Education. Taiwan people are very nice and helpful, this is a very good experience when working with them. As we are people in different countries with different cultures, we also felt interested in each other's cultures and kept sharing during work.
LEARNING In those 8 weeks, I learned and got a lot from company. I did learn some machines for treating wood with their function and practical using methods. Some machines I actually know before, but I don't know how to use them well in procedures. My colleague showed me how to do different things with same machines. They told me even you got only one router, you can also do a lot things with wood. I also learn how to use sandpaper better. Of course I know how to use sandpaper before but my colleague told me a lot of tips to handle it better. There is about a week I needed to polish little rough wood cookies, because of the skills they tell, I did this job well with high efficiency.
REFLECTION In these 8 weeks, I have a good experiences in Taipei. There are many “first time� in my internship. First time I worked with foreigners. First time I worked oversea. First time I worked in a design studio. For sure, there are a lot of things I earned in the internship.
Firstly, I want to talk about skills and knowledges I learned in internship. As I had the chance to operate more machine than in School. Some forms I did not know how to do before I did now and I can plan the working process by myself with making some complexed forms. In internship, I learned how to use router and planer and table saw. Beside them, I knew more tools in woodworks and knew how to classify them like sets of burins and different rasps.
Only knowing the tools is far not enough, There are some tips on using them difficult to be learnt from books or self-learning. There is a short cut to get improve, learning from professionals. In my internship studio, there are three professional in studio can teach me so many things. And more imprtant is giving me opportunity to pratice.
Before my internship, I have not much experiences in woodworks, I did have a project before with wood up-cycling but I know the finishing is not very well.
This time I learned how to do woodworks fine and accurate. The effectiveness of production in my company is not very high, but they know how to add value in a product that make the selling price higher to cover the weak. I think I can concider the same things in the future in mass production.
Secondly, I wanted to talk about the attitude I learned in my internship. Before, I went back to school, I had worked outside as a product and graphic designer for one year. Thats mean I have some experiences in working in a company in Hong Kong. However, the internship experience have a lot of different to Hong Kong. Th e style of working of Taiwan People is much more relax than Hong Kong people but thay also can provide some product in really nice quality. I believe pressure is only one of motivations to be better but not the must. Taiwan people more care about life style and work-life balance. They only worked on how much they can do in one day. Not like Hong Kong worker, trying to do as much as possible things in one day. I feel I lilke the style in Taiwan More than in Hong Kong. I hope I can use this attitude to face my future challeges if it is possible.