C o m p lete Po r tf o l i o

www. m a i m er g i l i . co m
about
me
My name is Mai Pakaporn Teadtulkitikul
and I was born in Bangkok, but moved to
Germany when I was 3 years old and lived
there for over 14 years. Ever since, I have
moved over 10 times and speak 5
languages including Thai, German, French
and Spanish.
With keen interests across design,
literature and fine arts, I seek to apply my
diverse experiences to my design work and
collaborate multi-disciplinarily. Confident
and self-sufficient, I can apply myself to
every environment.
experience

2012
DEGE.KOMMUNI KATI ON
I n t er n sh i p at adver ti si n g ag en cy
2014
ART EX H I BI TI ON
Exh i b i ti o n o f wo rk an d f un dr ai si n g
2015
C H EMI S TRY FORM
I n t er n sh i p at desi g n co n sul t an cy C h emi str y
2016
S TAFFAN H OL M WORKS H OP
Wo o d wo r k i n g wo r k s h o p wi th S t a f f a n H o l m
2017
I n t er n at i o n al Fur n i ture Fai r S i n g ap o re
Exh i b i ti o n C r ew f o r Nat h an Yo n g Desi g n

e d u cat i o n

2009-2012
Johannes Ke pler Gymnasium Reutling en, Ger many
Ger man H i g h sch o o l Di p l o ma (Ab i tur)
2012-2014
KI S I n te r n ati o n al S ch o o l Ban g ko k, T h ai l an d
I n t er n at i o n al Bacc aul aureate (I B Di p l o ma)
2014-2017
L AS AL L E C o l l e g e o f th e Ar ts, S i n g ap o re
(B a ch el o r o f A r ts i n Pr o d u ct D es i g n )
personal strengths

social skills
+ ca n a d a p t to d i f f er en t env i r o n m en ts
+ ta l k a tive a n d n o t a f r a i d o f p u b l i c s p e a k i n g
+ g ood communicator and friendly
+ tea m wo r k a n d l ea d er s h i p s k i l l s
+ g ood org anization, job distr ibution and time
ma na g em ent

personal
+ h obbys inclu d e travel l i n g, co o k i n g a n d wri t i ng
+ music, concer ts and fine ar ts (painting)
+ g ood knowledg e backg round because I lived in
m a ny pla ces
+ als o int er es ted i n p s ych o l o g y, m a rketi n g a n d h i sto r y
+ T s ha pe per s on a l i ty
+ I ca n cook a nd wo u l d a l ways b ri n g fo o d to the o f f i ce

SOFTWARE L A N G U AG E S

RHINOCEROS GERMAN
ALIAS ENGLISH
K E YS H O T THAI
PHOTOSHOP FRENCH
I L L U S T R AT O R S PA N I S H
INDESIGN
G R A D U AT E
MANIFESTO

As a p r o d u c t d e s i g n e r , I p l e d g e t o m a k e t h i n g s
h a p p e n a n d n o t j u s t ta l k a b o u t t h e m , t o c o m p e t e
but not condescend, to question everything but
t r u s t m y s e l f , t o w o r k o n p r o j e c t s t h at a r e n t o n l y

u s e f u l b u t g o o d fo r t h e w o r l d .

E ve r y pr od u ct wi l l ref l ect a p i ece o f me, I am l uck y to h ave h ad th e o p p o r tun i ty to

how I g r ew u p i n d i fferen t co u n tr i es, study an d do wh at I wan t, wi th o ut an yb o dy
s u r r ou nd ed by d i fferen t p eo p l e wi th stan di n g i n my way. I am h er e, at t h i s
d if f er ent va l u es. B u t wi th ever y ci ty I l ef t p o i n t, o ut o f my own wi l l . H owever, th ere
a nd ever y p ers o n I g o t to k n ow, I to o k a are so man y tal en te d p ro f essi o n al s o ut
s ma ll piece a n d en r i ch ed mys el f. H en ce, I th e r e th a t I ca n n o t a n d n ever wi l l r eg a r d
wa n t my p e r s o n a l i ty to co n tr i b u te t o th e myself as better than anyone else in this
r ichnes s of th e p ro d u ct d es i gn i n d u s tr y. i n dustr y. I h ave th e p assi o n , creativi ty an d
E ve r y per s o n i s d i fferen t a n d s o s h o u l d kn owl edg e to succeed, b ut o th ers do as
ever y p r o d u ct b e th a t i s cr ea t ed by wel l . M o s t i m p o r ta n tl y th o u g h , d es i g n i s
ind ivid u a ls. I ca n o ffer a b ro a d a n d d ee p n o t a di sc i p l i n e o f an i n divi dual , i t i s o n e
u nd er s ta nd i n g o f my ch o s en fi el d a n d u se o f team wo rk. W h en we wo rk to g eth er,
my knowledg e to share values and h umb l y, th e p ower o f th e f uture may
co n tr i b u te to a s u s ta i n a b l e f u tu r e. l i teral l y l i e i n o ur h an ds.
+ D E S I G N O N LY I F I T M A K E S S E N S E
T he world is full of things that were
cr ea ted b eca u s e o f wa n ts, b u t n o t
n eed s. D es i gn o nl y i f i t co n tri b utes to
o u r wo rl d a n d h el p s sustai n o ur f uture.

+ K E E P YO U R C L I E N T S
SUCCESS IN MIND
D es i gn i s n o t o bj ective an d ever yb o dy
h a s a d i fferen t taste. W h ate ver i t takes,
th i n k a b o u t th e i m p a cts o f yo u r wo r k
a n d h ow m ea n i n g f ul i t w i l l b e to yo ur
cl i en ts f u tu r e.

+ D E S I G N W I T H BA L A N C E
To o mu ch o r to o l i ttl e o f s o m eth i n g i s
n ever to o g o o d , so al ways th i n k ab o ut
bal an ce.

+ DONT CHANGE THE PRODUCT,

C H A N G E T H E M E S S AG E
S o m eti m es, ch a ng i n g th e p ro duct i s n o t
en o u g h b u t wh a t ca n a ctu a l l y cr ea te
ch a n g e i s to i n f l u en ce p eo p l es
mi n dset.
BA D H A B I T S C H A I R
2016

T he B a d H a b i ts C h a i r i s i n s p i r ed by th e
inf a mo u s ch a i r m a n y o f u s u s e to th row o ur
cl o th es o n . I a s ked mys el f : W hy d o we d o th a t
in the fi r s t p l a ce? A re we j u s t i n a h ur r y, o r
la zy? Ol d h a b i ts a re d i ffi cu l t to d ef eat, so I
d ecid ed to d es i gn a ch a i r to s er ve th e p ur p o se
of s itti n g a n d th r owi n g cl o th es o n , b ut make
it look b ea u ti fu l .
 OCD SWITCHES
2017

I h a d a l ways wo n d er ed: can desi g n ch an g e th e

world? Can we, as pr oduct designers, make an
i m p a ct i n o rd er to create a mo re sustai n ab l e
env i ro n m en t? C o u l d p r o duct desi g n b e used as
a t o o l to ch a n g e b eh avi o r to a b etter o n e?
E l ectr i ci ty co n s u mp ti o n seemed l i ke an
i n ter es ti n g s ta r t. El ectr i ci ty i s ab stract,
i n ta n gi b l e a n d m a n y p eo p l e do n o t r eal i ze h ow
el ectr i ci ty co n s u m pti o n h ar ms th e wo r l d
a ro u n d u s. Ta ck l i ng th e p ro b l em was a
ch a l l en g i n g o n e b u t th e i s s u e o f f er ed a n
o p p o r tu n i ty fo r m e to ch al l en g e th e exi sti n g
p ro d u cts.

Fi n a l s el ecti o n f o r Red D o t C o n ce p t Awa r d 2 0 1 7

THE PROBLEM WITH
ELECTRICITY
I n 2015, E n erg y Ma rket Au th o ri ty
pu blis hed th e o ffi ci a l S i n g a p o re E n erg y
Sta tis tics, wh i ch ca n b e a cces s ed o n l i n e.
W hen i t comes to e n erg y s u p p ly, th ere is
a g e ner a l in cr ea s e i n i m p o r t o f en erg y
pr od u cts. I t i s s ta ted th a t over th e yea rs,
Sing a por es el ectri ci ty g en era ti o n
ind u s tr y moved away fro m o i l -fi red s tea m
tu r b i n e p l a n ts by b u i l d i n g n e w co m b i n ed
cycl e g a s tu r b i n e ( C C G T ) p l a n ts, o r
r e power ing exi s t i n g p l a n ts . H owever,
Sing a por es el ectri ci y co n s u m p ti o n i s
s howing a n i n crea s e over th e yea r s.

W H AT T O D O ?
M os t u s e r s a re u n awa re o f th ei r
el ectr i ci ty u s a g e o r t h e ef f ects o f i t.
Fo c u s i n g o n el ectr i ci ty co n s u m p ti o n
of f er s va r io u s o p p o r tu n i ti es to ch a n g e
th e u s er s d a i l y h a b i ts a n d r o u ti n e wi th o u t
int er vening to o mu ch . T h a t p res en ts a
ch a n ce to i n f l u en ce th e u s er s b eh av i o u r.
E le ctr icity is s o m eth i n g th a t we u s e ever y
d ay a nd a littl e ca n g o a l o n g way. E ven
th o u g h th er e a r e a l o t o f tech n o l o g i es i n
th e m a r ket th a t a s s i s t i n s av i n g el ec tr i ci ty
a t hom e, not ever yb o d y ca n a ffo rd th em .
Hu ma ns a r e n a tu ra l l y a ttra cted to o r d er,
pa tter n and s ym m etr y and feel
u ncom f or ta b l e wh en th o s e a re
int er r u pted o r th i n gs s eem o ff-b a l a n ce. I t
is one of n a tu ra l h u m a n ch a r a cteri s ti cs
d es ig ner s can d raw fro m , th a t i s why we
u s e d es ig n p ri n ci p l es a s gu i d el i n es fo r
g ood design. Something that is not
ple a s ing the eye wo u l d b e a n eg a tive
s timu lu s. Hum a n s s u b co n s ci o u s l y p ro ces s
inf or m a tion a n d wh en ever th ey en co u n ter
s omething n ew, th ey wi l l tr y to co n n ect i t
to a p r ev i o u s ex p er i en c e. W h en
s omething fa m i l i a r o r s o m eth i n g th a t i s
u s u a lly ha r m o n i o u s i s ch a n g ed o r
d if f er ent, hum a n s wi l l h ave th e n a tu ra l
r es pons e of ch a n gi n g i t b a ck to i ts o l d
s ta te.
TRICKING THE HUMAN BRAIN
T here are two ways we can do that: we can
m a nipu la te the u s ers ro u ti n e b eh av i o r o r
we c a n ta ke a d va n ta g e o f cer ta i n
ch a r a cte r i s ti cs o f th e h u m a n b r a i n .
O ne ex a mple o f ro u ti n e b eh av i o r : Li gh t
s witches a r e th e m ed i u m to u s e el ectri ci ty.
B y inter ve nin g co nven ti o n a l u s es a n d
d es ig ns, we ca n crea te a n ew b eh av i o r
pa tter n. B u t h ow?
How ca n we tri ck th e b ra i n ? E x p ecta ti o n
ef f ect. E x p ect a ti o n s o f th e u s er a f f ect
per ce ption a nd b eh av i o r. G en era l l y, wh en
people a r e awar e o f a p r o b a b l e o r d es i red
ou tcom e, their p erce p ti o n s a n d b eh av i o u r
a r e a f f ecte d in s o m e way. T h e u s er h a s to
be m a nipu la ted / co n d i ti o n ed to a s s o ci a te
s aving elec tr ici ty (tu r n i n g o ff th e l i gh ts )
wi th s o m eth i n g p o s i tive a n d v i ce ver s a .

REVERSING
DESIGN PRINCIPLES
H uman s are ab l e to di sti n g ui sh
b et ween so me th i n g b eauti f ul an d n o t.
Ob j ects can tri g g e r emo ti o n al
resp o n ses. An d as a p ro duct desi g n er, I
kn ow, i n t h eo r y, wh at i s aesth et i cal l y
p l e asi n g an d wh at i s n o t. H uman s l ove
p atter n s, sy mmetr y, o rder, str ucture,
h ar mo n y. I t makes th e b rai n b el i eve
th a t i t i s i n co n tr o l . A s p r o d u ct
desi g n ers, we l ear n cer tai n desi g n
p ri n ci p l es.
C O L L A B O R AT I O N W I T H

Featur ing

RE INA
Travel M i r r o r a n d H a i r Com b
A DE N
C er amic M a s s a g e Hea t S to n e
C L ARA
A ir Pu rifier
In 2016, we had th e o p p o r tu n i ty to
co l l a b o r a te wi th S tu d i o F. A . Po r s ch e to
cr ea te th r ee p r o d u cts u n d er th e th em e o f
in dulg ence. T hey h a d to i n cl u d e a n d ref l ect
A s ia n cu ltu r e.
Wo r k i n g wi th Po r s ch e g ave u s a n i n s i g h t i n
wh a t i t m ea n s to wo r k a s a d es i g n er a n d wo r k
fo r s omeone, a s if a co m p a n y h i r ed u s to
des i g n s om ething. T h e Po r s ch e p r o j ect wa s
an exciting jou r ney th a t rea l l y ch a l l en g ed my
cr ea tiv i ty. T h e Po r s ch e d es i g n p r i n ci p l es
wer e i n s p i r i n g a n d m o tiva ted m e to b e a
b etter d es ig ner, crea ti n g wi th a b a l a n ce o f
aes th etics a nd f u ncti o n . A fter I wo r ked wi th
Po r s ch e, I r ea l i z ed h ow s h a l l ow I h a d b een
b efo r e, s ince Pors ch e i s s o m eti cu l o u s.
M or eover, I lear ned that
T h e c l i e n t i s a l wa y s r i gh t.
De si gn so methi ng o n l y i f i t m a ke s se n se .
Al wa ys keep yo ur c l i e n t s su c c e ss i n m i n d .
Fo r m e, th e m o s t i n ter es ti n g a n d ch a l l en g i n g
p ar t wa s incor por a ti n g A s i a n cu l tu r e. I t wa s
in ter es ting to s ee th a t Po rs ch e ca r ed a b o u t
th e cu l tu r e o f th i s co u n tr y, th e co u n tr y th ey
wo r ked i n , even th o u g h th ey a r e f r o m
Ger m a ny. T hey ca r ed a b o u t th e u s ers n eed s
an d va lu es. And it wa s i n ter es ti n g to s ee th a t
ju s t a s ma ll cons idera ti o n ca n i n s p i re u n i q u e
an d f u nctiona l d es i gn .
C L ARA was f eatur ed at th e Po rsch e
Exh i b i ti o n dur i n g th e L AS AL L E S H OW
2016. My cl ass desi g n ed, o rg an i zed an d
b ui l t th e en ti r e exh i b i ti o n o ur sel ves.
VELCRO CHAIR
2 016
S i mi l ar to t h e Bad H ab i ts C h ai r, th e Vel cro
C h ari i s i n sp i red by t h e p o p ul ar ch ai r o n
wh i ch ever yo n e th r ow s t h ei r cl o th es o n . A
di f f eren t ap p ro ach to creati n g awaren ess i s
th a t th i s ch a i r r es em b l es th e d i f f er en t
cl o th es we th r ow o n th e ch a i r. T h e cu s h i o n
i s cove red wi th Vel cro an d can b e cover ed
wi th d i f f er en t k i n d s o f f a b r i cs to r ed es i g n
th e ch a i r to th e u s er s cu s to m ta s te a n d
co m f o r t.
EIN STOOL
WO O D WO R K I N G
WO R K S H O P WITH
S TA F FA N H O L M
We h a d th e o p p o r tu n i ty to i n d u l g e
i n a thr ee-d ay wo o d wo rk i n g wi th
S ta f f a n Holm . I n th es e th ree d ays,
we wer e ta u g h t a b o u t j o i n er y
m ethod s, ha nd l i n g o f wo o d a n d
d es ig n thinking. A fter 1 . 5 d ays o f
d es ig n ex p l o ra ti o n using
styr of oa m , we were th en a s ked to
b u ild ou r own s to o l u s i n g a s h wo o d
i n only 1.5 d ays. T h es e s to o l s were
then f ea tu r ed i n th e McN a l l y
G a ller y a t L AS A LLE C o l l eg e o f
the Ar ts.
bills
Key a n d L ette r H o l d er
201 6

B I LLS i s a p ers o n a l p ro j ect I wo rked

on wh en my m o th er a s ked m e i f I
co u l d b u i l d a key h o l d er f o r h er. T h e
d esi gn d erived fro m ex i s ti n g p ro b l ems,
s u ch a s l etters a n d b r o ch u res l yi n g
a r o u n d ever ywh ere wi th n o p l ace t o
s tore. T h e d es i gn i s s i m p l e an d
bea u ti fu l .