Design for Serendipity

There’s no better feeling than those moments of unexpected inner delight. Like how you caught gaze of your true love, came across a childhood treasure at a yard sale, unintentionally Continue reading →

Your Simplicity Checklist

It is everyone’s job to make things simple in a company. First step to make that happen is to heighten your sensitivity about ‘simplicity’. Whenever you create something for your Continue reading →

A humanized construction site experience

This is my office building at the heart of Singapore. One day, this “gray thing” was installed for public safety while a dynamic lighting system was being installed for the Continue reading →

ABC to design a simple & meaningful product

Recall last time you walked into a pharmacy. Pharmacy shelves are full of confusingly packaged products that are often hard to prounouce and covered with obscure medical jargons. This overwhelms Continue reading →

What design decisions did you make today?

We start a day with making decisions. What should I wear? What shall I eat? Which one to buy? Those small or big decisions make up our day. When designing Continue reading →

Design as a noun + as a verb

Design is often used as a noun – look & feel of a final object such as buildings, products, printed materials or websites. However design creates the most value to Continue reading →

Banks, be the wrap dress.

This is Diane von Furstenberg – a creator of the legendary wrap dress in 1970s. We, women rave about this wrap dress (indeed I’m a big fan* of her dresses!), Continue reading →

Customer Experience Design – The Cookbook (at Google)

How do you design your customer experience? Who is responsible for doing that? YOU are the chef in designing your customer experience, whether you are working in a big company Continue reading →

From nightclubs to banks. Why designers are needed across every industry.

About a year ago, I met a designer who was working for a popular nightclub in Singapore, in charge of producing groovy posters and websites for all happening nightclub events. Now Continue reading →

Design thinking, imperative in the era of de-banking (for EFMA)

“Banking is necessary, but banks are not.” Bill Gates I wrote this article for EFMA Journal – the only European magazine devoted to the marketing and distribution of retail financial Continue reading →

Simplicity for financial services (at Next Bank Asia)

This is my presentation slide at Next Bank Asia – the hottest banking conference in 2012! Simplicity became a buzz word in financial services. What is really ‘simplicity’? And why Continue reading →

Creativity – it’s not what you think

Being a designer in financial services, I’m officially under a category of ‘creative people’. However I often experience a huge energy of creativity through so-called non-creative people such as bankers, Continue reading →

I bring smiles – do you?

What matters most when designing the customer experience? Today Designful Co. has a guest post from Jonas, an acclaimed expert in retail and luxury channel management, talks about humanizing customer Continue reading →

Two days fever at Next Bank Asia 2012

It started with one man’s rants. “Why are banking conferences dull and gray?” It was such an excitement for me to be part of this brand new conference Next Bank Continue reading →

A story of CBS Bank – culture of prototyping

One day, 9 year old girl Sabina opened a new bank account. Her motivation? She loved the picture of the ATM card (pug doggy – which is by the way, Continue reading →

‘Simplicity’ common mistake in financial services

‘Simplicity’ – one of my favorite word and value – seemed to become a new jargon in financial industry. Banks strive to get customers’ attention emphasizing how simple their product Continue reading →

Design lessons from my sexy travel companion @LUXEguides

Whenever I travel, there is one thing I make sure to take with me – this sexy little friend called LUXE guide. This time to Hanoi, LUXE continues to create Continue reading →

Beauty starts with…

Beauty starts with a common sense. Solve customers’ basic problem first.

Revere and do beauty – A plea to financial serivces (for Money Mesh)

I wrote this post for Money-mesh.com - a thought-provoking blog about mobile financial services by one of the smartest and enthusiastic person I’ve met, @ScottEBales ____ Beauty… What comes to your mind when you Continue reading →

Speak human

As a customer experience designer in a bank, I’m dealing with complex banking documents every day. These are investment product communications such as sales tools, brochures and fact sheets. Most Continue reading →