With the help of SDWorks, a unique business platform attached to the School of Design (SD) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), the award-winning LED Mirror Watch designed by a young promising talent has been launched in the market.
This ingenious design has recently took Silver in the 2009 Spark Awards and won the 2009 Most Successful Design Award. Designed by an SD graduate Mr Lai Cheuk-kee in his second year Fashion Accessories class, the concept of Mirror Watch focuses on dual functionality, transforming a watch into a stylish useful mirror when not in use. The mirrored surface reveals a LED digital watch only when the user presses a button; for the rest of the time, the watch becomes an elegant reflective piece.
"I was inspired by the proliferation of mobile phones and the ubiquity of computer screens. It seems that there is no functional need to wear a watch as time is constantly at sight. Mirror Watch is to catch customers' interest for the product that is falling out of usage," said Cheuk-kee. "Without the professional advice and guidance from SDWorks professors and staff, Mirror Watch wouldn’t have become a real commercial product."
Founded in 2007 by SD Associate Professor Mr Roger Ball and Assistant Professor Dr Ernesto Spicciolato, SDWorks aims at providing a platform for design students to commercialize and market their innovative works. Dr Spicciolato said, "We look for brilliant ideas from students, refines them, put them into production and sells the products. The benefits are then shared among the students and the University. It is a fair way to bring to life the product ideas that are being generated within the School."
SDWorks is unique as the design and development is done wholly using the university's advanced facilities and in-house expertise, while the production and sales are powered by the University's network of quality suppliers and professionals.
The Mirror Watch will be available for sale at Design Mart @ Detour, an outbound programme held concurrently with the Business of Design Week from 6 to 9 December.
For more information on SDWorks and Mirror Watch, please visit http://sdworks.sd.polyu.edu.hk/
