Zec Chan: Details Make Perfection

Designer Selfmade toys
It was common for those grew up in the 1960-70s in Hong Kong not to have any toys as childhood companion, as most Hong Kong children lived in poverty. They might secretly prayed that their loving parents would one day handmake a doll or toys for them but would never have imagined taking an initiative to make one. Product designer Zec narrated the happy moment with his playmates back in Zhejiang region, making their own wooden spinning tops and bamboo copters. He would have spent time fine-tuning the design and appearance to perfect the self-made toys. Those of us who have got so used to buying toys would definitely cringe at such DIY mentality and passion.

So, Zec has been enjoying the process of transforming an idea into a product that he resolved to become a product designer since childhood. Zec is also observant that he would look into simple items in daily life, checking out the materials used, pattern, and aesthetic appeal. It could be traffic lights and public transportation railing as some items that everyone encounters everyday, so this observation exercise becomes a mobile training program for Zec to learn and choose what and how to design a product.

Inspiration from daily life

As the saying goes, Design comes from life. That is exactly how Zec came up with his pet project, the Elixir glass tea stick / infuser. Elixir has been well-received in the western markets in the past ten years. It was made with eco-materials to come up with a safe, practical yet aesthetically pleasing product. Zec revamped continuously the tea infuser over the years and his passion for a perfect tea infuser has extended its product life cycle beyond ten years which is a rare longevity.

As a product designer, Zec is driven by the earnest urge to make an impact. The Airo Magic Brewer (3rd edition) is such an attempt. It was the attempt made by his team of Simple Lab Experience to make a dent in the universe after solving the imperfections of the Airo Magic Brewer (2nd version), which won the Gold Award of the Hong Kong Smart Design Award 2020.

Seize the opportunity

Zec was born, raised and educated in Zhejiang that it would have been reasonable for him to develop his product design business in the Mainland China, which is now the world’s second largest economy. What drove Zec to come to Hong Kong? He saw the geographic privilege of Hong Kong where the East meets the West, and yet he could still enjoy the advantage of the strong manufacturing base and massive market in the Mainland. Zec helped some OEM factories in the Greater Bay Area design and develop their own brands when he first started his business. From this experience, he learnt about the steps in turning an idea into a marketable product. This in turn allows Zec and his team to take into consideration the limits of the production line, so to reduce failure rate, cost and wastage along the production line at the design phase.

Design with heart

Zec is a detail minded designer whose drive is not fortune nor fame but to come up with a virtuous design. His humble wish is to offer the best tea or coffee drinking experience by creating products under the brand Simple Lab Experience.

It is heart-warming to learn that there are designers somewhere in Hong Kong trying with all their might to come up with a good product for our enjoyment.

Mr. Zec Chan

An industrial designer, part-time lecturer, co-founder of Simple Lab Experience

Zec has been realising ideas into feasible business solutions for clients since 2006. He has always been a tea lover who knows about the modern tea culture. His signature brand “Simple Lab Experience” is an attempt to innovate and test as a science laboratory, to promote modern tea drinking experience with simple yet practical tools in eco-friendly materials. Simple Lab Experience offers a series of aesthetic tea ware for the modern tea lovers. His series of tea ware has been awarded by IF Award, Red Dot Award, and Hong Kong Smart Design Award.