DI: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
: When designing a-maze I first wanted to tackle problems of hygiene and secondly problems of space. Most knife blocks I had come across were extremely large for the storage they offered. Inspired by the variable widths of knives I drew blocks for each of them and realized that I could configure them in this maze which then led me to creating the final a-maze Design.
DI: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
: I wanted to create a really simple, innovative yet visually interesting design piece. It was imperative that SNF's first product would create enough hype to support SNF's design led brand vision. That's why a-maze had to create a unique stand in the world of knife blocks.
DI: What are your future plans for this award winning design?
: a-maze will become SNF's flagship design and the inspiration to new additions for the SNF range. There are plans to refine the Design further such as a slanted option and additional shapes.
DI: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?
: We worked on a-maze's concept for about one month with three months in production development before our first safety passing working prototype was finished.
DI: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?
: a-maze was designed as a pitch to WIKO cutlery. We followed our own brief and our own insight to come up with a range of various knife blocks with a-maze catching the eye of WIKO's founder Jonathan Lo who then supported its development and our current working relationship on developing the SNF brand.
DI: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?
: a-maze design is produced by the WIKO Cutlery group under the SNF brand.
DI: What made you design this particular type of work?
: We were pitching for a job with WIKO Cutlery.
DI: Who is the target customer for his design?
: All people who value a different take on a knife block.
DI: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?
: a-maze is extremely compact in comparison to other knife blocks. It also stores knives in a very organized way despite its unique looks.
DI: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?
: The name was really part of the Design and became of full meaning when the Design was finished.
DI: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?
: Sketching and CAD.
DI: What is the most unique aspect of your design?
: The maze formation and storage of multiple knives.
DI: What is the role of technology in this particular design?
: The Design was created to be made using existing technologies.
DI: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?
: One of the challenges was to make the Design drop-proof from a standard table counter. This requires the change from an originally slanted version to a straight up Design.
DI: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?
: I came across the A’Design award by looking up another Designer who was affiliated with it.
DI: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?
: Being one of my first commercially successful Designs, a-maze has launched an array of new ideas for me and injected me with more confidence in my Design style and belief.