Ceramic Circuits, a project led by Assistant Professor Clement Zheng of the Division of Industrial Design (DID) at CDE, has been awarded the Grand Prize at the 7th He Chao Zong Cup (De Hua) International Ceramics Industry Design Competition held recently in China.
The project integrates interactive circuits into glazed ceramic objects to turn them into computational interfaces, creating items such as touch-sensitive tableware, temperature-sensing tiles and moisture-sensing plant pots.
The prestigious competition attracted 5,327 entries from across the globe, encompassing a range of themes from which 50 projects including Ceramic Circuits were invited to present their work in person.
Han Bo, a PhD student under Asst Prof Zheng's guidance, showcased the innovative research to a panel of eight experts at the competition, which included a day of presentations and demonstrations.
Among the judging panel was Professor Liu Guanzhong, a distinguished industrial design pioneer known for founding China's first industrial design degree program at Tsinghua University.
The competition took place on September 19 in Dehua county in China’s coastal Fujian province. The area is known as one of China’s ceramics capitals and is famous for a type of white porcelain known outside of China as ‘Blanc De Chine’ that dates back to the Ming Dynasty.
The competition prize included a cash award of RMB100,000 (approx. SG$18,688) which Asst Prof Zheng said would be used to advance the team’s research and provide support to DID students participating in international competitions and presentations.
The Ceramic Circuits project was launched in May 2022 with the goal of seamlessly integrating electronic circuits and computation into commonly used ceramic objects.
“We were inspired by the idea of incorporating electronic circuits and computation into unconventional objects and materials, in particular everyday things that are found all around us,” said Asst Prof Zheng.
The project adapts a technique known as "resist-blasting", developed by DID Associate Professor Hans Tan, to incorporate conductive ink onto existing glazed ceramic objects
This process selectively removes the surface glaze, revealing a textured surface beneath onto which conductive ink is then applied creating the electronic circuit.
In another development for the project, Ceramic Circuits has also been selected as one of 12 projects in the feature exhibition for Singapore Design Week 2023, which opened on September 21.
This exhibition, titled Playground of Possibilities, held at the National Design Centre is organised by Design Singapore Council and Black Design Agency and runs until the end of the year.
