Core77

Zhiliang Chen
Hong Kong

Zhiliang Chen is a Hong Kong Industrial Designer with a new twist on the Rubik's Cube. His Touch and Play design, won a 2006 IF Concept Award, and allows those who are visually impaired to enjoy this vexing game. Chen transformed the color scheme of the original puzzle into one of various textures: steel, wood, leather, plastic, rubber, and textile. To solve the puzzle, users feel each square segment on the cube and match them up based on texture--a task that may be harder than the original.

His other design, Coil-Slipper, a collaborative project from Zhe Jiang University, offers a solution to a growing problem in China--the billions of disposable slippers thrown away by hotel visitors. The design was awarded a red-dot Design Award in 2006, and is made entirely from EVA foam. The foam minimizes production energy, and maximizes the use of raw materials. The EVA material also makes the design customizable into various textures and a myriad of graphics. The slippers are packaged on a rolled spool, allowing for easy transportation, storage, and assembly.