Dot-to-Dot
2025
Event | Collaboration | Exchange
“Is it possible to inspire and be inspired by the world simultaneously?”
That is the question asked as we embark on a journey through the nooks and crannies of Hong Kong.
In this collaborative program, part of the Ekraf Design Festival, Sintesa brings together designers with different levels of experience to create something fresh. The fresh designers had the opportunity to work alongside seasoned professionals and exchange ideas and expertise. And to make things even more interesting, they partnered up to work on products using unconventional materials such as mycelium leather, algae leather, textile waste, and recycled plastic.
Design residencies are something familiar within the field. Yet they are often directed to the more experienced practitioners. So what about the young ones? Newly hatched into the big and scary world of the industry?
Sintesa aims to bridge the gap between that, providing an opportunity for the fresh minds to collaborate with the more experienced actors and aid in the regeneration of the industry. With our signature experimental and playful approach, the participants were allowed to explore as creatively as they wanted!
Searching for the right fit
Applications flooded in within a short time, and we were faced with so many incredible junior designers, but only a few spots were available. The process wasn’t as simple as picking the designers; it also included a rigorous discussion for the matching, as we sought to pair those with similar interests together in order to create the ultimate dynamic duos. And in the end, we have the six incredible groups, each consisting of a promising junior designer and an outstanding professional designer.
But first..
We began with an online bootcamp featuring several notable speakers for both junior and professional designers to ignite their experimental visions. Wendy Teo from Borneo Lab shared an insightful presentation about, and Ayos Purwoaji explained the concept of synthesis, which creates a new identity from its parts, while assemblage creates a new arrangement of its existing parts.
A peek behind the curtain
Participants were taken around Bandung to visit MYCL, Olah Plastic, and The New Factory to take a look at the process behind the alternative materials they are responding to. Not only that, but each microfactory also presented its materials, informing participants of its features while also teasing about its untapped potential.
So, where to go next?
Each chapter of Dot-to-Dot will be hosted in a different country, each with its own unique creative scenes. From design tours, studio visits, cultural sites, and even a stroll in the park, it is guaranteed to be an inspirational journey with Dot-to-Dot
The sweet results
At the end of the residency period, the designers presented their initial prototypes during the mini showcase at Disbudpar Jabar. Then, they were given a week to improve the projects and put together the final products. At the Ekraf Design Festival, the projects were exhibited to the public, and the designers shared their insights with the audience during the talk.
Altering the take-make-dispose industry model while passing on the knowledge to the next generation of designers through meaningful apprenticeship
Dot-to-Dot
2025
Explore | Benchmarking
“Is it possible to inspire and be inspired by the world simultaneously?” That is the question asked as we embark on a journey through
the nooks and crannies of Hong Kong.
Traveling is an essential pilgrimage for creative people to nourish our inner souls. As we venture into the world to temporarily live a distinct experience and exchange stories, we unlock the door to inspiration and ultimately shape a world where creativity is an understanding with no borders.
It’s beyond traveling; it’s a diplomatic mission
Through this breakthrough project, we brought together designers, artists, and design enthusiasts for an eye-opening journey abroad to build global diplomatic ties through creativity and business.
New meanings of being connected
The thoughtfully crafted itinerary, bespoke to the groups of participants’ backgrounds and interests, aims to facilitate networking, benchmarking, and knowledge-sharing for all parties. Through these interactions, Dot-to-Dot explores the vast potential of creative networks in an international context.
During the Dot-to-Dot chapter Hong Kong, Playo and Conture Concrete Lab participated in the Home in Style Expo at HKTDC. Not only that, we explored various cultural and historical areas, design and art exhibitions, and other creative hot spots. We were also given special tours by PMQ and the Materials Resource Center at PolyU Design. Oh, and we also enjoyed lots and lots of delicious food!
So, where to go next?
Each chapter of Dot-to-Dot will be hosted in a different country, each with its own unique creative scenes. From design tours, studio visits, cultural sites, and even a stroll in the park, it is guaranteed to be an inspirational journey with Dot-to-Dot
The more you follow the wandering path, the more inspiration you will encounter. So keep an eye out for the next Dot-to-Dot, and maybe you’ll get an adventure of a lifetime!
The Projects Are:
Nautika is a luminous wall clock inspired by the green sea turtle’s journey back home through the ocean, featuring a warm wooden frame and unique marine biomaterial panels. Its soft light accompanies the passage of time, reminding us that each step brings us slowly home.
The compact version, Navi, is a mini compass that maintains the organic shape and aesthetic of Nautika, marking journeys and directions in a more compact form.
(UN)SEEN: Reimagine the Everyday
By Adham Haekal Rizki x Ivan Nauval (Nouv Studio)
In the cities we live in, household objects exist in silence. They are rarely considered as design, nor are they viewed as aesthetically pleasing.
“(UN)SEEN: Reimagine the Everyday” reinterprets the forms of everyday objects into a collection of lamps made from stainless steel and MYLEA Sea biomaterials. Assembled through a user-assisted self-bending process, this work invites us to revisit often-overlooked domestic objects—transforming the ordinary into something new while connecting humans with materials, the city, and nature with a more holistic awareness.
Machine Meets Life
By Alya Zahra Camila x Ari Triawan (Iter Soundsystem)
In a world where natural materials are often hidden behind coatings and plastics, this project takes the opposite approach: exposing algae bioplastic and steel openly.
Through a cross-generational collaboration, we designed two speakers—proving that the encounter and “combat” of two different materials can create an experimental product that responds to the lifestyle needs of two distinct user generations: Gen Z and Millennials. Together, this project highlights how materials and technology can support diverse relationships with space, identity, and lifestyle across generations.
Supersack: The Evergrowing Legacy
By Hilwa Alifah Azzahra x Roberta Pangestika & PRD Team (Exsport Bags)
This collection attempts to answer a simple question: how do classic forms respond to alternative materials that grow, change, and are not static, like mycelium? Here, the legendary 1996 Supersack meets with speculation about the future.
By combining mycelium leather and Exsport’s archival materials, it feels familiar yet opens up new ways to interpret an icon, relevant to today’s needs and making room for tomorrow’s possibilities. A small gesture demonstrating how design can learn from the past, function in the present, and open up questions for the future. A classic silhouette that transcends generations and time.
Threadscape
Phiby Adhanayyar Arief x Givan Rangga (Studio Mahardika)
A modular object that explores the relationship between people, objects, and culture. It consists of four shape families: Human, Nature, Animal, and Culture, each transformed into a silhouette inspired by the visual language of Indonesian ikat weaving. Designed as a set of open-ended construction products with a dowel and magnet mechanism, each module can be stacked, rotated, and assembled into a totem-like structure.
THREADSCAPE encourages cognitive development for all ages, tactile exploration, imaginative storytelling, and cultural learning, while transforming textile waste into meaningful, interactive objects.
Soméah
By Shalsa Rifda Kamila x Ahmad Helmi Imaddudin (Hijack Sandals)
Soméah adopted a fundamentally exploratory approach and focuses on redefining the essence and meaning of design and products, using cultural elements as a primary source of inspiration.
The project aimed to deconstruct and break down established cultural boundaries to create works inspired by local heritage yet presented in a subtle and relevant way while also combining them with modern alternative materials.