About – Erik Asia

ABOUT

Erik Asia is a Filipino industrial designer and educator specializing in cognitive ergonomics and digital fabrication. He holds a Master of Design (Interaction) from Emily Carr University of Art + Design and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Industrial Design) from the University of the Philippines Diliman.

As an educator, Erik teaches freehand drawing and drafting, applied ergonomics, and industrial design project development. His professional experience spans applying design principles to product assessments, providing digital fabrication services, and designing interactive educational systems and classroom kits.

His design and research practices surround his interests in affordance-based design, discursive design, human factors and ergonomics, digital fabrication, and design education. Through this work, Erik seeks to develop a conscious awareness of our physical interactions and engagements with the world, highlight designed objects as cultural and social artefacts for discourse, and create tangible learning tools that emphasize embodied cognition principles in design pedagogy.

Curriculum Vitae

Download CV PDF

Education

Emily Carr University of Art + Design
Master of Design (Interaction), 2024

Thesis: The In Between (Cognitive Ergonomics Evaluation in Public Spaces: A Cultural-Affordance-Based Approach)

University of the Philippines Diliman, Magna Cum Laude
Bachelor of Fine Arts (Industrial Design), 2022

Work Experience

Emily Carr University of Art + Design
Sessional Instructor, 08/2024 - PRESENT

Develops and delivers industrial design course materials covering the development of student projects in studio, foundations of freehand drawing and drafting, ergonomics, 3D prototyping, and design development.

Genome British Columbia
Product Development Designer, 01/2025 - 06/2025

Designed and developed an interactive tabletop escape room that aids in teaching high school life sciences in classrooms across British Columbia for Genome BC’s educational outreach program, Geneskool.

A&K Robotics
Experimental Interaction Designer, 05/2024 - 06/2024

Drafted recommendations based on ergonomics and anthropometrics assessment performed on Autonomous People Mover (APM) product, collaborated with external fabricator to design a modular seat and backrest cushion for the APM, and designed graphic assets for promotional materials.

Animate Materials Workshop at ECUAD
Industrial Design Research Assistant, 06/2023 - 10/2023

Designed and prototyped a portable laser-cut multiplane animation stand for animation students and a streamlined fabrication process for easy access to an open-source file to fabricate their own animation stands.

Emily Carr University of Art + Design
Research Assistant (Conducting Creative Research), 01/2023 - 08/2023

Conducted literature reviews on responsible conduct of research and research ethics in art and design scholarship.

UPD Humanitarian Engineering, Entrepreneurship, and Design (HEED) Research Group
Industrial Designer & Researcher, 07/2020 - 12/2021

Conducted exploratory interviews with rural health practitioners, doulas, doctors, engineers, designers, and mothers to identify challenges faced in labour and birthing, especially in rural areas of the Philippines and then designed a reconfigurable woman-centred birthing tool concept that accommodates a variety of labour positions for a positive birthing experience.

A2 Design Lab
Product Design and Development Intern, 07/2021 - 08/2021

Created a booth design concept for a biking apparel brand aimed at educating beginner cyclists of road safety precautions.

UP College of Fine Arts Fabrication Lab
Fabrication Lab Intern, 07/2019 - 05/2020

Assisted in multiple workshops in the Fabrication Lab such as 3D printing, laser cutting, vacuum forming, etc.

Honours + Awards

Association of Independent Colleges of Art & Design (AICAD)
AICAD Post-graduate Teaching Fellowship Nominee, 2024

Design Center of the Philippines
Bakong Circular Design Challenge Finalist, 2021

James Dyson Awards
Philippine National Winner, 2020

Alfredo M. Yao Intellectual Property Awards
Finalist, 2020

Publications

Asia, . E. D. (2024). The In Between (Cognitive Ergonomics Evaluation in Public Spaces: A Cultural-Affordance-Based Approach) [Thesis; Electronic]. Emily Carr University of Art and Design. https://doi.org/10.35010/ecuad:18444

Asia, E. (2024). The In-Between (Cognitive Ergonomics Evaluation in Public Spaces: A Cultural- Affordance-Based Approach). In S. Mroke (Ed.), From & Beyond Design: A Collection of Design Research Explorations (pp. 36-41). Occasional Press.

Asia, E. (2022). WHITESPACE: A Minimal and Interactive Wall-mounted Time Visualization Tool for Self-Directed Learners that Emphasizes a Healthy Work-Life Balance through Time Blocking [Unpublished undergraduate thesis]. University of the Philippines Diliman.

Conferences

Asia, E., Klassen, L., Webb, H. (2024, April 30 – May 2). Reaching for Tools: Gaps in Awareness of Research Ethics and Responsible Conduct of Research in Art and Design Scholarship [Poster presentation]. CAREB-ACCER 2024 Virtual Conference, Canada. https://tinyurl.com/53jusrzn

Exhibitions

The Show, graduate exhibition (in-person & online), 2024
Emily Carr University of Art + Design

The Exit Project (ExP), graduate exhibition (online), 2022
University of the Philippines Diliman

Silaw, 2022
University of the Philippines Diliman

IDiD! Industrial Design Year-End Exhibition, 2019
University of the Philippines Diliman

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