About – Erik Asia

Erik Asia is a Filipino industrial designer, educator, and researcher currently based in BC, Canada. His design and research practices surround his interests in affordance-based design, discursive design, digital fabrication, and design education, all grounded in principles of embodied cognition.

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.

Through his design and research, 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 through digital fabrication that emphasizes embodied cognition principles in design pedagogy.

Experience

01/2025 - Present
Product Development Designer (Contractor) at Genome British Columbia.

08/2024 - Present
Sessional Instructor at Emily Carr University of Art + Design.

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

04/2024
Research Assistant at Emily Carr University of Art + Design for CAREB-ACEER Showcase Hall Poster Submission.

09/2023 - 12/2023
Graduate Teaching Fellow at Emily Carr University of Art + Design.

06/2023 - 10/2023
Industrial Design Research Assistant at Emily Carr University of Art + Design for Nimble Animation Stand Project.

01/2023 - 08/2023
Research Assistant at Emily Carr University of Art + Design for Conducting Creative Research (CCR) Writing Group.

01/2023 - 04/2023
Graduate Teaching Assistant at Emily Carr University of Art + Design.

07/2020 - 12/2021
Industrial Designer/Student Researcher at Humanitarian Engineering, Entrepreneurship, and Design (HEED) for reBIRTH project.

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

05/2021 - 07/2021
Product Design Intern at BookSpine.

09/2019 - 05/2020
Fabrication Lab Intern at University of the Philippines Diliman's College of Fine Arts Fabrication Laboratory.

Education

09/2022 - 05/2024
Master of Design (Interaction)
Emily Carr University of Art + Design, CA
Thesis: The In Between (Cognitive Ergonomics Evaluation in Public Spaces: A Cultural-Affordance-Based Approach)

08/2018 - 07/2022
Bachelor of Fine Arts (Industrial Design)
University of the Philippines Diliman, CA
Graduated Magna Cum Laude

Awards & Recognition

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

2021
Bakong Circular Design Challenge Finalist
Design Center of the Philippines

2020
Philippine National Winner for reBIRTH project
James Dyson Awards

2020
Finalist
Alfredo M. Yao Intellectual Property Awards

Publications

Asia, E. D. (2024). The In Between (Cognitive Ergonomics Evaluation in Public Spaces: A Cultural-Affordance-Based Approach). 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

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

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

2020
Silaw
University of the Philippines Diliman