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 (Consultant)
Genome British Columbia, CA

08/2024 - PRESENT

Sessional Instructor
Emily Carr University of Art + Design, CA

05/2024 - 06/2024

Experimental Interaction Designer
A&K Robotics, CA

04/2024

Research Assistant for CAREB-ACEER Showcase Hall Poster Submission
Emily Carr University of Art + Design, CA

09/2023 - 12/2023

Graduate Teaching Fellow
Emily Carr University of Art + Design, CA

06/2023 - 10/2023

Industrial Design Research Assistant for Multiplane Animation Stand Project
Emily Carr University of Art + Design, CA

01/2023 - 08/2023

Conducting Creative Research (CCR) Research Assistant
Emily Carr University of Art + Design, CA

01/2023 - 04/2023

Graduate Teaching Assistant
Emily Carr University of Art + Design, CA

07/2020 - 12/2021

Industrial Designer / Student Researcher for reBIRTH project
University of the Philippines Diliman Humanitarian Engineering, Entrepreneurship, and Design (UPD HEED) Research Group, PH

07/2021 - 08/2021

Product Design and Development Intern
A2 Design Lab, PH

05/2021 - 07/2021

Product Design Intern
BookSpine, PH

09/2019 - 05/2020

Fabrication Lab Intern
University of the Philippines Diliman College of Fine Arts Fabrication Lab, PH

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
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, CA

2022

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

2020

Silaw
University of the Philippines Diliman, PH

2019

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