DESIGN ASSOCIATE
Afiqah
A graduate from NUS with a Masters degree in Architecture, Afiqah found her passion in designing homes and in the creative industry. She enjoys learning various cultural heritage and history and incorporate them into design. Apart from being an Interior Designer for 3 years, she is also a practising Arabic Calligrapher and Islamic Artist.
Hi, my name is Huud!
What do you do to relax?
Calligraphy, Paint, Cook my favourite dishes, Cuddle with my cat, Watch anime & kdramas
What’s top on your Bucket’s List?
Going on a long holiday with my Husband! Got married during the Pandemic so we couldn't travel anywhere to spend time together :(
What does work mean to you?
Work is a means to make a living. On a personal level, work is something purposeful and an avenue for me to contribute to the community by imparting and sharing the knowledge I've gained thus far.
Why do you do what you do?
I think Design has been something that resonates with me most since young. I grew up with loving parents who were crafty and taught us to be hands-on and learn as many skills as possible. As I grew up, I realise the importance of Design to the community. Seeing people being contented and thankful for the design solutions we came up with is definitely the most rewarding and fulfilling part of my design career. In this industry, there's always room for improvement in creativity by learning from different people and cultures and I find this to be a motivating factor for me to continue pursuing design in the long run.
Where is your next travel destination?
Morocco! Morocco has been a place I really wanted to visit for quite some time and a source for my design inspiration. Morocco has interesting usage of intricate geometry patterns and colours in their built environment. I've heard so many interesting things there; from their architecture, culture and people so I hope to immerse in their culture and history to learn more.
If you have unlimited resources, which world problem would you wrestle with?
Media manipulation and Corruption. I think these two problems goes hand in hand. In a world that's now focusing on content creation and influencers, it's scary and worrying how people consume media and content nowadays without doing prior research and cross-checking. More than often the truths get masked and people believe blindly what they see on media. This does not affect just individuals but communities at large sometimes.
What's a good film/series/book/podcast to recommend?
Dan Brown's & Harry Potter Series. For Dan Brown, I love the elements of arts & architecture history in his books. The concepts are also thought provoking and make you wonder about it. I grew up reading Harry Potter books and it's a series I will never grow tired re-reading them.
If you could only eat this for the rest of your life - what would it be?
Anything with Tom Yum flavour in it.
Why is good design important to you ?
Good design is not just aesthetics but purposeful. It brings harmony and balance to the way we live and powerful enough to solve problems and evoke emotions.
Describe the best experience that comes to mind
Most memorable would be getting married during a pandemic. It was an intimate event with our loved ones and seeing our families and close friends gathered in one place after such a long time was quite emotional for me. Hearing my father initiate the solemnization while tearing was a moment I can never forget. Plus having a life partner who is loving and caring that has been supporting me in all aspects of life is the best experience thus far.