The Honest Egg concept is a clever and colourful way of showing whether an egg is still fresh enough to eat.
Industrial designers Paul Yong Rit Fui and Jaihar Jailani Ismail, the co-founders of Johor Bahru-based design consultancy aesthetid, had won accolades at the Lexus Design Award 2018 thanks to their Honest Egg entry.
It was the first time that a Malaysian collaboration had won accolades at the awards presentation.
Honest Egg emerged as the People’s Choice and also won in the Prototype category.
Votes were cast by visitors to the Lexus Limitless Co-existence event at Milan Design Week earlier this year in April, where prototypes and concept presentations of the leading entries were on display, and to the Lexus Design Award website.
"How do consumers know the egg is fresh or is safe to consume? Normally, you have an expiry date on the packaging," stated 39-year-old Jaihar.
However, the Honest Egg concept takes a different approach via the use of an ink pigment produced from food-friendly microbes and a stabiliser.
The ink is applied on the egg, and in the beginining, the ink pigment is invisible before appearing as the expiry date of the egg approaches.
"We draw facial expressions on the egg, and these change over time. When you see a frown with crossed eyes, that means it is no longer safe to eat," explained Jaihar.
Yong said the ink can be applied to other products like potatoes or medicated patches.
"We are in talks with the Institute of Bio-Product Development at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia regarding a push towards commercialisation of the ink," said 37-year-old Yong.
The aesthetid co-founders decided to enter the awards presentation after seeing a post calling for entries on Facebook.
"We thought, "why not?" as we are industrial designers. We decided to come up with something that the everyday consumer can relate to," recalled Jaihar.
First launched in 2013, the Lexus Design Award is an international design competition that targets up-and-coming creators from around the world.
It seeks to foster the growth of ideas that contribute to society by supporting designers and creators whose works can help to shape a better future.
Meanwhile, KLIMS’18 features over 74 marques of vehicle brands and automotive products spanning over six exhibitions halls covering two levels at MITEC.
Participating automotive brands include CAM, Citroen, Daihatsu, DS, Ford, Grand Max, Honda, Hyundai, Isuzu, Kia, Lexus, Petronas Motorsports, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Perodua, Peugeot, Proton, Tata, Toyota and UD Trucks.
KLIMS’18 opening hours are from 11am to 10pm on weekdays and 10am to 10pm on weekends.
Every entrance ticket purchased stands a chance to win either a Toyota C-HR, a Honda City or a Perodua Myvi through a lucky draw.
Entrance tickets secured via online at AirAsia Red Tix are also entitled to win a fortnightly draw with AirAsia return flights to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Bali, Taipei, Jakarta and Shanghai as well as the grand draw to Tokyo.
Online tickets are available via https://airasiaredtix.com or KLIMS 18 website www.klims.com.my.
Entrance fees are RM20 on weekdays and RM25 on weekends.
For children aged three to 12 years old, entrance tickets are RM5 and students/senior citizens are charged RM5 (weekdays only).
There is also a family package where parents and up to five children aged 12 years old and below are charged RM40 (weekdays) and RM50 (weekends).
Those with special needs (with handicapped card/physically handicapped) get free entry together with one accompanying person.
Star Media Group is the official media partner of KLIMS’18.
