Alumni Feature | Zoey Chan ('20)

Designing with Heart: How One Saint Turned Lived Experience into Purposeful Innovation

When Zoey received news that she had won the 2025 Dyson Award (Singapore), her first reaction wasn’t pride, it was disbelief.

“I had doubts about even submitting it for the award… the project felt scrappy. But it was incredibly personal to me.”

That project, nido, is a compact organiser for insulin needles, designed to simplify daily injection routines for people with Type 1 Diabetes. As someone living with the condition, Zoey understood how chaotic and overlooked this essential act can be. Beyond that, she could empathise with how dignity and ease are often absent from the design of medical routines.

In her case, she found herself using a spectacle case to carry supplies. Friends with the same condition cobbled together their own makeshift solutions. None of them worked well. That’s when Zoey’s design instincts kicked in.

“nido was born from the desire to simplify our routine, reduce the chaos, and make this part of care management more intuitive and considered.”

📰Read more about nido here (ST) and here!

The Power of Empathy and Everyday Design

For Zoey, design isn’t just about aesthetics or clever engineering; it is about listening, observing, and improving the unspoken struggles people carry daily.

“Design’s role is to make real-world problems feel human again.”

Her approach is rooted in empathy, not just as a sentiment, but as a method. By zooming in on the “tiny frictions” of everyday life, she sees opportunities for meaningful change. nido wasn’t about reinventing medical tech — it was about respecting how people actually live.

A Foundation Built at SAJC

“SAJC shaped me in quieter ways. It was the first place that pushed me to think for myself instead of chasing the ‘right’ answers.”

Encouraged by teachers who welcomed curiosity and respected her questions, Zoey developed the confidence to sit with uncertainty, a skill that proved essential when nido went through over a hundred prototypes. She also spoke candidly about challenges she faced whilst at SAJC: struggling with subjects, falling short of expectations, and being lifted up by friends who reminded her of her strengths.

“Moments like these built resilience and gave me perspective, eventually shaping the mindset I now bring into my design work.”

Advice for Young Innovators

“Don’t be afraid to follow the tiny annoyances or questions that stick in your mind… it’s not about having a perfect solution, but having the curiosity to poke at problems and learn your way into something meaningful.”

Read Zoey's Reflections below