Exquisite Touch: A New Era of Cutter Knives

Hyorin Olivia Lee's Award-Winning Design Revolutionizes Stationery

Lee's inspiration for 'The Exquisite Touch' stemmed from a simple question: "Why do all cutter knives look the same?" She observed that many stationery items had become monotonous, with their form being chosen solely for function. Lee sought to propose a new form, offering evolved objects to users that held values beyond just functionality.

'The Exquisite Touch', or 'Exqi', is a testament to Lee's commitment to elegance and refinement. The design's unique properties lie in its consistent application of a diagonal cutting shape and its delicate visual elements. Moreover, Exqi's multiple blades are interchangeable, catering to the user's intention and the object to be cut, thus embodying both aesthetic and functional qualities.

The realization of Exqi's design involved meticulous attention to detail. To express sharpness, precision, and sophistication, Lee used metal spray painting on acrylic. The connection between the knife body and the multiple blades was kept as simple as possible. After several trials, the body was made by combining two acrylic 3T, with a slender groove in the middle to place the blade. A leather case was also designed to cover the sharp exposed blade.

Exqi's design also allows for user customization. The size of the knife body can be selected according to the user's hand size, and the color can be chosen based on personal taste. The various materials that can be cut have been archived, providing information on which blade is adequate for each purpose.

The project, which started in November 2016 and finished in June 2017 in Seoul, Korea, faced several challenges. Lee struggled to show the brand identity effectively and to find the simplest way to bond the acrylic and blades. However, through various trials, she overcame these challenges, resulting in a design that has met both functionality and visual quality.

The Exquisite Touch was awarded the Golden A' Art and Stationery Supplies Design Award in 2019, a testament to its outstanding and trendsetting design. Hyorin Olivia Lee's innovative approach to stationery design has certainly set a new standard, challenging the status quo and offering a refined alternative to the mundane.