The team focused on sounds that hold special memories for people, such as a baby’s first word or a loved one’s singing voice, and the need to keep them alongside photographs.

“It started with the question -- what would it be like to own sound?” she said.

The team came up with a paper-thin, square-shaped portable recorder that comes with two buttons -- record and play. With an exterior case made using a 3-D printer, the Spicki is lighter than regular recorders.

Users can carry it around and record meaningful sounds with ease. They can then present the recording to friends or family as a gift.

The device also targets people learning new languages or musicians and writers who want to record a moment of inspiration for a future work. The recorder can be attached to any surface -- on a photo album, wall or desk.

“We thought of it as a Post-it recorder,” said Park. 

The project’s jury members noted Spicki’s ease of use and its emotional aspect as strong features that could appeal to customers.

“We liked the idea of delivering a warm voice message to someone,” said Jeong Seong-mo, industrial designer and a design professor at Hanyang Cyber University.

Herald Design Tech, in its first year, ran from August to November, offering technical and design advice to young entrepreneurs and college students with creative ideas to help them realize their visions. Veteran designers, engineers and participants held numerous workshops and discussions, and the participants created their final products based on the feedback they received at the workshops.

“We made a lot of progress in our ideas thanks to the great advice from mentors of Herald Design Tech, which helped us improve our product,” said Mo Shin-young, a member of the winning team.

Five participating teams exhibited their creations at Dongdaemun Design Plaza from Dec. 2-6.

“I hope to see more innovative ideas next year and hope that Herald Design Tech grows as an incubator for creative minds,” said Lee Young-man, CEO of Herald Corp.

By Lee Woo-young (wylee@heraldcorp.com)