Taiwan Today

Crystal Bennes is a British art critic, curator and director of SALON (LONDON), which runs projects that use non-traditional spaces to exhibit innovative works of art. On her blog, Bennes posted a roundup of her observations of Milan Design Week 2010, the world’s largest home furnishings design fair. Listed at number one of her top 10 highlights was the Yii Taiwan design pavilion at Milan’s Triennale Design Museum.

Here is what Bennes wrote: “To be painfully honest, for some reason I still have this impression of East Asian design as sub-standard. I think the ‘made in Taiwan’ and ‘made in China’ labels on cheap clothes and furniture have somehow sunk into my subconscious. So when I saw the Yii Taiwan design pavilion in the Triennale … I realized I needed to seriously adjust my thinking. The pavilion was beautifully constructed  and all objects within the pavilion beautifully presented. Some of the best pieces I saw at the festival were on this pavilion, in particular the brick plan vase by Rock Wang and the Tertial by Pili Wu at Yii.”

Due to higher standards of living in Taiwan, there has been growing demand among local people for décor items and interior design services, which basically comprise the two main categories of decoration and space planning, says Wang Yul-lin (王玉麟), chairman of the Taipei-based Chinese Society of Interior Designers (CSID). The larger market demand has contributed to the booming development of the sector, which currently generates an annual production value of more than NT$200 billion (US$6.9 billion).

The launch of interior design projects, Wang Yul-lin explains, can drive a big supply chain of building materials and furnishing items of various kinds, together with demand for skilled labor. The government, he adds, has recently paid greater attention to the economic benefits that interior design, or rather, the design industry as a whole, can bring about, and has increased the resources available to assist with the sector’s development. Government support for the successful bid to host the upcoming International Design Alliance Congress in Taipei is one such example.

In fact, Yii, which is taken from the Mandarin word yi meaning change and transformation, is a Taiwanese designer craft brand conceived by the non-profit, government-funded Taiwan Design Center in Taipei and the National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute (NTCRI) in Nantou County, central Taiwan, which operates under the Council for Cultural Affairs. The brand aims to use design to reposition traditional Taiwanese crafts into a contemporary context.

At the 2010 Milan design show, Yii presented 45 works created through the collaboration of 15 prominent designers and 20 master craftsmen. Among them were the two pieces especially admired by Bennes—Rock Wang’s (王俊隆) Brick Plan series and Pili Wu’s (吳孝儒) Tertial lamp. The Brick Plan series transforms the crude materials of brick and cement into refined, elegant vases. Tertial starts with an IKEA lamp, to which the designer adds a transparent porcelain cover outside and figures of dragons and tigers in combat inside.

The Yii exhibits in Milan grabbed the attention of multitudes of design enthusiasts including international media organizations, curators, design centers, galleries and museums, as well as agents, boutiques and retailers that sought future cooperation opportunities with Yii designers and artisans.

An important force behind the establishment of the Yii design brand and its successful inroads in the international design world is Lin Jeng-yi (林正儀), who worked as the director of the NTCRI between July 2006 and June this year. After taking office at the research institute, Lin sensed that Taiwan’s traditional crafts were being marginalized and at risk of disappearing altogether unless a way could be found for the skills to become relevant to modern design. Thus, the director thought of applying traditional Taiwanese craft techniques to Western-style furniture.

Lin began seeking out master craftsmen in a number of traditional crafts and also called on the Taiwan Design Center to recommend skilled designers. The artisans and designers were then brought together to form teams to create pieces that would incorporate aesthetics, originality, practicality and environmentally friendly production.

“In the face of global competition, Taiwan’s craft industry must enhance its design capabilities to introduce sophisticated works with high artistic and practical values,” Lin says. “Also, if we’re talking about tapping the international market, our creations must feature our own cultural identity so that they can stand out and impress people. At the same time, though, they can’t be too ‘local’ in that they have to consider the living style and environment in the West so as to be usable and gain acceptance.”

In line with these principles, Yii designers and artisans have endeavored to produce beautiful and functional home furnishing items made of bamboo, brick, ceramics, copper, porcelain, lacquer, silver and wood. The designs are often infused with Chinese motifs such as dragons or draw on elements of traditional Chinese philosophy or culture. “The international competitiveness of the Yii products lies in their innovative design and artful employment of local materials and traditional craftsmanship to cater to the practical needs, tastes and aesthetic values of modern people,” Lin says.

Boost from Marketing

Lin next moved to marketing in the hopes of boosting the reputation and value of the Yii brand. The team started to participate in MAISON & OBJECT (Paris), a fair for home equipment and decoration, in 2008 and Milan Design Week in 2009, and has since attended these two trade shows annually. Yii also joined Art Basel Miami Beach, an important American art show, and Shanghai Expo in 2010, as well as Excitingly different: Ambiente, the world’s largest consumer goods fair, held in Frankfurt, Germany this year.

Due to a limited budget, Lin says the team could only select a few major trade shows and events to participate in, but the group’s presence at these activities has gradually built Yii’s brand image and enabled the international community to learn more about Taiwan’s skills in crafts and design. “For a long time, Taiwanese companies largely have been operating as original equipment manufacturers [OEMs] or original design manufacturers [ODMs] in working for international brand-name companies and making low profits,” Lin says. “We hope our operational model of building the Yii brand can stimulate domestic industries to think about how they can transform their know-how and originate design ideas in order to develop branded products and market them internationally.”

Likewise, CSID’s Wang Yul-lin says Taiwan no longer has a competitive edge in manufacturing due to high labor costs and thus should transition toward brand building and a knowledge-based economy. In this regard, the increasing design capabilities of the island have the potential to become a driving force in Taiwan’s economic development going forward.

Today, in view of the higher demand for design talent, Wang says more than 50 domestic universities and colleges have established design departments or provide design courses, with around 2,000 graduates a year in various fields of design. Moreover, many Taiwanese interior designers that received design education overseas have returned to contribute what they have learned. The dynamic workforce of design professionals has enabled the sector to perform well and gain customer patronage, Wang says. These achievements are even more impressive when one considers that Taiwan’s first university-level interior design department was established only 26 years ago, while the first college of design was set up just 19 years ago.

Over the past few years, in addition to offering academic and educational training programs, the CSID has actively sought out fine works created by Taiwanese designers and organized their participation in international competitions, with several of its members having won top awards. Wang says Taiwanese designers have taken home honors from the Japanese Commercial Environment Designers Association (JCD), for example, and that the association has invited Taiwan to participate in its annual competition since 2003. That, he says, demonstrates the JCD’s recognition of the abilities of Taiwanese designers.

Regional Prize

Sensing the island’s growing prowess in interior design, in 2007 the CSID launched the Taiwan Interior Design (TID) Award, which has since become an annual event and an important platform for interior design in the Greater China region.

The number of applicants that signed up for the TID Award, Wang says, had increased from about 200 in 2007 to 350 in 2008 and between 400 and 500 in 2009 and 2010. Recent applicants have included designers from Taiwan, Hong Kong, mainland China and Macau. Wang says his organization aims to promote the TID Award beyond the region as an international event showcasing creative interior design projects from around the world.

The CSID is also hoping to cooperate with the Taipei City Government to set up a design center in the capital city. The center would hold regular lectures to help members of the public learn what interior design is all about and how it applies to everyday life. The center would also keep a database of Taiwanese designers and their works, as well as suppliers of building materials and furnishing items.

Lu Che-hung (呂哲宏), 38, is among a select group of Taiwanese designers who is a frequent winner of interior design awards. He was the first Asian designer to receive Germany’s iF Communication Design Award three times, winning the prestigious honor consecutively from 2006 to 2008. In 2007, he also garnered the IFI Design Excellence Award from the Canada-based International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers, the Hong Kong Design Center’s Design for Asia Award and Taiwan’s TID Gold Award. He is now the principal designer of JM Interior Architecture Design Inc. in Taipei.

Designers in Demand

In Lu’s opinion, interior design can enhance the practical functioning of a space and foster closer relations between people and a particular location. Given that many people have smaller living spaces nowadays than in years past, Lu says, it is imperative for design professionals to keep functionality in mind. “Today, people want their residential space to have many functions,” the designer says. “It’s the job of an interior designer to ‘create’ space for those who don’t have enough space. This can be achieved through space-saving tricks as well as reviewing with prospective owners which furnishings they actually need and which they can do without.”

Good interior design can add visual allure to a living area, as well as create the feeling of more space, Lu says, and can substantially affect how occupants live in a property. Designs also need to be based on the specific needs of homeowners. For example, if one member of the family enjoys cooking, he or she might want to have an open kitchen. If another likes to read, the design brief might include a study. “Modern people, especially the young generation, want their homes to showcase their own personality, for instance, reflecting their artistic taste or including high-tech devices,” Lu says. “Accordingly, an interior designer must offer custom-made designs that cater to personal preferences, as well as daily needs.”

In the past, Lu says most people perceived interior design simply as decoration and only wealthy clients would use such services. Today, an increasing number of homeowners have come to realize that good design can improve living spaces substantially. Meanwhile, the island’s changing social structure—which sees a decline in the number of people living in traditional extended families, and more couples and individuals choosing to have their own homes—is affecting the design of the built environment and of interiors, he adds.

Lu says his design work emphasizes the relations among people, space and the surrounding environment. For instance, when considering the placement of a window, the designer would consider the availability of natural light in order to reduce energy consumption, look at the flow of air, and also try to maximize the view of any outdoor landscaping. He also likes to use streamlined fittings and fixtures in the interiors he creates.

A Growing Talent Pool

In recent years, Lu says Taiwan’s interior design sector has developed fast not only due to expanding market demand, but also because of a growing talent pool with many designers returning from training, particularly in the United States or Europe. Lu himself graduated from the Department of Architecture and Urban Design of Chinese Culture University in Taipei and went on to take research courses at the Bauhaus Design School, Dessau in Germany.

By drawing on their education at home and abroad, Taiwan’s design professionals have been fusing ideas from different cultures into eclectic, exciting and unique home interiors, Lu adds. “The international influence has caused the domestic design scene to yield diverse, ever-changing features. There’s no established ‘Taiwanese’ style,” he says. “This kind of development serves to create a lively design market.”

Lee Tung-ming (李東明) earned his master’s and doctoral degrees in architecture from the Nippon Institute of Technology in Japan. Lee, who returned to become an assistant professor in the Department of Interior Design at China University of Technology in Taipei, agrees that domestic interior design is subject to substantial foreign influences, especially those of Japan. The period of Japanese colonial rule (1895–1945) introduced the traditional washitsu (Japanese-style room) characterized by tatami flooring and sliding doors to local residences, for example, a feature that is still commonly found today. Currently, a number of Japanese television programs and publications that show people how to reinvent a space via creative design are quite popular in Taiwan.

As for interior design trends, Lee says that Japanese designers emphasize the practical use of space, probably due to the limited size of houses there, while those in the United States and Europe tend to highlight form, often with the use of bold colors, lavish fittings and projects on a grand scale. “Interior design in Taiwan is about saving space and using furniture that can provide multiple functions. But besides that, the current emphasis is on a streamlined look, a feeling of relaxation and a cozy ambience,” Lee says. “More people are willing to spend money on interior design to make their lives more comfortable.”

Lee says Taiwan’s design education used to focus on technical skills like drawing, but he believes it is crucial to help students develop independent thinking by encouraging them to reason out their concepts. He then assists students in turning their ideas into workable plans.

There are about 300 design graduates each year from his school, Lee says, and he touts their employment rate at around 90 percent. Looking forward to the international interior design exhibition, “World, Taiwan,” scheduled for the 2011 Taipei World Design Expo, Lee says his school will set up about 20 booths on site to showcase the design works of its students. “Taiwan has cultivated a rich talent pool of creative designers. We hope this international event will help design professionals the world over learn about Taiwan’s design prowess—a good example of the nation’s soft power,” he says.

Write to Kelly Her at kelly@mail.gio.gov.tw