An exhibition featuring works by six local designers and homegrown brands is underway at the Office of the President in Taipei City, highlighting the vitality and global influence of Taiwan design.
Organized by the Taiwan Design Center and Industrial Development Bureau under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Design M/m Taiwan will run until December and is open to the public free of charge. It aims to showcase the country’s vibrant design culture by exploring the ideas and stories behind the featured companies and designers.
The six participants comprise contemporary craft goods producers Yii and Woo Collective, fashion designer Justin Chou, industrial design company THAT! Inventions, product designer Sha Yao and mobile game developer Rayark Inc.
According to Frankie Fan, exhibition curator and director of local design firm XXtralab, the M/m in the title of the show refers to the terms “maximize” and “minimize,” conveying the idea that small designs have the power to impact the world and bolster awareness of a nation’s culture.
Furniture creator Yii, which picked up the top prize at the 2015 Golden Pin Design Awards, an international product design competition organized by TDC, works to preserve Taiwan handicrafts by incorporating traditional practices into modern creations. Among its items on display is an award-winning bamboo chair made in collaboration with master craftsman Chen Gao-ming.
Similarly, Woo Collective, also a winner at the 2015 Golden Pin Design Awards, is dedicated to preserving time-honored tin production techniques through integrating related patterns and skills into designs for contemporary tableware. Woo Collective exhibits include a spiral-patterned filter and stopper for a wine decanter that are designed to increase aeration and remove bitterness from alcohol.
Equally impressive are the pieces by Chou. The featured items showcase the renowned fashion designer’s signature style of weaving prominent Taiwan cultural symbols, such as colors and patterns commonly found in Taoist temples, into modern clothing designs.
Displays by THAT! Inventions, a firm founded in 2014 that primarily designs kitchenware, exemplify the company’s commitment to finding innovative solutions to everyday problems, such as a knife that uses heat transfer technology to make it easier to spread butter taken directly from the refrigerator.
Likewise, the portion of the event on Yao illustrates the product designer’s efforts to use design to tackle social issues. Among the works on show is a tableware set for patients with dementia and other debilitating diseases that seeks to increase food intake and alleviate burdens of care by making the eating process as easy as possible.
According to Rayark founder and CEO Yu Ming-yang, the exhibits about the developer demonstrate the ability of online applications to facilitate communication and build relationships among users. The show includes large-scale images of the company’s games, which have attracted more than 60 million players.
Design M/m Taiwan is open to the public from 9 a.m. to noon on weekdays and designated weekends. Groups consisting of 15 or more people are required to register online at least three working days in advance. (CPY-E)
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