News about design in China
China in Ten Words by Yu Hua is not a creative or design book per se, but it is “a good encapsulation of all that is contemporary China”. In other words, if you are interested in learning more about the state of Chinese design, then this is a good place to start.
Finding a good quality bespoke laptop or iPad case can, sometimes, be a difficult task. Thankfully, China-based enterprise, Suoran, come to the rescue with their unique range of understated, eco-friendly products that are, apparently, made of 100% natural wool felt. Visit their Taobao store for more.
If you do not reside in China, a selection of Suoran products can be found on Amazon too.
Ying Wang is a promising graphic designer. The young creative graduated from Beijing Capital Normal University in 2009 with an undergraduate degree in Graphic Design, and works across an array of mediums - from packaging to logo design, posters and even app design. Here, we share some of the designer’s portfolio images.
Beijing-based illustrator Ray Lei has just sent us details of an upcoming exhibition he will be taking part in (alongside collaborators Thomas Sauvin and Zafka); from 18-27 May 2013, Today Art Museum will showcase their new Recycled animation (sneak peek above). Ray Lei tells us more.
Head on over to Dashilar-based Ubi Gallery to preview their new May arrivals! Details via the False Flat news bulletin.
The exhibition has already passed, but the ideas brought forth are still very relevant:
“Dutch design collective Droog will turn the notion of piracy in China on its head by unveiling its own copies of Chinese objects in a Guangzhou shopping centre.
While Chinese companies and the government strive to shed their copycat reputation, The New Original project suggests that the process of imitation can be more than mere replication when small adaptations are made to the knock-off goods, potentially driving innovation.
Exhibited items will include a traditional Chinese teapot with a more robust handle, and an inverted Chinese restaurant where a fish tank contains the dining area”. Via Dezeen.
“Chinese studio MAD has unveiled the first photographs of its icicle-shaped museum for wooden sculptures in Harbin, northeast China. Nicknamed the Ice City, Harbin experiences regular snowfall…MAD designed the China Wood Sculpture Museum with a twisted 200 metre-long body modelled on the shapes made by frozen liquids. Plates of polished steel clad the exterior of the building and are only interrupted by curving strips of glazing that form windows, skylights and a central entrance”. Continue reading.
“Cambridge-based architect Preston Scott Cohen has shared exclusive images with designboom of the nearly completed Taiyuan Museum of Art in the Chinese province of Shanxi. The architecture is a responsive composition of the [site’s] urban greenery…and encourages seamlessness between public and private space. The group of buildings is a network of continuous and discontinuous promenades that create a veritable architectonic landscape”. Continue reading.
See also the architect’s Datong Library, currently under construction.
Initiated in 2011 by Amihan Zemp and Hans Martin Galliker, NEEMIC is founded with three main visions at heart: to create outstanding fashion, to help make China’s fashion industry more environmentally sustainable, and to build bridges between Europe and Asia.
Based in Beijing, NEEMIC is a member of Agrachina (a network aimed towards promoting organic agriculture in China) and collaborates with young designers from London to Tokyo to create a particular metropolitan aesthetic, using the finest natural fabrics “for a comfortable feel”. We caught up with Hans Martin Galliker to find out more.
Juanjuan Hu is a jewellery designer with a background in product design. After completing an MA in Industrial Design at Hubei University of Technology in China, the young creative moved on to London in order to study jewellery design at Central Saint Martins. Already a recipient of a number of awards, Juanjuan Hu currently resides in Shanghai as an affiliate of the Industrial Design department, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology.
