Designernapped’ right after lunch, the afternoon ‘wish I could have a kip’ was filled with a roundtable for heads of business from all sectors of Chinese industrial design to discuss with us – the nominated four UK representatives – what we thought about and how we could see the future of design in a more eco-directed post Olympic China.
Not aware of this and slightly blindsided I made a quick speech about the origins of a green revolution which is from the people for the planet and not the other way around. Hoping that designers wouldn’t preach our message to an unwilling audience but would engage with media and use a process of creation that looked into the past – embracing a long history and rich culture – as much as it looked forward. The goal, to create products, marketing and design solutions to help people – all the people.
The session was congenial and ended nicely with meeting the participants, interestingly – the head designer of the Beijing Olympics who chaired the session and then a designer/lecturer who did the gold meddle this time round – if anyone’s interested Mr Xiao Yong is going to guest lecture at Central Saint Martin’s next term, a great chap to meet.
Following the forum, hoping for a rest we were given a 5 minute warning to be in the lobby for dinner – at 16.45 this could be worrying, but presuming a long journey we all made the deadline.
Dinner was an amazing banquet hosted by local dignitaries with a few welcoming speeches and much toasting. The eating is sociable, congenial and above all varied, the sea cucumber (I am sure we called it sea slug but hey) tasted much much better than it looked. And the Abalone rightfully has its place as the most splendid of sea delicacies.
The post dinner reception was in another hotel location, a mere short walk guided by a delightful group of umberella-ella, wielding girls and guys, to a red carpet entry and a huge hall for a gala celebration. They certainly know how to impress a few designers, that’s for sure.
Speculation of course moved on to how we would handle the games come 2012, I wonder will we pay host to out guest as graciously?
More tomorrow….
Wednesday, 24 September 2008
Dragon Design Festival china
I think perhaps a better title for this entry would be:
We need more brochures! But that seems to be the way here.
After a long day – 25 hours in fact – travelling and then a clear day doing not much apart from walking around the city soaking up the culture, graphics, smell and delightful lack of street advertising the main event started.
Well there was a 3 hour set up for the stand at Dragon Design Festival - the annual design festival held in china with the mission of promoting industrial (that’s graphic and product to us) design in china. but this was down whilst the other members of the UK delegation were derelict of their duty in the local pub – Bavarian themed, of all things!
So first day of the festival the Clear Focus exhibition stand was well prepared with bilingual designs and brochures – thank you Pauline Weng for your translations – but nothing would prepare me for the sheer onslaught of interest we were subjected to. From 9.30 for the next two hours the stand was engulfed in a swarm of brochure hunters, voraciously consuming every element of design we had to offer.
Taking photos of our posters, asking for photos in front of the giant logo on the pop up stand and requesting business cards. Curiously and almost the opposite of meeting people in the UK, I ma now very used to exchanging cards with person two whilst hardly breaking conversation from person one.
Meeting a huge variety of wonderful and interesting characters, from local students to national leaders in their field, all of whom were equally interested in learning anything they could about how design in the UK differs from their city and their country.
In between meeting and topping up the literature stand I managed to slip off for a cheeky photo with one of the two Olympic torches, larger than it seemed on TV that’s for sure.
But the most heart warming element was the endless photography of the posters though – what greater flattery is there for a creative and marketing company than other designers seeking inspiration from our own work!
Thank you Guang Hua foundation for inviting us to your country and your festival, there’s days two and three plus the forum yet to go.
We’re gonna need more brochures (sorry Barry, I know as head of client marketing you’d soundly tell off anyone for running out of marketing material). But as Geoff McCormick of Alloy put it when I asked him – it gets too expensive to produce that many brochures. Interest from China is enormous.
We need more brochures! But that seems to be the way here.
After a long day – 25 hours in fact – travelling and then a clear day doing not much apart from walking around the city soaking up the culture, graphics, smell and delightful lack of street advertising the main event started.
Well there was a 3 hour set up for the stand at Dragon Design Festival - the annual design festival held in china with the mission of promoting industrial (that’s graphic and product to us) design in china. but this was down whilst the other members of the UK delegation were derelict of their duty in the local pub – Bavarian themed, of all things!
So first day of the festival the Clear Focus exhibition stand was well prepared with bilingual designs and brochures – thank you Pauline Weng for your translations – but nothing would prepare me for the sheer onslaught of interest we were subjected to. From 9.30 for the next two hours the stand was engulfed in a swarm of brochure hunters, voraciously consuming every element of design we had to offer.
Taking photos of our posters, asking for photos in front of the giant logo on the pop up stand and requesting business cards. Curiously and almost the opposite of meeting people in the UK, I ma now very used to exchanging cards with person two whilst hardly breaking conversation from person one.
Meeting a huge variety of wonderful and interesting characters, from local students to national leaders in their field, all of whom were equally interested in learning anything they could about how design in the UK differs from their city and their country.
In between meeting and topping up the literature stand I managed to slip off for a cheeky photo with one of the two Olympic torches, larger than it seemed on TV that’s for sure.
But the most heart warming element was the endless photography of the posters though – what greater flattery is there for a creative and marketing company than other designers seeking inspiration from our own work!
Thank you Guang Hua foundation for inviting us to your country and your festival, there’s days two and three plus the forum yet to go.
We’re gonna need more brochures (sorry Barry, I know as head of client marketing you’d soundly tell off anyone for running out of marketing material). But as Geoff McCormick of Alloy put it when I asked him – it gets too expensive to produce that many brochures. Interest from China is enormous.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)