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TAIPEI 2016Spring Vol.03—Design Capital Taipei 2016: Explosion of Activities Everywhere

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Post date:2016-06-17

Updates:2016-08-23

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Article _ Eric Hu
Photos _ Department of Cultural Affairs, Taipei City Government
 
This year is Taipei’s year to formally serve as World Design Capital. After three years of hard work and laying of groundwork, design is not only being incorporated into local communities, but is also stepping out internationally. The microtransformation of landscapes and street corners has made Taipei a place of endless, pleasant surprises. International-class design-promotion exhibitions have attracted more people to view this city and its designs. From homes to food markets, communities, campuses, streets and city, each corner is a canvas for aesthetic creativity, none offlimits or restricted. This includes environmental beautification, incorporation of design thinking, improvement of service processes and innovation in public works. A freeranging array of activities – small such as classes, lectures, experiential activities, and design workshops and large such as forums, exhibitions, and public art installations – all are part of life in this city. Each brings appreciation for the value of design in everyday life, and a feeling for the city’s transformation.

1_透過舉辦2016台北世界設計之都,把設計帶入日常每個角落,讓台北處處是驚喜。.jpg
Through World Design Capital Taipei 2016, design is being brought into every corner of daily life and creating pleasant surprises everywhere you turn.
 
Taipei – World Design Capital
The World Design Capita l (WDC) program, sponsored by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid), is worldwide. The WDC selection process is staged once every two years. To date, the choices have included Italy’s Torino in 2008, South Korea’s Seoul in 2010, Finland’s Helsinki in 2012, South Africa’s Capetown in 2014, and Taiwan’s Taipei in 2016. The Icsid jury does not decide on WDC winners solely based on whether they actively create suitable design-industry developmentenvironments. Also key are whether they understand how to utilize design concepts, focus on major issues facing the city, set up public solution-input channels, and develop a city-appropriate vision and model.
 
Taipei’s design prowess runs deep. The city ranks 13th in global design competitiveness. Its industrial design chain is the envy of the world, and it has racked up over 2,100 awards in the world’s premier international design competitions, notably Germany’s iF and red dot, Japan’s G-Mark, and America’s IDEA competitions.

2_2016台北世界設計之都的形象標誌將中央設計成十字星光芒,象徵台北向四面八方多元發展。.jpg
The WDC Taipei 2016 logo features two lines that form a cross in the center, with a star of light, symbolizing the city’s comprehensive and diverse development.
 
Logo Image of Unique Symbolism, Purple Represents Radiant Charm
The WDC Taipei 2016 logo is simple yet deep and unique in meaning. It features a structured intersection of latitude and longitude lines, symbolizing the combination of rationale and emotion, and marking the coordinates of the livable city of Taipei among international cities. The beaming cross-shaped star of light at the center represents the direction of the city’s future development, and Taipei’s core spirit, developing comprehensively and with great diversity, transforming the power of design into living cells for urban regeneration and injecting richer creative vitality into this city. As World Design Capital 2016, Taipei has chosen purple as its signature color. Purple is created by blending red, yellow, and blue, which respectively symbolize passion and vitality, culture and creativity, and smart technology. It possesses the dual charm of being richly bold and classically elegant, clearly representing Taipei as a design capital that has emerged from the interweaving of cultural and human development with advanced science and technology, and fully symbolizes diversity of development and incessant striving for improvement. 

3_台北市以龍鱗裝卷軸造型設計投標書,展現競逐世界設計之都的企圖心。.jpg
Taipei used “dragon-scale bound scrolls” in the design of its official Bid Book, demonstrating its competitive ambition in seeking WDC status.
 
Taipei City started its quest to become World Design City at the end of 2012. Its unique Bid Book, made up of “dragon-scale binding” (龍鱗裝) scrolls and Bid Video were the secret weapons in its winning campaign. They were separately recognized with red dot and iF awards. The distinctive dragon-scale binding method is based on ancient Chinese bookbinding methods, with modern design elements incorporated. The binding method evokes the appearance of the scales of a Chinese dragon, an auspicious sacred creature in Chinese culture. The pages are glued by one edge to a backing scroll, and when a scroll is spread out it presents a complete image, with each turn of the page offering a new surprise.
 
4_龍鱗裝投標書承襲中國古代書卷的傳統裝幀,展開後即為一幅完整圖畫,頁頁都是驚喜。.jpg
The Bid Book dragon-scale binding is based on ancient Chinese scrollbook methods. When laid out flat, the scrolls present a complete image, and each turn of the page offers a new surprise.

The cover of Bid Book Scroll I features an inscription of 16 Chinese characters composed by celebrated Taiwan calligrapher Tong Yang- Tze (董陽孜). The meaning of this inscription is that, “Like cutting and filing, like chiseling and polishing; like gold or tin, like a jade tablet or a jade disk.” It alludes to the adaptive spirit of continually pondering , reflecting, and striving to improve.
 
Surrounded by Ingenuity – Solving Social Problems by Design
The core spirit of WDC Taipei 2016 is “social design”. This refers to the use of design thinking in solving the social issues that the city faces and creating a livable city via “people first” design. In the face of limited resources, and with public interest as the core premise, design is incorporated into government policy to solve social problems or local difficulties.
 
In the past, most design has focused on novel, attractive external appearance. Nowadays, it has entered everyday life. Designers are no longer merely concerned with creating a dazzling appearance, or designing products that meet specific functions. Instead, they want to make use of limited resources to create unlimited possibilities. As World Design Capital Taipei 2016, the hope is that design can assume a deeper role in daily life. From a small shop sign to community development of street corners, lanes and alleys, the rejuvenation of old residences, and even facing an aging society and necessary countermeasures – each is one of myriad of examples where social design thinking can be used for improvement.
 
Continuous Events, Taipei
Design is Everywhere
This year, Taipei City has been staging and will continue to stage a series of large-scale events that range from the international to the distinctively local in character. These include the WDC New Year’s Eve of Design, Design Gala, International Design House Exhibition, International Design Policy Conference, International Design Week Forum, Network of Cities Meeting, and Convocation Ceremony, collectively showcasing the city’s diversity. First up was January’s WDC New Year’s Eve of Design, incorporating a morning concert to welcome the first sunrise of the New Year and related design activities, raising the curtain on World Design Capital 2016. Next up is the WDC Design Gala in March, a grand international awards event that will blend Taiwan’s own design characteristics with the presentation of major domestic design awards, as well as Icsid’s World Design Impact Prize. The gala will include Designers’ Avenue of Stars, special banquet, and stage show. From the clothing to the visuals and from the tastes to the sounds, the gala will showcase the special character and energy of Taiwan design.

5_北市府文化局邀請日本知名社會設計品牌SLOW LABEL來台展出,讓身障者與設計師協力製作商品,發揮美感創意。.jpg
The Department of Cultural Affairs, Taipei City Government invited the renowned Japanese social-design brand SLOW LABEL to organize an exhibition in Taipei, bringing the physically challenged and designers together to create works and unleashing inspiring aesthetic creativity.

6_2016台北世界設計之都,希望使設計元素能更深入日常生活中。.jpg
As World Design Capital Taipei 2016, the hope is that design elements can assume a deeper role in daily life.

7_藉由「台北街角遇見設計」等在地活動,在每位市民心中埋下設計的種子。.jpg
The Meet Taipei: Design and other local initiatives are planting the seeds of design in every citizen’s heart.
 
The next five major events in the calendar line-up are the WDC International Design Policy Conference, WDC International Design House Exhibition, WDC International Design Week Forum, WDC Network of Cities Meeting, and WDC Convocation Ceremony. Designers and urban policy decision-makers from around the globe have been invited to the first four, to share their innovative ideas and visions for future urban development. This will establish a platform for the exchange of views and facilitate discussion on how to use design to solve urban development issues. Winding up, the WDC Convocation Ceremony will formally mark the handing over of World Design Capital to the next selected city – Mexico City. Taipei’s results and achievements will be shared, marking the perfect ending to this grand international event.

8_透過一系列「設計導入公共政策」計畫,邀集各領域人士共同投入,體會社會設計的內涵。.jpg
For the Public Policy by Design projects, professionals from all walks of life are invited to work in coordination to experience the meaning of social design.

9_今年台北正式進入2016世界設計之都,讓源源不絕的設計能量站上國際舞台。.jpg
This year, Taipei is serving as World Design Capital 2016, creating an international stage on which to display its powerful surge of design energy.
 
Beyond the above-described international signature events, each month a series of special local events is being staged that encourage public participation. Examples include the Taiwan Design Expo (台灣設計展), Meet Taipei: Design (台北街角遇 見設計), Creative EXPO Taiwan (台灣文博會), and Taipei Culture Passport (台北文化護照). The hope is that the seeds of design will be planted in the heart of every citizen. In serving as World Design Capital, the relationship between Taipei and the world is being rethought. Taipei is no longer just a factory to the world, but a livable city with humanistic spirit. Every citizen of Taipei plays a key role in social design, and this World Design Capital year is the beginning. Linkages are being initiated and, together, change is being created, injecting an endless supply of the power of change into this ever-evolving metropolis.

10_台北的設計能量豐沛,在全球設計競爭力排名第13名。.jpg 
Taipei is bursting with design energy. Its design competitiveness is ranked 13th globally.
 

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