Seoul design fair venue
Seoul design fair (Oct)
Instead of going to Tokyo design week, I opted for Seoul design fair this year esp. since it has been names as this year's World design capital. The fair took place at the former Olympic stadium, so the venue was massive, hence I had to make 2 trips there! Apart from local Korean designs, there were participants from many other countries like Germany, Taiwan, Italy and Japan etc. There were also exhibits of international design competition entries, works by design students, design mart and bicycle designs etc. Comprehensive, well-organised and interesting but perhaps lacked some surprises... I was so relieved to find a massage chair at the venue after walking around for 2 days, I almost didn't want to get off it!!
Design fair venue - Olympic Stadium
I love these post-it carts!
Design competition entries
Business of Design week, Hong Kong (Dec)
I was quite excited when I found out that Japan is the partner of this year's Business of design week. Although I didn't attend the conference, I attended the East Forum talk which was very insightful because there were designers/ architects from South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan showcasing their work and exchanging ideas on Asian designs. The Inspiration hall at the HKCC was interesting because it featured design work from Japan, Hong Kong, award-winners from design competitions and a calligraphy exhibition. The free business seminars and Detour (see my previous entry) both exceeded my expectations, so I was quite impressed with the overall standard of this year's BODW. Honestly, I am not sure if it was because the Japanese were involved which lead to the huge improvement from previous years, but I hope that the standard will sustain in the future.
East gathering forum
Japanese designs at Hong Kong Convention Centre
Hong Kong honey by Studio Leung
INK & design exhibition
Taipei design expo (Dec)
The last stop of my Asia design tour brought me to Taipei, a city which I haven't visited for about 15 years! It has changed so much over the years and to my surprise, its design industry has also evolved beyond recognition. The Taipei design expo, held inside the former tobacco factory, showcased many of the local talents and from other parts of the world including Germany, France, Japan and England etc. Often been regarded as a shadow of Japan, Taiwanese designs seemed to have found a new identity of its own. I was particular impressed with its tableware, packaging and graphic designs. The bamboo-inspired scaffolding setting upstairs was also memorable and original. Like Seoul, a lot of effort and investment has been poured into making Taipei a world class cultural and design city which is very encouraging and exciting. At the moment, Tokyo is still the cultural and design hub of Asia but will Taipei and Seoul catch up over the next few years? We will have to wait and see...
Cool venue
Jia ceramics
Nipple glasses!!
Double happiness packaging
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