Life's little pleasures
Wang and a friend founded Do a Little Design after Wang came back to Taiwan in 2004. The main thinking underlying all of his designs is to reduce the minor annoyances of daily life.
A set of thumbtacks, entitled "In Treatment," calls a truce in the eternal skirmishing between the tips of thumbtacks and the tips of fingers by offsetting the axis of the tacks' pins so that pairs of tacks can be snapped together to form small capsules. When you want to use the tacks, you pull the pairs apart safely. There is even a magnet at the bottom of the container so that when stood on end it becomes a cute toy that bounces back up from every blow. In addition, the outer packaging can be assembled into a message board. This multifunctional design concept is clean and powerful, and can be yours for NT$1280 retail (list price).
Another item of his is a transparent glass salt jar, inspired by a goblet with a broken stem. It is bold in its simplicity, because there is no obvious trace of design to be found.
"I've also been through that stage of very colorful designs. Before, my personality had more rough edges, but as I've gotten older I've begun to adopt more modest ways of looking at the world." Wang avers that life is not black and white--there's a big gray area when it comes to design concepts, which should find broad appeal.
The point is, who says a glass has to be round? The Milife company aims for designs that will surprise viewers and make them curious. A cube-shaped "tofu glass" can be stored in its tray upside down, looking just like a slab of tofu. (NT$1200 for a pair.) A set of Chinese tableware--chopsticks, dipping saucer, salt jar--in the shape of traditional writing implements (with the sauce holder modeled after an ink tray) makes you feel as if you are filling your stomach with ink every time you dip into the condiments. An unappetizing concept, a Westerner might think, but perfectly sensible when you remember the Taiwanese saying used to compliment the well-read: "a stomach full of ink." (NT$1680 for the set.)
When you use a teabag, the little paper tag at the end always flops around here and there and usually ends up in the cup. Then the water's too hot to reach in and take it out, so there it stays until the tea is over-steeped and bitter. The KEDO company has designed a teacup with a button-shaped hook where you can attach the tea bag, thus resolving another of life's long-neglected little frustrations.
From product to production
The younger generation has no shortage of dynamism, and some of their products can already be found for sale in the marketplace. But can these initial successes be turned into value at the level of large-scale production?
At a seminar at the TFAM entitled "In Pursuit of Creative Design," PChome chairman Jan Hung-chih pointed out that in recent years artistic and creative design has certainly been around in Taiwan, on a scale that, while not large, is not trivial either. But he expressed concern that people will get bored with the whole thing and lose the motivation to keep creating.
Jan started his analysis by looking at the creative street-hawkers--the makers of the "fashion markets"--who have been such a common sight these past two years. There are so many young people out there, on the streets or in little nooks of commercial space, selling handmade jewelry, accessories, candles, and the like. It is clear that not all young people are satisfied being cogs in a corporate machine, but would rather express themselves creatively on their own, holding fast to their dreams and waiting patiently for people who will appreciate their work. And the fact that so many consumers are willing to buy these products--which after all are not always of the highest quality and for which there is no after-sales service--shows that Taiwanese people have the capacity to appreciate and seek out unique products with an individual touch in order to enrich their lives. These are all developments to be happy about.
However, he also noted that the fashion street-market scene has not produced even one single brand name, one famous designer, or one prestigious shop or firm. He wondered how long a scene like this could remain attractive to newcomers.
"Taiwan's bicycle, furniture, utensils, and other industries all hooked into design capabilities early on, so that their products have had greater penetration and respectability in the international market," notes Jan. New-generation designers cannot stop at the level of casual design work that is basically tossed off in a moment of inspiration and left at that. They have to seriously consider the problem of how they are going to survive in the long run.
Two years ago Jan invited a group of creative people from the UK to visit Taiwan. Included were cultural policy administrators, private think tanks, management consultants, venture capitalists, and designers. In comparison, in Jan's opinion, over the last five years of development of Taiwan's creative industries, he has only seen individual creators struggling on their own at one end, and a powerless government at the other, with nothing in between. That's a lot less depth than was represented in the UK delegation. "You cannot just command cultural creativity to happen."
Cross-sector groups
Taipei City, where the creative street markets are most vibrant, may be taking the first steps to lend a hand. Lee Yong-ping, a cultural creator turned legislator and now the director of the Taipei City Bureau of Cultural Affairs (BCA), recently stated at a visit to the workshop of a creative-based company that Taipei City would change its policy toward commercial activities in public parks from the previous one of "prohibit in principle, allow on a case-by-case basis" to a more open attitude of "allow in principle, prohibit on a case-by-case basis."
In addition, she has arranged that starting this summer, a regular designer market will be set up on the plaza between the TFAM and the Taipei Story House. She also revealed that Taipei 101, a major attraction for international tourists, has sought the help of the BCA to recruit some producers whose works display the special imagination and character of Taiwan to set up counters in their shopping mall.
"Right now the government's main difficulty is that people have the correct general idea, but it is impossible to find any managers or private-sector groups with experience in running profitable creative enterprises," says Lee. The BCA has more than 20 public spaces under its jurisdiction that remain vacant, and they would be more than happy to give people the opportunity to use them, but no outstanding groups have come forward to bid. The era of "individual artists being awarded individual projects" is over. She calls on young creators to abandon the "big fish in a small pond" mentality and to integrate themselves into teams with members from different sectors to expand and become strong in the shortest possible time.
"Once there are channels for display and sales of goods, the market will naturally tell us who has the greatest potential to become a major brand name. Taking creative industries in the UK for example, the government only plays the role of intermediary, yet in recent years the value of cultural production has been second only to that of the steel industry," says Lee.
Amidst the daunting environment of globalized competition, sales by creative industries and the economics of aesthetics can put a country or city on the global map. Beauty is competitiveness, competitiveness is beauty, and that is all ye need to know.
