A natural result
Walking into the College of Design building, the casual observer will see students sporting the simple garb of ordinary college kids, not dressing the way one might imagine those doing creative work would dress. Upon entering the fourth-floor research rooms, however, you can clearly sense the creative energy of this group of students.
In these rooms, festooned with sketches, models and international journals, the lights blaze 24 hours a day. Shuttling around here, you have to be careful not to step on students sleeping on the floor, because they may have been working on some creative project without sleep or rest for many days, brainstorming on some international design competition entry.
"The ambition that NTUST students have for taking part in international competitions is truly spirited. It's not forced by the professors; rather, it's the product of students' mutual encouragement. The research rooms are packed with people before the entry deadline for any competition. When you see other students giving their all thinking and creating, sometimes submitting a dozen or so entries, you'll naturally push yourself to stay caught up," says graduate student Liu Hsiang-ling, who snatched the 2009 iF and red dot awards for the silica gel "sticky cell phone" that sticks to car windows.
A graduate in Industrial Design from Huafan University, she admits that she had submitted her work over and over while in college, but had never won anything.
"Maybe it was because I worked alone then. But at NTUST, with a group of like-minded classmates working with you and critiquing each other's work, we can keep each other's spirits up when things go wrong," she says.
Liu gives an example. For her silica-gel cell phone, her primary intent was to design an environmentally friendly phone that could be stuck to a car window, solving the problem of not knowing where to put the phone in a car. To conform to the green energy trend, she had planned to include a solar panel on the phone, but this would have increased the phone's thickness by several millimeters. Later, her classmates helped her by finding the latest "printed solar cell" technology, in which a thin layer of material is added to the cell phone for instant recharging, allowing the phone to be only eight millimeters thick, thereby preserving her original design. This solved her conundrum.
At this stage, the College of Design's emphasis on creativity and competition has become a prominent feature of the program. But does this push to produce good work and to compete cause unwarranted pressure, and do the regulations of the competitions place bounds on student creativity?
Regarding these questions, associate professors Sung Tung-jung and Cheng Jin-dean, both of whom teach product design, hold that competing in contests may put pressure on students, but whether or not they win a prize, their academic performance does not suffer. Both professors agree that it's because, whether or not a student wins an award, there is an element of luck involved, and even good entries can be rejected.
From another perspective, industrial and commercial designs are not pure artforms; they have always been subject to budget constraints, clients' aesthetic sense, market tastes and so forth. Competitions allow students to become used to "exercising maximal creativity within a limited framework." Furthermore, competing in domestic and international contests alongside the world's best designers is the best training for boosting students' skills and international vision.
"Such hard-to-come-by experience can't be traded for all the money in the world," says Cheng.
A flexible yet up-to-standard administrative model, a cooperative and active learning environment and a solid system of prerequisites ensure outstanding outcomes. Superb performance by NTUST College of Design students and faculty in international competitions is perhaps an inevitable result!
Top ten universities in Taiwan in terms of winning the iF Design Award
Chaoyang University of TechnologyGlobal ranking |
Points |
School name |
4 |
160 |
National Taiwan University of Science and Technology |
12 |
120 |
Shih Chien University |
16 |
80 |
National Taipei University of Technology |
28 |
60 |
National Cheng Kung University |
28 |
60 |
National Chiao Tung University |
41 |
40 |
Ming Chi University of Technology |
41 |
40 |
National Kaohsiung Normal University |
41 |
40 |
National Yunlin University of Science and Technology |
41 |
40 |
Shu-Te University |
57 |
20 |
Chaoyang University of Technology |
Located in Taipei's Gongguan area, NTUST's College of Design enjoys excellent geographical advantages, with ready access to the latest industry information and opportunities to form cooperative projects with business.
The NTUST College of Design places emphasis on practical creativity. Shown here is a final presentation in Design Practice class. The Jingua Design team is introducing toasters and coffee makers designed with bird imagery.
Industrial design graduate Qiu Qinmao's work Plant Planet, an indoor plant container that absorbs solar energy.
The NTUST College of Design places emphasis on practical creativity. Shown here is a final presentation in Design Practice class. The Jingua Design team is introducing toasters and coffee makers designed with bird imagery.
FlexibleLove, an accordion-like, expandable chair, was created by Chiu Chishen, who graduated four years ago from NTUST in industrial design. Hailing from suburban Miaoli, Chiu by chance passed by an adhesive tape factory not far from his home, where he saw stacks of honeycomb cardboard. Inspired, he created a chair out of folded cardboard. When stretched, the chair can seat up to 16 football players; when compressed, it's a two-person love seat. The versatile, environmentally friendly design became a hit in Western countries like France and Spain. The chair currently sells at the renowned luxury goods outlet Nordic with a suggested retail price of NT$12,650-NT$23,150.
Prize-winning work by NTUST students. From left to right: Liu Hsiang-ling's solar-powered silicon gel phone, Lai Zhongping and Ye Minghong's eating utensils designed not to touch surfaces, and Xiao Shengwen's 3D computer animation Love_Child, using fetal imagery.
The College of Design boasts a professional photography studio where students can compose attractive photos to promote their work.