Presentation support doc
- 1. Proposal: Created with China What: A dynamic multinational network for emerging designers in China & the UK When: Launch Sept 2010 with light graffiti event in London and Shanghai, and installation at Tent London: Talent Zone Who: Young, inspirational designers and established industry professionals (potential mentors) Created with China – The Legacy Celebrating China as a source for new, exciting and crafted design, instead of its negative associations to mass production and low quality products, Created with China uses the Expo and its emphasis on design as a launch pad to create a network between emerging designers in the UK and China. As recognized by the Director of the V&A Mark Jones during the exhibition ‘China Design Now’ the sudden surge of construction in China has inspired a new generation of creatives. Responding to this shift, Created With China not only showcases these developments but creates a dynamic platform for creative and cultural exchanges which will nurture future generations. Adding a new dimension to the British Council’s already established Connections through Culture, the network will promote, enable and celebrate emerging creative talent in both countries. Combining elements of existing social networking sites that are familiar to the media savvy next generation of designers, the network will provide a professional but creative resource and outlet (think MySpace/ Facebook meets Linked-In). These virtual meetings of the mind have the potential to develop into successful partnerships, with the UK and Chinese designers supported in the organisation of research and development trips to their opposite country. The exchange of this technical, commercial and cultural knowledge will create design that appeals to both Asian and Western markets whilst celebrating the unique characteristics and idiosyncrasies of the individual countries. This legacy project is about establishing the next generation of designers who will grow in a multinational way, celebrating the best of each design nation and supporting a creative economy that they (and their mentors) will actively contribute to. The network will expand from a purely online experience to link with other providers seeking to create links through events, exhibitions, publications etc in both locations. The projects aim is based on collaboration within the network and outside to gain the best profile and the best practice possible. Equipped with the most up-to-date knowledge of processes and materials the products created by the up and coming designers within this creative pool will be innately better designed and subsequently contribute to a better city. Website Feature Examples Individual Profiles: A virtual and multi-layered business card, each member of the network will be given a personal profile. On this they will be able to: Upload biographical information, project descriptions, interests Upload images, movies and audio files Tag their own photos in general network albums Advertise collaborative opportunities
- 2. Groups: Within the network, there will be the facility to create smaller groups that may be based on the type of design, location of the designer or common interests. iWall: Creating a live feed, iWall filters information uploaded by designers and groups it into relevant categories. A different selection of these, tailored to individual interests, will be displayed on each members profile. Used as a wider database, members can search under different headings to find additional recommendations. Progress Report: To inspire and inform their fellow network members, designers can share information on their collaborative projects in varying stages of development. This will include ‘Initial Ideas’ on which other members can brainstorm, ‘Developments’ an opportunity for collaborative teams to share their experiences of working together and provide snapshots of how their projects are developing and ‘Signed Off’ a gallery for finished projects and products. Wikipedia of Design: Created entirely from user generated content, the Wikipedia of Design resource will include information on both materials and manufacturing processes. Edited by the designers, it highlights another aspect of the networks collaborative structure. Chat Room: Able to search for users who are connected ‘live’, members of the network will be able to talk using an instant style messaging service integrated into the website. This will also feature an online translator to facilitate the bilingual dialogues. Online Creative Market: To offer creative products made by young designers. 365 mobile phone application: Using existing technology, a daily alarm of network user generated content from each country would be uploaded to your phone. Keeping you up to date each day with fresh creative and creating a regular touch point with the project. Despite the time difference, the design community are always in communication. Created with China - The Event: To promote and launch our young creatives network ‘Created with China’ we propose an exciting and engaging event that merges Chinese tradition of light with cutting edge visual design and activities. In London and Shanghai we will select one building that represents the creative exchange that we are suggesting we will nurture within the online platform i.e. a Chinese designer in a London office, a building in China created by a UK architect, a Chinese manufacture that works with a British designer. For this we are proposing the 1933 building in Shanghai's Hang District, a former cattle abattoir turned art house deigned by English architect Balfour and London’s Old Truman Brewery, a location synonymous with multicultural design and where Tent London will be held. These buildings share not only a similar aesthetic but represent the reciprocal creative relationships between the two nations. Inspired by Liu Zhizhi’s ‘Map of Shanghai’ commissioned by the V&A for their China Design Now exhibition, we have looked to the medium of light to literally highlight this legacy activity. Discussing the work, Zhizhi explains:
- 3. ‘The pre-1949 city of Shanghai was known for it’s ever-illuminating neons. Modern-day Shanghai is keen to recapture the legacy of colour and sound.’ With this in mind we intend to light up each selected building in both locations with an urban light tagging event. This activity emerged out of a grander vision to project on to buildings around London and Shanghai (see Graffiti Research Lab: slide 16). But budget constraints led us to what is a more participatory and youth focused event, the act of creating and throwing LED light throwies. These small and inexpensive items (that are almost all recyclable) would create a guerilla style launch that would get the young and dynamic design crowd involved. We suggest hanging a large piece of metal from each of the buildings to attract the throwies (each have a magnet attached to them (slide 17). This way the activity would be fun but targeted and would allow for easier recycling. Once all the lights have been thrown a beautiful light installation will be created...a type of public art. TENT London We would also suggest that our pitch at 100% Design is located within the Talent Zone of Tent London as their aim is to ‘ showcase the work of the next generation of designers whose ideas will shape our future world’ - a notion shared by our legacy project. This will also help us engage with our target market. Within Tent we would propose an installation themed with the light tagging but that gives us the option to showcase the work and the people that we are seeking to connect and engage, Additional Promotion In order to spread the word we will produce stickers (slides 25-28) that combine this message and the visual style and ask those who currently work with Chinese/London counterparts to display the stickers to encourage a growing awareness of the links between the two countries. The network hopes to revive traditional manufacturing techniques and craft, in addition to facilitating new production methods, the sticker campaign identity will fuse ancient Chinese paper cutting imagery with bold graphics. Printed in red, a colour symbolic of Good Luck and often used for celebrations in China, the stickers will have a strong visual presence day and night: “Part China. Part London.” or “China is Here” (for London) “UK is Here” (for Shanghai) These contemporary graphic phrases will be combined with traditional Chinese aesthetic styles to create interest and also bind the two cultures from the outset. The inclusion of the network website on these stickers will help drive traffic to our site and the work it will do. Our final presentation when we return to London will look at the launch of this project but also its longevity as a future focused legacy. We have prepared the concept within the budget constraints that have been allocated for 2010 but have a clear idea how this project will roll out with additional funding and participative investment.