I remember when I was a student majoring in Industrial Design, the design ideas of "form follows function" and "function-oriented" coincided with the popularity of modernism, but I was deeply confused. Since Easterners and Westerners are different, their design considerations should also have differences. Looking for traditional oriental design thinking became my research subject in my masters and PhD theses. Through research of a traditional artifact, a red sleeping bed, I understood the creation system of traditional craftsmen and the behavior of users. I discovered that the creation model of traditional Han Nationals was constructed in a circular model from "Tao (the Way.)," "Hsing (physical existence)," "Chi (concrete thing),” and "Hsiang (form)" (Fig. 1). This circular model is to find a problem and "phenomenon" through "observation," and to clarify the key points of this problem through "reflection" symbolized by Tao and ponder ways to solve the problem; then, slowly "shaping," through brush and modeling, gradually constructing a form from the invisible concept; after repeated corrections, eventually forming a "Utensil" available for use. When people use these artifacts, through the structure and the interpretation of the relationship between the objects and themselves, many "phenomena" are generated. These phenomena will affect "Tao." "Tao" here is symbolic of society configured by the "reflection of people." Therefore, in ancient China, the Creator was called "Saint." The creator needs to recognize the real world in addition to making creations, and has a responsibility to society. While teaching at Tatung University, I have adopted this creation model to teach students in design and application.

In just a few years of teaching experience, I have luckily taught some excellent students. The excellent performance of these students allowed Tatung University to continuously win several international design competition awards. Under the encouragement of IDC, Ministry of Education, Taiwan's achievements in international competitions in recent years continues to grow; in addition to the exponential growth of the number of winning works, the active encouragement of students to materialize their achievements also helps to transform creative concepts into business manufacturing and produce greater value. It is an honor to share my guiding experience in the past few years through winning students’ works here.

 

1. Solving Life Problems

The creation model often starts from "observation" of life. "Finding a problem and then solving the problem" can be the origin of design. However, there are many problems found in daily life, but the real test of the designer’s ability is the problem-solving skill. How can I make the design work given a "Wow, that’s it!" moment, is a very difficult challenge. For example, the work "Tilt Cup" (Fig. 2) by Huang, Shi-Hao attempts to solve a problem often encountered daily. Mr. Huang had observed that when a cup (or glass) is placed upside down after cleaning, the remaining water droplets easily cause bacteria to breed because the air inside can not flow out; however, if the cup is placed upright, dust easily falls into it. It is usually necessary to use a "cup holder" to store the cup after cleaning to allow air to flow in and out. The solution of "Tilt Cup" is making the rim of the cup at an oblique angle, so when the cup is placed upside down, air can still flow internally. This design solves the problem of sanitation and eliminates the need for cup holders, is easy to manufacture with no additional costs, and because of the clever problem-solving skill involved and its very productive value, it was awarded the American IDEA Design Bronze Prize Award.

The work "Zipper Lock" (Fig. 3) by Ke, Chih-Teng and Shih, Chang-Chi won the Red Dot Best of the Best Award for Design Concept. It combines a "zipper" and a "lock" together. The concept had been generated in a work camp of locks. The students constantly modified their design; not only making it more beautiful in shape, but also following the concept of universal design, making it easy to operate intuitively.

 

2. Culture Exists in Reality and Even More in the Future

When many people talk about culture, they always think of tradition and history, as if many years are needed in order to see the depth of culture. In fact, culture exists in daily life, and exists even more in regional fields. Through field research, observing regional lands and populations is also an important work of a designer. The work "Mr. Fish" (Fig. 4) by Lin, Min-Yi and Li, Rih-Yan, which won the Red Dot Award for Design Concept, is an excellent expression of this concept. The student designers visited several fishing ports in northern Taiwan many times in the early period of concept development. They understood the procedures of transporting, processing, displaying, etc. of fish products for sale after the fishing boats had returned back to the ports. They analyzed the problems in detail and then developed a systematically complete design; the overall system included the design of a fish transport-storage box, a fish bench, a display table that can keep cold, and the consideration of waste disposal.

Another work, the tea set "TASTING SANXIA" (Fig. 5) by Shih, Chang-Chi and Ciou, Han-Sheng was created from the idea of the blue dye of Sanxia and the tea culture of Biluochun. The teapot base and saucer were made of bamboo dyed with blue color; the teapot and cups were shaped like drops; and there is an intersection of three springs in the image of "Sanjiaoyung" (Triangle Gush), the ancient name of Sanxia. This modern style tea set abandons visible symbols, but shows cultural atmosphere in a more subtle way. This work has won the honorable mention of the Taiwan OTOP Design Award. Its creative process and work have been published in a paper for the conference of Japanese Society for the Science of Design (JSSD) and have won the Best Presentation Award.

The work "MAJAN" (Fig. 6-1 & Fig. 6-2) by Tan, Yu-Chen and Ke, Chih-Teng won the Red Dot Best of the Best Award for Design Concept. The student designers found that the attitude of foreigners to mahjong was very different compared to local views of mahjong. They then explored the topics of mahjong, and let it become the source of their thematic creation. They rediscovered and repackaged mahjong culture in furniture design, so that a mahjong table can become a regular table when not playing mahjong, thus not wasting any space. In addition, the mahjong table was re-designed with more modern images including English text. Their goal was to make it easier for foreigners to understand mahjong culture and to participate. Through the "MAJAN," the mahjong culture is continually extended, not only focusing on local Taiwanese culture but also stepping into internationalization.

 

Fig. 6-1, The “MAJAN," designed by Ke, Chih-Teng and Tan, Yu-Chen, won the Red Dot Best of the Best Award for Design Concept.

_{Fig. 6-2, The “MAJAN," designed by Ke, Chih-Teng and Tan, Yu-Chen, won the Red Dot Best of the Best Award for Design Concept.}

3. Understanding Students’ Characteristics and Acting Freely

In the process of design development, I have been constantly making the lateral (divergent) and vertical (convergence) thinkings, and gradually modifying the works. The characteristics of each student I instructed are different; for example, I view Huang, Shi-Hau, Tan, Yu Chen, and Li, Rih-Yan to be stronger in lateral thinking, Ciou, Han-Sheng, and Shih, Chang-Chi stronger in vertical thinking, and Ke, Chih-Teng and Lin, Min-Yi strong at both lateral and vertical thinkings. When a team is being assembled, the best combination in my view is students strong in one skill (thinking) properly matched with students strong in the opposite skill. When two divergent thinkers are teamed together, their design usually stays in the concept stage; when two vertical thinkers are together, their work is usually conservative and without highlights. Therefore, I had to understand the characteristics of each student and guide them to a specialty, and strengthen their lacking characteristics.

I think in addition to being more active, a society that encourages creativity and innovation can better promote the flow of industries. Take the USA for example, where innovation and entrepreneurship are encouraged. When Kodak, General Motors, and other companies of traditional industries were facing difficulties, emerging industries such as Google, Facebook, etc. arose to support the overall industrial environment. We are in an age with a rapid flow of information, and our lives are full of excess consumer products. It is difficult to find a product selling for 10 years or longer. What we should think of is how to lead the growth of the entire society through the creative ideas of designers. Take industrial designers for example, whose profession is a mix of engineering and art; they understand manufacturing, but they also need to learn aesthetics and marketing. If they can use their specialties, they will not be only designers, but also entrepreneurs with the ability of integration and innovation. It is very pleasing that currently many areas are actively promoting entrepreneurship plans and subsidies. It is also very pleasing that IDC also actively guides people to creative practice. We believe that designers’ innovations transformed into strongly integrated enterprising practices help to promote the development of industries, which is also the social responsibility of designers. As creators in ancient times were regarded as saints, Tim Brown also believes that design thinking can change the world, meaning that design can be greatly influential. After success in the IT industry in recent years, Taiwanese society is constantly looking for renewable industries. Design is a profession belonging to creativity. Winning prizes and ideas in design competitions, and transforming these ideas into industrial entrepreneurial models, are part of the cultural and creative industries as well as the show of Taiwan's soft power. Designers should not only locate themselves in the position of designers, they also need more courage to cross borders and change the industry environment through entrepreneurship, enhancing the influence of design.