2009/APR/20 TAIWAN DESIGN CENTER
UNEXPECTED EVENTS
Gerhard gets pregnant, and we find the origins of the bamboo laptop. Such an exciting day – and it all takes place at TDC, Taiwan Design Center (location: N 25 03.451 - E 121 36.709). With a team of about 100 people it’s an impressive organization, funded by the government to promote and strengthen Taiwanese design. Our good friend Nancy Hsieh, Project Manager at TDC, gave us the grand tour. There’s a lot to look at – just check the pictures below!
Apart from all the products developed by local designers and manufacturers in cooperation with TDC, there’s a large design library, a material library and a user study room: the type with a mirror window where you can check how people on the other side of the wall are using your products. It’s all hush-hush: Kelvin Ko, in charge of the material lab and user research studio, told us that sometimes big companies occupy the user studio for days without ever letting him know what kind of product they are testing. The IDEA NOMADS are not shy: we had Gerhard try out the pregnancy suit, simulating six months pregnancy. Not as heavy as one could expect, but maybe it is sized after Asian babies rather than chubby Germans. Well well.
Other funky facts about the material lab: this is where the idea for the Asus bamboo laptop was born – from a bamboo laminate originally used for interior design. The designer wanted to use a typical Asian material, and neither stone nor ceramics worked out. So what could be better than bamboo? Pandas love it, we love it too. Back to the TDC: as Nancy explained to us, part of their job is to work with local manufacturers that might be about to close down, helping them develop new products. TDC also has a long cooperation with the National Palace Museum, hotting up their brand for a younger audience with the slogan "old is new" and new souvenirs, some designed by Philippe Starck. Nice, yes – but our favorite piece of design in the Taiwan Design Center is what you see on top of this page: a shelf for storing and displaying the mugs of the staff. Show me your tea cup and I’ll tell you who you are…
