Taiwan 2011 / Part 3 / IDA Day One

and so the day was finally here. 

the 24th of October, 2011. crisp and clear on a Monday morning, i was all set to attend the very reason i came to taiwan .

       IDA 2011

the international design alliance conference was the first of its kind, and its inaugural summit was held here in Taipei and the purpose for this amazing event was to bring together the unified voice of designers around the world in a themed framework to advance the vision and mission of the IDA by engaging with government leaders (commerce, trade, culture, etc.), INGO’s, business, science and technology, education, the social sciences (ethnography, sociology, etc.) 

the International Design Alliance (IDA) is itself a strategic venture between the international organisations representing design. the alliance was created by founding partners Icsid and Icograda and ratified by their respective General Assemblies in September 2003 and in September 2008, the IDA welcomed the International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers (IFI) to the alliance as the third partner. the alliance is based on the desire of its partners to 'do together what they cannot do alone,' concentrating on opportunities arising from multidisciplinary collaboration. 

it was honestly an exciting moment, and the atmosphere was electric to say the least. i had come the day earlier to register, and now here i was among designers from every corner of the world just waiting to engage each other in deep discussion and dialogue, in powerful presentations and processions ... its days like this that make me tremendously joyful that i'm a designer, and that i too can partake in such amazing experiences with like minded individuals from all over the planet. 

soon we were about to start. and what a show it was. 

immediately after the opening speeches and the formalities that tend to ensue international symposiums like this, we were treated with a visual cacophony of wild streams consisting of blinding green and blue lasers projected in every nook and corner of the huge auditorium. earlier on, were were given pocket sized stainless steel mirror finish panels and we were told that we would need them for a surprise later. 

well, this was the surprise and just before it started, we were told to take them out and flash  them all over the place, supposedly as an attempt to enhance the intensity of the laser beams through sparkling and twinkling reflections and such. 

nice idea to say the least, but lets just say, perhaps a little more thought needed to go into it. i'm sure i wasn't the only confused soul in the audience that morning. but hey, the show was spectacular, none the less ... and almost like a rock concert was about to begin. guns n roses sadly however didn't make an appearance. 

the show ,however, goes on.

showers of light spewing out from all over the place! 

fountains of lasers hitting high and mighty! 

and streams of light bursting radiantly! 

and when that fabulous light show was over, a forum  of individuals representing the organizing committee of the event were called on stage to talk about the event itself and explain whats' it all about and was arranged to get things moving, starting with the explanation of the theme of the event, which was design at the edges. 

as one speaker pointed out earlier, was a significantly appropriate theme for taiwan itself as a country and as a host, as it was an entity itself defined by its edges in the eyes of the world (an island in an ocean, where its shores demarcate its land from the seas in which it sits).  

"a very profound insight," i thought and it led me to think, are we human beings defined by our "edges" as well? philosophical and psychological edges that keep out what we don't want and keep in what constitutes who we are? 

food for thought. hmmmm......

and 'design' of course was the theme of the day. 

presentations went on for a couple of hours before we broke for lunch, and once we did, the first thing i wanted to do was to explore the public design exhibitions that were being held simultaneously at the venue. just crossing the street took me into a whole new world, populated with a vast treasure trove of designs from every industry imaginable. products and concepts galore, from both professionals and students were displayed all over the venue, showcasing the best and the brightest the country had to offer. 

and i was in (design) heaven. 

the entire atrium of the building next door connected to the IDA venue was filled to the brim with panel after panel after panel of creative design ideas and proposals, ranging from everything to try to make the world a better place from new concepts for houses to cities, from furniture to vehicles, from software to hardware and a thousand other things.

i naturally gravitate to the architectural - centric exhibitions. of course. 

and its clear, that a lot of love for ones work poured into some of these projects. 

literally, designed with the heart in mind. 

the atrium itself was interestingly designed, where its spaces were demarcated with array after array of intermittently arranged tall and slender bamboo trunks, creating a semi - transparent division and filter, with a multitude of short colourful branches attached to each pole, again as a conscious effort to incorporate an eastern cultural influence within the layout and scope of the conference. 

nice touch. 

 

and undoubtedly. these bamboo divisions enhanced the creative atmosphere of the exhibition spaces quite interestingly, especially through how lights bounces off its exteriors.

within the spaces demarcated by those bamboo filters, individual booths showcasing certain selected products were isolated and displayed in an eye catching manner to pull the visitor in for a closer look. i get drawn in too.

i spent quite a bit of time just browsing through as many wonderful things as i could, but soon, i had to leave to have a quick lunch and head back to the conference, but just before i do, something mysterious and lively catches my eye.

one of the more interesting things that really held my attention was this concept of a "living painting" where this screen showing a monochromatic traditional chinese painting seemed to come to life, where individual artistic elements within the artwork started moving. 

essentially, it was a projection of an animated piece against a translucent screen, but it felt so much more than the sum of its parts. it was a wonderful reinterpretation of a traditional art form from a static slice of frozen artistry to a dynamic collection of vibrant images that took inspiration from a thousand years of history and condensed it into a momentary presentation. 

truly captivating, i thought.

after spending an hour or so here admiring the last booth that i could at the time, i had to head back to the conference for the next session, and i was quite excited to be there. a world famous super designer was scheduled to present his work strategies and philosophies to us fortunate audience members, and i wasn't gonna be late. 

and the world famous speaker would be none other than kenya hara.  

the one and only.

 

this was him of course, the genius design maestro and brilliant art director, behind some of the worlds best designed graphics and products, through cleverly innovative ideas and strategies, and also the prominent driving force behind the japanese design and commercial powerhouse MUJI. he takes the stage and starts off his presentation.

starting with a car that smiles. yes, smiles. 

this "mood car" has the power the sense your presence and visually displays its delight when you're around. the car smiles, and so do you.

other interesting products include quirkily designed double-face watches and minimalistic elegant timber and steel benches ...

... and playful fabric cladded chairs to boot.

he speaks in japanese but we were equipped with  immediate translators ( devices that look like walkie - talkies ) so we knew exactly what was going on. he spoke on a myriad of issues pertaining to the design industry both locally and internationally, and the impact of design both good and bad on society as a whole.

this man is a living legend of sorts when it comes to design, and so each word he uttered was taken with utmost attentive consideration by us audience members and i really felt very fortunate to be able to hear this genius present his thoughts and opinions to all of us.and of course towards the end of his presentation, a Q & A a session follows expectedly to briefly delve into more of what he presented earlier on for those of us with an extra question or two. a few other presentations had taken place after this one, and when the last one ended, the conference had come to a close for the day.  

the day was filled with eye - opening speeches and presentations, with stunning displays and products and ended with the sharing of professional wisdom by one of the most respected designers in the world and at the end of day, i couldn't have been happier.

but it was now about 7pm, and the night had arrived.



the skies above taipei 101 were cold, dark and cloudy, but the falling of night wasn't the end of the day. there was something special planned for the night and i was just as excited as i was earlier on in the day. a grand dinner and concert was planned for the evening as a way to successfully end the first night of the conference, and the venue for tonites festivities, i was informed, was one of the most magnificent locales on the island.

so its time to party. yes....party. 
lets go.