It looks like the design sector in Taiwan may be as talented in winning increasingly more global industrial design contests as it is in building profile for the nation as an emerging center of international design, one that has enough clout, ingenuity to persuade the International Design Alliance (IDA) committee members to hold its once-six-years Congress in Taipei in 2011, scheduled for October 15-17 at the TICC (Taipei International Convention Center).

Oliver Lin, director of the design management section at the Taiwan Design Center (TDC), a national body on the island deserving the credit for winning the right to host the IDA Congress, said that the center brainstormed a project that melds Eastern and Western cultures to impress the committee members during the final inspection, which obviously did the trick. Also giving credit where it is due, the director stressed that Taiwan government`s eager support also helped to bring the IDA Congress to Taipei.

Without boasting the same cosmopolitan, historical appeal of the Western cities that hosted the previous IDA Congresses, Taipei, and to some extent Taiwan, had its work cut out in competing against 18 cities in 13 nations to stage the most important event for the global design community. The designers in Taiwan, since 2003, have set a track record that simply announces to the world that this modestly-sized island, known worldwide for its IT manufacturing prowess, is not only capable of creating world-caliber industrial designs, but is also innovative enough to win major contests. Perhaps not the linchpin to tip the final decision in Taipei`s favor to host the IDA Congress, the committee members likely were aware that the design sector in Taiwan has made commendable progress as a serious contender: winning only 16 top prizes in global design contests in 2003 but over 200 by 2008, including golds, silvers, and bronzes in the world`s top-four competitions-iF, red dot of Germany; IDEA of the U.S.; and G-Mark of Japan.

Winning the privilege to host the 2011 IDA Congress is significant for Taipei and Taiwan on another level, because the event, expected to attract over 3,000 international heavyweight designers and experts from more than 60 nations, will help not only to generate foreign exchange revenues for various providers of support services, but also notch another achievement for the city`s MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) industry, one that the government has been trying to build over the years.


IDA Congress
Originally the World Design Congress, the key global design event will be renamed the IDA Congress from 2011, Lin says, with the three major players in the international design community-the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid), the International Council of Graphic Design Associations (Icograda), and the International Federation of Interior Architects (IFI)-have committed themselves to forming a collective voice for all disciplines of design through the creation of the IDA.
According to Lin, the IDA Congress, the world`s longest-running design activity, covers three disciplines: graphic, industry, and interior design. In the past, the IDA Congress has been mainly held in the West, including Paris (1963), London (1969), Moscow (1975), Helsinki (1981), Amsterdam (1987), Glasgow (1993), Sydney (1999), and Copenhagen (2005). So Taipei may have broken the mold for Asia to host the Congress in 2011.

The IDA is a strategic alliance that draws on the resources of its respective partners for the benefit of each of its initiatives. The IDA promotes a design community working together for a world that is balanced, inclusive and sustainable.


Putting Taiwan on Global Map
"The preparation for the 2011 IDA Congress began cross-the-board in Taiwan in 2009," Lin points out, "and more details will be announced as time passes, including the Congress theme `Design at the Edges`. The TDC is mainly acting as the platform upon which to mobilize all available resources in Taiwan, with a very clear goal to make history for the local design industry, as well as anticipating to spark cross-field movement."

"We are encouraged to know that increasingly more people in Taiwan understand that design plays the core role in industrial development, upgrading, and transformation, which are urgent processes for different fields on the island," Lin says. "Although Taiwan has been winning more prizes in international design contests, the nation`s design strength still lags well behind that of industrially advanced nations. So we have to tap the influence of the global stage to both promote the value of design to Taiwan residents, as well as our own design skills to global communities."

While the design community in Taiwan already leads the Chinese realm, the director says, the island`s design strength is yet world-recognized. The 2011 IDA Congress thus is pivotal as a stage to put Taiwan on the global design map. "We hope the Congress can fully promote Taiwan`s design community," Lin says, "further synchronizing Taiwan designers with their global peers, highlighting the value of Made-in-Taiwan to realize business opportunities and benefits, and enhancing local consumers` sophistication."


Design at the Edges
The main theme "Design at the Edges" of the 2011 IDA Congress, Lin says, indicates that the IDA wants to pay more attention to the future development of design rather than focusing only on aesthetics. "The IDA aims to trigger brand-new design ideas between the design and non-design fields such as technology, economy, non-government organizations etc.," the director explains. "The IDA also wants to spark cross-field cooperation between the industry, graphic, and interior design fields, with all the results expected to be pioneering and experimental to allow design to push the envelope, but stressing `human` as the center."

The 2011 Congress, Lin adds, will differ from those in the past: "More VIPs from non-design but somehow-related fields will be invited to speak, such as representatives from Indian banks that serve the poor to discuss the relationships between economic development and design, or government officials to discuss issues as `design capital` of the world etc."

"The mood is `making history` as we prepare for the big event. There are many challenges but we are very confident," Lin says. "While praying the global financial storm will not seriously impact the global presence at the upcoming Congress, we realize many global designers have been more or less affected. Knowing it`s a rare honor to host the once-six-year Congress, we allow only room for success. This is a privilege belonging to all people in Taiwan, one that calls for everyone`s participation. We also hope Taiwan-China relations will be further improved, without politics hampering this important activity."


Year of Design
In line with the IDA congress, the Taiwan government is also naming 2011 "Year of Design" by holding a spate of design-related activities all year long, which may be seen as a movement to upgrade the aesthetic across Taiwan. The program, according to Lin, aims to unveil a new era for local industries, encouraging them to tap design and innovation to replace low-margin contract manufacturing, as well as enhancing local brands to upgrade their global competitiveness.

Such design-related activities will be widely reported in the media to publicize Taiwan`s "design IQ," which ideally will have people in Taiwan not only think more about design but also wishing to include design into their daily lives.

Another highlight, according to Lin, among these design-related activities is the TDC`s planning of what may be the world`s largest design expo in 2011. Lin says that the design expo will showcase numerous design works in 4,700 booths at three exhibition venues in Taipei, including the Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC), Nankang Exhibition Hall, and the Songshan Tobacco Plant Cultural Park. The expo expects to attract one million international visitors because it will not only be a product exhibition but an interactive, educational fair for all. "We hope the number of design activities in 2011 to reach 30 to 40 throughout the island," Lin claims, "meaning that almost one new design-related activity will kick off each week that year."
(by Quincy Liang)