Jonathan Biddle – Made in Taiwan

Tag: Dell

  • Mountain Biking Austin


    Myself, Tony, Ken and Sandra … ready to roll!

    I am almost positive that if I did ever end up moving to Austin, my waist line would do one of two things, depending on a series of decisions I would need to make. These decisions would essentially revolve around two of the central tenets of Austin culture; high-intensity sport, and high-calorie Texmex food. Until the middle weekend in Austin, I had done a fantastic job at tackling the second of the two pillars, but an astoundingly poor job of moving the centre of gravity (literally and figuratively) the other way.

    Luckily, Ken (my big boss), Sandra (big boss’ wife, and former pro-mountain biker) and Tony (shave-legged roadie compatriot from the Austin design team) were on hand to lead me round a few of the best trails in and around Austin; quite literally on a large portion of the population’s doorsteps.

    I spent the week sorting a bike out, eventually opting for a 5″ Trek Fuel EX8 from Mellow Johnnie’s bike shop – owned by Lance Armstrong no less. I also took the opportunity to top-up on bike kit and clothing that tends to be more expensive or simply unavailable in my size back on the ROC.


    Trek Fuel Ex8

    We tackled the Green Belt the first day, escaping the rain just as we returned to the cars (the best type of rain?). It mixed in highly technical rocky sections that were reminiscent of our own ‘Graveyard’ run, but with long flat-out sections where it was possible to stretch your legs in ways impossible in Taiwan. Tony is pretty bleeding fit, and we laid down some rubber for the final kilometres, with Sandra hot on our tail whooping encouragement and tips at us sweaty guys in the engine room at the front. Texmex perfectly filled the hole left by the early start and the exertion.


    Pioneer spirit


    I was pretty impressed with the Trek, both up hill and down dale.


    It was certainly much tighter than the average rental bike, and seemed to have similar responses to my Giant Trance.


    Tony, rocking a similar vintage bike to the one I ride back home.


    Sandra – a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Wonderful to ride with!


    Tony and I both flatted on the same rock step, within seconds of each other. As ever, the CO2 cartridges managed to spray a mixture of ice and condensed water everywhere except into the tube.


    Trail vision


    Hanging on, back up the hill


    Tony – I want to see you with some better equipment next time – bloody impressive skills!

    The clouds returned the next day, so we opted to head a little further afield to trails that are a little more tolerant of erosion than the downtown trails. Indeed, I was quite impressed to see how protective people were of the trails; riding in the wet was positively anti-social. Not quite sure that would be feasible in the UK. Ending up at Mule Shoe (doesn’t that just sound so Texan?) and passing by banks of hill-top haciendas, the trail begins by weaving through an intricate series of tracks with entertainingly technical ups and downs. We managed to get in a few kilometres before the heavens well and truly opened once more, and we got thoroughly dumped on. I was like a pig in shit, but we opted to turn back, since flash flooding is a very real risk.

    So, and early exit, but a great experience and two days of excellent riding. Hopefully, I will be back to finish the rest of that Mule Shoe trail some day. I hope I also proved that the opposite and opposing forces of mountain biking and Texmex may some day find a happy balancing point.


    Single track heaven …


    … and some more mechanical hell. Typically – just as the downpour begins.


    Mud, glorious mud.


    Water splash 1


    Water splash 2


    Rain stops play – and Ken has rather a nice toy!


    Sandra and I enjoy drying off a little


    While I am left with the distinct memory that Austin is wet and rainy!

    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…

  • Miami Vices


    Delightful Americana on display

    Persistence pays off! Months of angling to score a trip to the USA, and I line up three weeks in Miami and Texas, with brief stops in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

    Miami was host to this year’s annual IDSA conference – a meeting of minds and bodies from the Industrial Design Society of America. I expected great things – the finest brains in the industry, a broad cross-section of consultancies, in-housers and orbiting services, and five days in one of the most cosmopolitan style-spots in the Americas. The scene was set for some challenging debate about the future of the industry, questions around our changing roles as creative thinkers, and reflection on some of the global macro-trends shaping the planet.

    But before all that, a brief Architectural interlude:


    Neon

    In order to at least slightly offset some of the crushing 12-hour jetlag, I arrived a day early, and set about taking in as much of the delightful Art-Deco district as possible. In their infinite wisdom, the area narrowly escaped complete destruction in the 80s at the hands of imaginative hotel developers, and we are today left with a superb slice of kitsch Americana that cannot fail to warm the soul in its bright hopefulness.

    Add into the mix a large Latino population (fronted by our own Cuban-Miamian, Pedro), large quantities of aerospace-grade silicon, 22-inch rimmed cruisers and loud loud music … and you have yourself a rather efficient distraction from the more mundane activities at the conference.


    Balmy. Barmy.


    Cavalier Attitude


    I did also see the place in the daytime, honest.


    Post-modern postcards


    Several of the hotels kept classic cars on-hand to tempt gullible photographers into stopping for over-priced coffees. Which, worked just great.


    Heydays in the sun


    There were new Camaros and Mustangs everywhere, but none of them challenges the considered delicacy of the original, if you ask me. The new ones just seem like they were designed as toys, and scaled up accordingly, which may have been true.


    The style extends to the interior of the local restaurants, which in many cases seem untouched from the 50s.

    But enough of the tourist attractions – back to the conference, and some man-sized debate about … oh … everyone is by the pool?


    A theme emerges. Perhaps different from the one envisaged by the organisers.


    Friday night Ocean Drive showmanship.

    In the first days of the conference, I endeavoured to attend as many sessions as I could, constructing a buffet of strategy, techniques and more out-there subjects like how the Human Genome Project could effect design. I have to say, however, that I had a sinking realisation that the sessions were not as meaty as I was expecting, and that in actual fact, the people that I wanted to meet, and the people that I wanted to spend more time with were all creating their own buffet, and only dipping into the sessions that most piqued their interest.


    The Pedromobile!

    And indeed, the most memorable events were those extra-curricular activities that had Pedro leading us a merry- dance through the back streets of Miami, ending up one night at a most delightful little bistro in Little Haiti. A Jamaican restaurant. Run by a pair of Indians. Cooking Indian-Jamaican fusion food out the back of a local store; complete with riot screen, security cameras and cans of Red Stripe to wash it down with.


    “Culturalization”


    Roti + Jerk Chicken = Yum


    Washed down with some delicious glucose-delivery syrups


    The tips jar was in no danger of walking off


    Pedro bonds with the locals


    Team Miami.


    Big brother.


    Time to leave.

    So what of the conference? I went expecting to professionally broaden my mind. For that, I was disappointed. The dialogue I expected to see – the rise of China, commoditisation of design, the role user-interface and software design, the notions around Design Thinking – simply were not successfully addressed; at least in the main sessions. There was a faint whiff in the air of self-congratulatory 1980s excess, and a blissful ignorance of the realities that face our profession. John Kolko of Frog Design pretty much nailed it in his article “End of an Era”, which sums up many of my own thoughts. You have to take it with a grain of salt – if there is one thing Frog seems able to do, it is talk the big talk. Indeed, Frog, Smart, Ideo and others are positioning themselves ‘above’ basic ID, and aligning themselves alongside the Andersons and McKinseys of the world, which I am not totally convinced by yet. I find it interesting that the ‘conversation’ that is driving ID is one of business, rather than a more philosophical skew, as-per architecture.

    Above and beyond this, however, I met up with colleagues and old friends, made new friends and contacts, and took away some great memories.


    MIAMI VICE

    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…

  • Earl Grey in San Francisco

    6 hours stop over in SF. Not been here in 15 years … chowder, ale, cool sea breezes … and back to the airport.


    Boarding on the bay of the dock


    Something for the weekend.

    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…

  • Shanghai Quickie


    View from my hotel room – I am quite a big fan of the Renaissance in Shanghai – not super downtown, but close enough.

    It also floats above Zhongshan Park, which I had written about before. It’s quite a pleasure to drop in on the way to the Shanghai Dell offices, and get a little slice of everyday Chinese life before logging into the old e-mail.


    Old dudes together, found everywhere in the world.


    Pleasure boats, lined up for a weekend of action.


    Practice makes perfect.

    As has happened with Hong Kong, it’s a little strange to realise that the regular trips I make there are becoming routine. When people ask ‘hey, how was the Shanghai trip?’ it seems terribly spoiled to say ‘oh, normal’ … it just doesn’t cut it!

    I think much of that is down to losing some great friends from the city (now in Germany and … well, I am not too sure), and I am building up some new links and all. It will get its mojo back, of this I have no doubt.

    Next trip for me though, is of course Miami … still blows me away that I will be there in a matter of weeks!

    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…

  • Shanghai Tools


    The right tools for the right job (notice the saw, for cutting that huge diameter of pipe). Of course, four people need to watch at all times, in China.


    It shouldn’t, but I found myself exceedingly amused by seeing a scooter on fire while on the way to a factory visit.

    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…

  • 2 Days, 10,000 Buddas

    http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649

    I have quite some photography and writing to catch up on, but for good reason; it’s been super busy here for the last month or so, and I have barely had time to unpack.

    In between landing from the UK, and spending time in Shanghai and Kunshan, I managed a diversion on the way to Guangzhou to stop in and say hi to Team M&T.; Always a pleasure!

    We didn’t have too much planned, so it was doubly pleasant to match my request of A. great food, and B. some hiking. The food was the easy bit, blending Thai and Indian flavours, while we managed a quick excursion up to the north of the city to check up on some delinquent Buddas, that seemed to be trying their best to escape their mounts and leg it down the hillside.


    Chunking Mansions Infrastructure

    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…

  • Total Eclipse of the Heart

    The longest eclipse of the sun for 300 years, and only my second total eclipse ever … and it was raining!

    Still, lots of fun running outside the China Dell office rattling off a bunch of shots. Thought it was rather amusing to see lights going on in the apartment buildings around the plaza … how inconvenient an eclipse must be when you have things to do.


    Flash. Interesting to see how much video was shot of the sky on cell phones. Those tones of grey and black you will surely be showing your grand children!


    Star gazing.


    Even quicker than it arrived, the rain disappeared and the light returned.


    Time to call your friends and tell them about it!

    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…

  • Ye Shanghai

    In Shanghai and Hong Kong for a few days of business and pleasure.

    I haven’t quite found time enough to talk about the amazing number of visitors to Taiwan in the last couple of weeks, and indeed my intrepid parents in New Zealand, but I promise I shall soon!


    View in the other direction from my hotel – think I prefer the park-side view!

    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…

  • Pingxi Sky Lanterns


    The town of Pingxi, East of Taipei, has train tracks running through it, with trains regularly passing through – especially crazy when thousand of people are trying to launch sky lanterns at the same time.


    Formation flying.

    As part of the Chinese New Year celebrations, it’s traditional in Taiwan to release sky lanterns into the, well, sky and mark the coming of the new year with wishes and desires for the 12 months ahead.

    For those people that have not released sky lanterns – ie: most people I know – it is truly a magical thing. A nightmare for local fire services admittedly, but a magical thing none the less.

    The idea is, to write your wishes onto the side (pick your colour first), wrap it up, and head to the launch pad / open space. Once there, take your wad of prayer money (soaked in lighter fluid for two hours) and place it into the recepticle on the inside frame. Take your most pyrotechnically-inclined person (usually a male) and light that wad, ensuring that your friends / family members are supporting the outside paper and maintaining the shape. Then, watch it slowly fill with hot air and when ready, synchronise the release.


    “We want bonus”

    If the salesman has properly soaked the wad of cash, it should woosh up into the air, accompanied by ‘coos’ and ‘aahs’ of the team, and hopefully some pointing and poorly exposed, shaky photos. Served best, surrounded by thousands of other people doing the same … and for desert, watch other peoples’ wishes plummet from the heavens and crash into the ground!

    Ah, sweet schadenfreude (isn’t it great how the Germans have a whole word, just for this concept 🙂 ).


    T-Minus.

    And this is the result …







    My first trip, after four years of wishing I could go … lovely!

    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…

  • Zhongshan Park


    Zhongshan Park from my hotel room

    I wait six months to travel with Dell, and then I travel twice in three weeks. Can’t complain.

    High above Zhongshan Park, through my hotel window I looked down each morning to throngs of people doing Taiqi, flying kites and ballroom dancing. It was clear that I had to get down in between the people, and I am glad I did – all the stereotypes I have happily built up are true.


    Perfectly synchronised Taiqi


    Hot stuff


    Some rather stylish ballroom dancing


    These guys really spent some time trying to persuade me to have a Taiqi lesson … very friendly chaps.


    It’s pretty awesome how active old people are out here – learning new things and obviously enjoying themselves while doing it.


    … and some just chill out.


    … and some are clearly a little confused.


    The guys with the birds remind me of my first trip to Hong Kong bird park – now just round the corner from Tanja and Michael.

    I think this is about my fourth or fifth trip to Shanghai, so it is fair to say I have got used to the place and know my way around fairly well. None the less, I am always surprised at the pace of development here, and it makes the already quickly developing Taipei seem like a backwater. It is for this and other reasons that I am really quite excited about the direct flights from Taipei (and the downtown airport no less!) to Shanghai. I lose my convenient excuse to drop in to see Hong Kong, but on the other hand the cost of flights out to HK must be plummeting right now, so maybe it is all good.


    Crane city – though I was told by Gerhard that last month in Shanghai, zero properties were sold or exchanged. Hard to believe, but it is clear that the credit crisis is hitting hard.


    My trip coincided again with Pecha Kucha, with lots of architects talking earnestly about building things from carrot shavings and recycled Freitag bags. I guess they will all be flying home for Christmas and knocking out any potential savings they had made thus far that year.


    Wandering the ever larger reclaimed area around Taikang Rd. Every time I go there are more and more cool places to see, and all the time the Chinese locals continue to stay there, creating a funny combination of washing hanging out and Grafitti.


    On the one hand in Shanghai, there are loads of wee little cool design shops and boutiques – especially in the French Quarter. On the other hand, wandering around of an evening looking for some standard noodles or rice is not easy. I’ll have to settle for the Gorgonzola Balsamic Salad again. Life is hard.


    And I finally got to see Coco – friends with Nelson from his previous life in Shanghai. A real pleasure, and an institution of ‘old Shanghai’.

    And while I might know my way round better, I was getting frustrated that my taxi trips across the city were completely inefficient, so I geekily have started adding my fave places in a Google Map – you can see it below.


    View Larger Map

    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…