Jonathan Biddle – Made in Taiwan

Tag: Design

  • iF China Design Awards & Hangzhou

    Latest update on the Pudong transformation.

    I seem to be travelling to China a lot recently.  This time, mixed in with some supplier visits and research (oh, and picking up an iF China design award for my wee Vostro V13), I decided to whisk Nikki off for a weekend in the big smoke.  Since she had not been to China before, the main aim was to give her a chance to see a quick cross-section of the place.

    Looking at China, and especially Shanghai, through the lens of a Taiwanese person is a really interesting experience.  In some ways, it’s like an American person visiting London for the first time, but in other ways the comparison falls apart.  China is not a small island separated from it by thousands of miles of ocean, the roles of economic upstart are flipped in favour of the ‘homeland’, and of course the political status of the ‘settled’ land is far from clear.

    Most of the time when I am with Taiwanese people in China it is for visiting the multitude of factories that supply components for Dell; themselves mostly run by Taiwanese bosses.  In these times, they are excessively protective and mollycoddling, and I will find myself being whisked around the Yangtze river delta plain for hours on end in shaky VW Santanas, in order to wait in dimly lit rooms for hours more, only to have a twenty minute-long meeting about something they should or should not be doing.  If you choose it to be, it is the purest description of boredom and frustration, and for this reason I travel solo whenever I have the opportunity; thus, working out the train system.  It also means I avoid the round-table dinners when I need a night off, scheduled as they are with heavy drinking, heavier food, uncomfortable conversation and thinly-veiled sliminess from the sales guys.

    It also makes travel with Taiwanese in China on personal time that much more pleasant – curiosity, modesty and politeness from the Taiwanese, in a sea of nail clippings, car crashes, shouting, and general rudeness is at once touching and heart-rending.  It’s like being reunited with an old friend that seems to have gone off the rails (but that is driving a flashier car than you).  Looking at China through their eyes, I at once see them staring in wonder at the history and the stories, in mild shock at the pace of development compared to Taiwan, and in disbelief at the chaos that is ensuing.

    So, I installed Nikki into the local scene for a few days.  Hooking up with Gerhard and the crew, we rattled around the bars, restaurants and night-life that makes Shanghai, Shanghai.  We saw the sites, and while I was working for a couple of days, she had time to get to grips with the city.  I think she enjoyed it, but one or two excessive nights (I blame Oktoberfest) brought home the fact that while Shanghai is a great place to visit, it’s not the best place for your health.

    Jump!

    Admiring The Bund

    Nathan Road lights

    In the French Concession with one of the many groups of newly-weds getting photographed

    Wide-angle Shanghai action

    Inevitable consequences

    A trip to the more sedate city of Hangzhou (if 8,000,000+ people can be called sedate) was just what I needed.  I had been there before, but it was obviously Nikki’s first time.  My previous experience on the Kunshan rail system had obviously spoiled me; just turn up, buy your tickets and you are done.  We had to wait in line for what felt like an eternity, only to be told that the ‘fast’ trains were fully booked; I should have just got the hotel to book it for me (in fact, that makes so much more sense than going to the station myself to get tickets).  Three hours on a stinky, slow, packed train, quickly became three and a half hours, and we were beginning to wonder if everything was okay when suddenly everyone alighted.  We had clearly arrived.  Not quite recognising the station from my previous trip, we made a beeline for the taxi rank, and virtually had to shout at the drivers to persuade them to take us to the hotel.  How can they be so stupid?

    [mappress mapid=”2″]

    Almost, but not quite.

    Well, it perhaps turns out that we were stupid. Somehow, we had ended up at Hangzhou South Railway Station.  It actually displays ‘Xiaoshan’ Station, so you can imagine the confusion trying to work out where we were, and profuse apologies to the taxi driver as he drove us the 45 minutes it took to get to our hotel.  A little research goes a long way, Jonathan, especially when it is late at night in a dark corner of Zhejiang Province.  Ironically, the high-speed rail service between Shanghai and Hangzhou opened only days later, shortening the journey to a mere 45 minutes.  No matter, on the way home we got the hotel to buy the tickets, and it took us about an hour and half on the train that I originally wanted to take.

    Shanghai South Railway Station roof

    Boarding the slow train

    Watching the world go by

    Spirits remained high!

    Sun setting …

    Waiting some more, and contemplating life

    Confidential doodling

    Are we there yet?

    No really … are we there yet?

    Onto the design awards!  The V13 has been a big success for the team, and has been steadily picking up design awards along the way; G-Mark, Red Dot and an iF China ain’t bad.  Oh, and the fact that it’s been selling at 300% over original projections.  It was a nice opportunity to bump into a couple of colleagues from Asus, make some new friends at Philips and have a chin wag with the bosses at the iF organisation.

    Yay!

    What was even more interesting was to bump into a few designers from the local Hangzhou design scene; it’s no surprise that it exists, and it sounds like they are in the same position as Taipei was perhaps ten years ago; quantity trumps quality, and intense price competition makes for compromised solutions.  But they are making strides, and I would say Hangzhou would be a great location for a design centre; the culture, the considered pace, and the proximity to nature makes for a more creative feeling.  Perhaps Hangzhou is to Chicago what Shanghai is to New York.  Something to keep an eye on.

    Hangzhou as a location?  I have to say I am quite smitten with it, with Xihu Lake forming the centre-piece for the city.  I suppose I was a little carried away with the image of China, so I was a little disappointed when Nikki said ‘well it just looks like Lake Constance‘ … looking at the pictures now (though I have never been), I can see what she means!  Probably the same number of Chinese tourists as well.

    No matter, we had a thoroughly pleasant day meandering along the lake shore, and taking in a few cafes and tea rooms in the setting sun.  Magic.  With the light fading, we headed for the aforementioned train back to Shanghai, and the amusements awaiting us.

    I hope it was a good introduction!

    Nationalism from an early age

    There is an entire sub-class of my photography that includes monks carrying high-tech equipment.

    Peeping Tom

    Mountains in the distance … there must be good mountain biking around here!

    Flag-waving.

    Watching the world go by.

    Hangzhou locals

    Oh what book are you reading?!

    Tea time.

    Okay, put the book away – we get the picture!

  • You’ll Find Innovative Technology in Taiwan!

    Things get exciting at about 1:35 in …

  • Taikang Road

    So I am here in China for the first time in six months or so; at least since joining the Latitude design team.

    I am here during Expo, and I will be sure to take the chance to go and take a look at it in the next fortnight, hopefully finding a way to avoid some of the worst queues. But before I even step foot in the Expo, I can see the collateral effects that it is having on the city.

    Taikang Road (where I am sitting right now) was one of my favourite design spots in the city, always offering an easily-accessible good vibe, some interesting design, and all washed down with a good cappuccino.

    Now? Well there are still the design shops, but it’s been heavily cleaned up, and some of the more interesting businesses have made way for little more than tourist nick-nack outlets. Not unpleasant, exactly, but it’s certainly lost some of the pioneering atmosphere that it once had.

    I suppose every ex-pat had the same stories; “I remember when this place was authentic.”. At least it has not been demolished to make way for a shopping centre – though the street opposite has managed to sprout one in the last six months.

    What’s the next project for China after the Olympics and Expo? I asked the taxi driver this afternoon if China could just relax for a bit, and he laughed a knowing laugh of “no, our next project is the world.”

  • Adaptable Architecture

    Taipei tries its best at erecting buildings that have some semblance of style, even if that style is generating a neo-Gothic Greek Revivalist Bali retreat.  But bless ’em, the local residents get to work modifying, adapting and extending their properties with scant regard for the outward appearance of a building.  It’s something I have written about before (Open-Source Architecture), but not seen built with that thought in mind at the outset.

    I was therefore rather pleased to be walking along Minsheng E Rd. yesterday, and happen across a housing development that at least seems to respect peoples’ wishes to augment their original purchase.  In a manner not too far removed from the iconic Barbican in London, geometric flourishes break up the surfaces of the structure, allowing some degree of freedom in treatment of windows, air-conditioning and sideways extensions.  It’s modern, certainly Asian, and I rather like it.

    From an alternative angle.

    Eric from ADC marvels at the trees, individually marked with species markers.

  • Kenting 2010

    Kenting – summed up in a single photo!

    Though the departure was a little more hectic than I was originally envisioning, it was my pleasure to jump on the HSR down south and join Michael and Tanja for a weekend of summer sun in Kenting – south Taiwan.

    The guys had come through to attend a wedding, and as such were accompanied by a group of 20 German holidaymakers – and all on the same weekend as the largest music festival in Taiwan; Spring Scream.  As a result of poor planning on my part, I was actually supposed to be staying some fifteen kilometers away in Hengchun, but M&T offered me their spare bed in the amazing, but less than charismatically-named, Kenting Youth Activity Center.  I love that place.

    Situated on a peninsular east of the main drag, it is – according to their website – a ‘traditional Fujen(a province in southern China, also called Min) style building with red gate, white wall and red tile roof, and is often reputed as the Museum of Southern Min Style Architecture.’  I wish they gave more of the history, with a bit more explanation of the layout, but no matter; I would probably discover it is made of concrete.

    Square clouds … I could just soak this in all day!

    Detail view.

    Shots of night of the wonderful lanterns, lighting up the courtyard.

    Tiles done properly. Almost.

    Doors.

    The local walk down to the rocky peninsular.

    Cable management.

    Silhouettes.

    Details, bathed in warm morning light.

    Birds of a feather.

    Little Georg makes a run for it.

    Of course, we didn’t have the place entirely to ourselves.  As host weekend of the largest music festival in Taiwan, there were some pretty odd sights, and a funny mixture of people.  Beginning with obligatory trips down to the local nightmarket (copy and pasted from Taipei?), we then began sinking drinks, seeing some of the outlying stages, and finally ending up on the beach for what was a very nice, chilled out session the last time I was here.  Nope – not this time… a huge, thumping sound system, massive crowd and despite signs urging restraint, a barrage of fireworks arcing up into the sky (as well as other places).  I must at this moment apologise to all the people with car alarms that we set off, when some enterprising vendor sold us a box of mortars, at 4:30 in the morning.  Only in Kenting.

    Beer emergency.

    Walking the dog.

    Little Georg checking the icecreams – it was fun playing with them, though I wished my German had not corroded so far!

    Peugeot 106 … waffles.

    It was quite a culture shock to land from Texas, and dive head-first into full intensity Taiwan during ‘Spring Break’, all the while accompanied by German family members!  Absolutely fantastic to see the Helds on top form though.  See you guys again soon!

    Taiwanese cowboys – summing up my cultural transition?

  • 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…

  • Dell Design

    Here I am after my first week as Industrial Design Manager at Dell … I am completely shattered right now, but more as a result of two cats moaning outside my window at stupid o’clock in the morning last night.

    It’s been a crazy busy few weeks and I have some serious catching up to do with friends and family back home – so, sorry if I seem to be neglecting some of you – you are all seriously on my mind … Joanne and Ele especially!

    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…

  • Casio Exilim S10 Press Conference

    One of my designers, Alfie, designed a neat little camera case for Casio and the launch of the Exilim S10 (apparently the world’s skinniest camera), and the other week it went on sale. As part of our package, we assisted in the press conference, so I got a chance to strut my stuff on stage again and do some more speaking. It was pretty good fun, and particularly interesting to meet some of the Japanese company’s senior management, who they wheeled out to flash for the cameras.


    Flanked by a disarmingly handsome show host, I attempted to look serious when talking about our inspiration.


    Paparazzi – I was more interested in their kit for much of the time!


    Super duper Chinese style models show off the kit

    Update: Some TV coverage …

    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…

  • Tianjin


    Keeping my feet on the ground in Tianjin

    The research wagon sets out for northern China, and we set our sights upon Tianjin – a city not too far away from Beijing. I was pleasantly surprised by the place, seeing as it had been populated by various Europeans at the start of the twentieth century, and they had left a decent legacy of colonial buildings and handsome streets. Although there were few actual attractions to speak of, it was really an interesting location and a notch more ‘Chinese’ than Shanghai or Beijing. It must be said that it is still unlikely that I have seen the ‘real’ China after my forays onto the mainland. None the less, interesting enough to entertain us for a few days of business.


    The handsome side streets west of the city centre were packed with vendors selling classic Chinese tat. Sadly, no Christmas presents were found! But this was perhaps due to the very cold weather.


    Old boys play games in the streets, away from their wives (much like Taipei!).


    Somewhat reminiscent of the Hutongs in Beijing


    This guy was one of the most characterful people I met – down from the north in Hubei, he ran a Xinzhuang (need to check) BBQ that just pumped out the best lamb kebabs … after a tip from Lars in Shanghai, I now seek out these chaps. Killer, every time… and worth returning to! This type of BBQ can be seen on the streets quite regularly.


    … which we did, when Alfie arrived a day later (with beer added).


    The guy insisted we take a photo together, but then entirely lost interest when I suggested I send it to him … he thought I should just give it to him the next time I see him!

    And why was I seeking out the street food? After recommendations from several people, I was to check out the internationally famous ‘Gou Bu Li’ dumpling restaurant. The name (狗不理）comes from a story of the original owner who used to cook dumplings of astoundingly poor quality. Some say, the quality was so bad that when he dropped one, even dogs would not eat it … hence ‘Even Dogs Wouldn’t’ as a name. When this happened, he went away and learnt from a great master (I am somewhat making this up) and came back to great acclaim, but the name stuck.

    Walk in and taste the food… and well, the only thing I would add is that ‘Even Rich Dogs Wouldn’t’, as they were pretty bland and very expensive. The photos of George Bush Sr. and various Chinese dignitaries didn’t help me change my mind.


    ‘Even Dogs Wouldn’t’


    Rows of electric bikes, which are ubiquitous in China

    After a day of seeing the same shops and hearing the same blaring music, I happened upon a Starbucks opposite a rather an attractive old Church. Clearly, this was what all the other foreigners in Tianjin thought too, and I bumped into a pair of fresh-faced English teachers who pointed me towards a couple of night spots. Well, ‘the’ night spot…

    Dubbed ‘Alibabas’ it is down a dark, dark street, down a dark, dark lane, behind an unassuming door and a large piece of carpet… the only place to hang out for those living in Tianjin, it was none the less lively and fun enough to return with Chinese people in tow.


    Reflecting on religion


    New friends


    The Liverpool match

    Entertainment from our Chinese hosts takes rather a different form, and mainly revolves around displays of taste and wealth. Lunch on the Saturday consisted of one of the local banquet restaurants, and in typical tourist fashion I went around taking photos of everything moving… which it turns out is quite a lot!


    The welcoming committee


    Yes, that is a turtle, and yes, it probably has a price on it for cooking


    Delicious frogs


    I’ll take the snake in Black Bean Sauce… seriously


    Charming location in front of the freeway… with good parking. China and Korea often seems to have this sort of hazy light that is quite hard to describe.


    Great views.

    And to top off our ‘cultural research’ we went to check out the tallest tower in Tianjin, and a building that has clearly seen better days since opening in 1991. There was almost nobody there, and I for one felt particularly fidgety at this height!


    The ‘TianTa’ (天塔）- China’s scariest building


    My guides walked straight out onto the glass-floored deck. Normally, I think I would have no problems doing this, but my whole body only wanted to do one thing, and that was to go DOWN, away from this shaky, rickety building with wobbly floors and bumpy elevators.


    It’s very traditional for lovers to put locks onto the gratings of such buildings to signify their love for one another. With this symbolic gesture, the lock then spends the rest of its life looking out across the pollution of northern China …

    In this photo you can definitely SEE the pollution just hanging in the air – and today was not a bad day. Combine it with the dust storms coming from the ever dustier north, and you can palpably taste the air whenever you step outside. So, even sunny days are reduced to hazy, foggy experiences which leave you squinting into the grey distance, dry of lip and scratchy of eye.

    And as an industrial designer actually making these
    goods, I have to feel a major pang of guilt when I experience it.

    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…

  • Seoul Man

    (I have been waiting to use that title for months)

    As part of the mega project, I flew into Korea for a few more days of research. Since I am presently sitting in HK airport, one week in the future, and am recovering from a somewhat hectic few weeks, my words might do less justice than my pictures. The overriding impression this time was certainly “blimey is it cold!”


    Our guide Luisa took us to the ‘Secret Garden’ in Seoul, and as the sun began to set the place was really ablaze in the sunlight. In this shot, you see where the King’s subjects line up, according to their status.


    Spot where the kids poke through the paper ‘windows’ – in the years before glass this is how they let light into the buildings. And yes, they might have to change them several times a year – perhaps this is also why the art of paper-making is still so much more prevalent in the East.


    Roofless


    Really rather magical rooms


    One of the few glass buildings in the complex, this later building also has a chimney… it’s the kitchen.


    … and the underfloor heating for the King’s quarters exits to the side.


    Even his pooh gets sorted out (and sifted through to check his health!)


    Nice windows everywhere.


    Our guide was a designer herself, so she was able to point out the major differences in architectural style in Korea, as opposed to Japan or China. The main thing, she claimed, is that the arches of the roofs are more gently arched, and often the colours and materials put to use are more natural in feel.


    Flexible space! All the rooms are totally open plan, and flexible depending on the time of year or what they are needed for. The planks that are lifted up here are used to allow air to flow through in the summer time (no need in sub-zero temperatures), and provide shade.


    More windows. I’ll stop soon, promise.


    Windows of windows… even though the quarters are small, the windows make everything feel bigger.


    … and meeting up with Dan on the final night was great (my neighbour from when I was a kid)…. but I’ll be seeing him next weekend anyway (okay, I’ll tell the truth… in two days time).

    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…