Shenzhen Design Week "Five Years Old": Polishing Design Shenzhen Doctrine Leading Chinese Design "to the Sea"

The main exhibition site of the 5th Shenzhen Design Week is the scene of Shenzhen Shangcheng.

On January 3rd, the 5th Shenzhen Design Week was closed, which was a forward-looking design event about "China Design Shenzhen Insight". It has the attribute of a pioneer and is the concrete presentation of the Shenzhen doctrine of design; it creates a "design party", "cutting-edge exhibition field" and "creative gathering", which is the topic output of the integration of design concepts with the spirit of the city; it walks out of the exhibition hall for the first time, goes to the urban commercial space, builds an open exhibition field, and forms a mutual scenery with the lives of citizens; it is held "New Year's Eve", and the number of visitors exceeds 400,000 during the 10-day exhibition period, showing the charm, motivation, vitality and innovation of the design capital; it implements the joint curator system for the first time The appointment of all local designers in Shenzhen as curators is a true embodiment of Shenzhen's transition from cultural consciousness to cultural self-confidence; it forges the image and symbol system of the city, so that Shenzhen highlights the symbolic meaning of the construction of the pioneering demonstration zone.

Since its inception in 2017, Shenzhen Design Week has completed a qualitative leap in five years, it is not a design expo in the general sense, it is a specific measure for Shenzhen as the "design capital" to face the future, it tries to stand at the forefront of the international pioneer city, build a discourse system of Chinese design, and visualize, visualize, visualize, scene and live China's top design and top design. Design solves problems, design also presents a better life, tells the story of China, and highlights cultural self-confidence.

Evolution trajectory

Shenzhen design Friday year practice forging international cultural business card

If you want to write a history of Shenzhen's cultural evolution, Shenzhen design should be the most symbolic chapter. Shenzhen's 40 years of modern urban evolution trajectory, design is one of the touchable golden threads, from the detonation of "graphic design in China" in 1992, to the geometric growth of industrial design, architectural design, interior design, clothing design, urban planning and design, jewelry design and other design forms, "Shenzhen design" as the kinetic energy of industrial upgrading has been accompanied by the development of the city, and finally converged into the "design capital" of the urban cultural landscape. Design is the engine of the industry and the driving force of innovation, for more than 40 years, it has continued to have a positive impact and promotion on Shenzhen's urban industry, culture, life and concepts.

Shenzhen Design Week was born in 2017, that year the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area was first written into the government work report, and it is also to see the upcoming appearance of the Greater Bay Area and world-class city clusters, Shenzhen, as the core city and engine of the Bay Area, as the earliest "design capital" in China, began to create an international cultural business card in the field of design. The Shenzhen Municipal Government has launched the "Shenzhen Design Week & Shenzhen Global Design Award", an international and city-level cultural event, which has made Shenzhen, the "Capital of Design", have more wings to fly high.

The theme of the first Shenzhen Design Week was "Design for the Future", and 45 activities were held, including the Design future theme exhibition, the "Design Twin Cities" Shenzhen-Hong Kong Design Exhibition, the Global Design Capital Invitation Exhibition, the Shenzhen Global Design Exhibition, and the 2016 London Design Biennale Shenzhen Pavilion Retrospective Exhibition, which were divided into five categories: innovation, life, communication, vision and experience. It can be said that the birth of Shenzhen Design Monday is a heavyweight cultural brand with an international perspective and trying to stand on the shoulders of many international urban design weeks. The theme of the 2nd Shenzhen Design Week is "Design can be? Yes! More than 1,000 designers from 25 countries and regions such as the United States participated in the exhibition or participated in the exhibition, exhibiting more than 2,500 works, this session began to award the Shenzhen Global Design Award, and for the first time introduced the concept of "guest country", Italy was invited to become the guest of honor (the guest country in 2019 is the United Kingdom), Shenzhen actively embraced the international pioneer city, which greatly enhanced Shenzhen's professional status and discourse power in the global design industry.

In February 2019, the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area was released, and in August of the same year, the Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Supporting Shenzhen to Build a Pioneering Demonstration Zone of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics were released, and the "dual-zone" driving model painted a larger blueprint for Shenzhen's design. The theme of this year's Shenzhen Design Week is "Design Sustainability", and the "Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Design Exhibition" was grandly launched at this design week and became the focus of attention.

With the theme of "Design on the Cloud, Unlimited Creativity", 33 design agencies, 800 designers from 20 countries and regions at home and abroad and millions of netizens joined in the "Cloud" event. This session of "Shenzhen Design 40 Years" and "Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area" have become the hottest keywords. The special exhibition "40 Years of Shenzhen Design: The Power of the Times" was specially planned to sort out the road of Shenzhen's design development.

If after 40 years of development, the concept of Shenzhen design has formed a symbiotic relationship with the city, then Shenzhen Design Week, as the benchmark of domestic design week and an important starting point for Shenzhen design "going to sea", after five sessions of accumulation and development, the effect of international cultural business cards is growing, and is becoming a new window for the international community to recognize Chinese design. At the Shenzhen Design Week, you can see the latest creative practices of well-known Chinese designers, as well as the exploration and excavation of internationally renowned designers in their own fields. The collision and exchange of the most cutting-edge design ideas makes Shenzhen Design Week build a bridge for Chinese design to go to sea in an inclusive way.

Path exploration

The declaration of "China Design Shenzhen Insight" was released to demonstrate the mission and responsibility of the "Design Capital"

The 5th Shenzhen Design Week, with the theme of "design solving problems", returns to the basic starting point of design, which can be described as a path of design-based and localization.

Since 2008, Shenzhen was awarded the title of "Design Capital" by the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, and the internationalization of Shenzhen design has not stopped, the internationalization and localization of Shenzhen design can be described as two sides of the same coin, and the two paths lead to the same goal, that is, to let the world see and better understand Chinese design. In the era of globalization, good design is the support point for global brands. In the post-epidemic era, the problem of localization demand is even more prominent. Understanding the theme of this year's Shenzhen Design Week from this perspective can be described as a proposition that is timely.

The starting point and intention of this year's Shenzhen Design Week is to combine the digital, all-media, and post-epidemic era background, conform to the requirements of building a new development pattern, start from "solving problems", and explore the diversified design solutions of cities and lives in multiple dimensions, highlighting "Chinese design, Shenzhen insight".

At the opening ceremony of the 5th Shenzhen Design Week held on December 25, 2021, when the declaration of "China Design Shenzhen Insight" was released, this intention was more clearly revealed.

The declaration said: "We must solve the changes in social relations and forms under the shadow of the epidemic, and how to explore new models and new combinations of production, residence and spatial environment that have changed accordingly." We must solve the high-density and multi-risk constraints, how to achieve the safety resilience of large cities, and the happiness under the tight constraints of resources. We must solve the long and prosperous traditional Chinese cultural genes, how to dock with the contemporary, integrate into the world, and renew the charm. We need to solve the digital world as it gradually deepens, new technologies continue to open up new horizons, how to connect and achieve this shore of reality. We need to solve the upgrading empowerment of daily devices, how to make life more convenient and happy. We want to design for young people, designs for the elderly and children, designs for people in need, designs for animals and plants. Design becomes a way of life, and design is the scale of value. ”

This is the need of localization, but also in the global context, the dilemma faced by different groups of people, design as a practical artistic path to a better life, it is assuming such a function. This declaration also fully demonstrates Shenzhen's mission and responsibility. It is a high trend and future goal, and it is also a very grounded flight to the ground.

The declaration expressed Shenzhen's urban ambitions in the field of design: "With the vivid practice of a city to make a vivid interpretation of 'Chinese-style modernization', shenzhen in the past, along with rapid development, cultivated and gathered the first batch of new Chinese design forces after the reform and opening up; today's Shenzhen, shouldering the new mission of building a pioneering demonstration zone of socialism with Chinese characteristics, is accumulating new momentum for design with a new vision and embrace." Shenzhen Design Week breaks down the barriers of the design industry, grasps the trend of world design development, and presents the practice and innovation value of integrated design in solving problems. Shenzhen Design Week brings together design talents, viewpoints, formats, products and spaces to build a sustainable and growable platform, with Shenzhen design insights and practices, to send out the voice of Chinese design docking, integration and leading the world's forefront, and to explore the new path of 'Chinese modernization' design, new strength and new energy! ”

Curator Han Jiaying said that "China Design Shenzhen Insight" comprehensively expounded the relationship between Shenzhen's future design and China' future design, outlined the outline of the future Shenzhen Design Week, and expressed a clear Shenzhen attitude. Curator Zhang Yuxing believes that from the current situation of China Urban Design Week, design week needs to be reflected, the release of "China Design Shenzhen Insight" reflects the courage of Shenzhen people to dare to be the first, dare to say what they want to say, need to have a voice, "China Design Shenzhen Insight" is not a value output, but a value input, there needs to be a voice to Shenzhen itself a reminder, the future should be so to understand the design, at the same time it is also passed to the citizens of Shenzhen to listen, design week to assume the function of interaction with the public and design education.

Of course, this declaration is also reminiscent of the "Design City Declaration" issued in 1989 on the 100th anniversary of the founding of Nagoya, Japan, which is like a shot in the arm, laying the foundation for Nagoya to become a worldwide city, stimulating design creativity from all walks of life, and making it "step by step become a 'design capital' that is far ahead in culture, economy, urban planning and construction, transportation and other aspects." Whether the declaration of "China Design Shenzhen Insight" can play the same effect, of course, it still needs time to precipitate and observe.

Localization

Designers and artists create the super symbol "S" to show the "most Shenzhenist" design week

Looking at this Shenzhen Design Week, it can be said that it is the design week that best reflects Shenzhenism.

For a long time, Shenzhenists have become the mainstream of Shenzhen culture in shaping the image of urban culture. Many aspects of this year's Design Week reflect the tendency of Shenzhen to localize.

First of all, the four co-curators Han Jiaying, Liu Xiaodu, Zhang Yuxing and Gao Shaokang, although they come from different design fields, are all well-known designers in Shenzhen. Han Jiaying, Liu Xiaodu and Zhang Yuxing all have a distinct Shenzhen stance, are good at standing in shenzhen from the perspective of the city, combined with their own design experience, to provide design and curation solutions with Shenzhen site. As a Hong Kong designer, Gao Shaokang has also lived in Shenzhen for many years, and also shows a tendency to localize, and in the context of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, he also represents a new force connecting the Greater Bay Area.

Han Jiaying, one of the curators, is a well-known graphic designer in China, and he is also the designer of the visual image of this design week. He revised and upgraded the visual image of Design Week, boldly chose pink as the main color, and presented a new big "S" image. Han Jiaying once said in an interview with the media: "I created this S, my purpose is to turn Shenzhen Design Week into a design week that is very influential in Shenzhen, In China and even in the world." Instead of saying that other cities have it anyway, we have to do a design week and it's over, because in the past it was basically such a result. So what we're doing now is actually aiming to punch this super symbol out and make it rememberable by others. ”

Creating a super symbol "S" can be described as a highlight of this year's Shenzhen Design Week, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Designers "S" Super Symbol Invitation Exhibition invited 30 designers and artists to carry out their own artistic discourse creation and writing around the image of Shenzhen City, and branded Shenzhen Design Week and Shenzhen City Image in the form of "poster" and "installation". Most of the designers and artists in Shenzhen are invited. With their own Shenzhen experience, they condensed the image of Shenzhen into the creation of the symbol "S".

For example, artist Zhou Li's public installation "Taohuayuan-S" condenses Shenzhen's natural, humanistic and urban temperament into a whole, and the overall shape and lines of the work are like a rising divine beast, which has both abstract charm and fashion rhythm, showing Shenzhen's urban temperament of coexistence of softness and fortitude.

Hong Kong designer Lui Tat-man's installation design "S+City" shows the spirit of Shenzhen's "pioneering growth", and the staggered form is like a growing urban high-rise building, and presents the super symbol "S". Lv Dawen said that the starting point of the work comes from the interpretation of Shenzhen as a "global reading model city for all", "paper clip" and "bookmark" are classic designs to "solve problems" in book reading, and he deconstructs the shape of the paper clip through the same "folding" technique to obtain the initial "S" form, combined with the extracted "Shenzhen Skyline", becoming a super symbol "S" that shows the spiritual core of Shenzhen.

Artist Shen Shaomin named his "S" as "scale", he made S into a steel plate ruler, using the scale to show the rigor of the design, and using the curved form of S to present his artistic symbol of Shenzhen's sensibility. And one of the curators of this exhibition, the designer Gao Shaokang's S simply named it "This is very Shenzhen!" With dazzling colors and symbolic smiley face symbols, he created around the abbreviation of the Shenzhen initials. He believes that in this kind of visual expression and presentation, it is very "Shenzhen", and the winter is like summer, bustling and bustling, flashing and flashing.

Of course, this year's Design Week also has many works that embody Shenzhenism and infiltrate Shenzhen's experience, such as Zhu Zhikang's "Kunpeng", Liu Xiaodu's Urban Practice Studio's "Exploring Fields and The Tower of Observation", Han Jiaying's "A Yi Propylene - Design Experiment of Traditional Symbols", Zhang Dali's "Horizontal Look into Lin Side Chengfeng", Su Zhiting's "Who Are You?" Some of these works look forward to the future of Shenzhen design from the spatial form, some transform traditional Chinese context and illustration into modern design language, and some bring out the humanistic philosophical thinking of people from the relationship between people and cities. As the exhibition in the exhibition, the "Between Bricks and Tiles: Shenzhen Architecture Special Exhibition" and "Towards the New Campus" are carried out - the three-season joint exhibition of "Shenzhen New Campus Action Plan" is the embodiment of Shenzhen's innovative spirit, conveying Shenzhen's advanced awareness of public building design and unique Shenzhen's urban temperament.

Expand your space

"Design solves problems" also presents a good life

From curators to specific exhibited works, to the numerous in-exhibition exhibitions in the main exhibition hall, as well as the DBS venues distributed in different venues in the city, these all show the stance and attitude of "Chinese design, Shenzhen insight" from different levels, and the eight theme forums held during the design week are aimed at expanding the discourse of design to the ideological space.

The organizers said: "These eight theme forums aimed at design to solve problems, from urban emergency, how to make urban planning safer under the epidemic and other urban design themes to conduct in-depth dialogues; discussed topics such as China's original design and China's future design education to inspire and think about future young designers; combined with the influence of the current Shenzhen brand, explore how design can better drive the brand and reshape the global value of the Shenzhen brand." ”

On January 3rd, the last closing forum "Design: Between Solving Problems and Imagining the World" was held at the main exhibition hall of Shenzhen Shangye Shangcheng, and the famous curator Cui Cancan and the four curators of this year's Shenzhen Design Week launched an "in-depth dialogue".

Cui Cancan said that this year's design week has a qualitative change, the main reason is to build a good resource team, in the exhibition structure first aroused the curiosity of the audience, four shenzhen local famous designers as joint curators, is the guarantee of exhibition traffic, but also let the exhibition have a sense of history and work awareness.

Many Shenzhen citizens rushed to the main exhibition hall of Shenzhen Shangcheng City to see the exhibition, and Ren Jun, a researcher at the Cultural Research Institute of the Shenzhen Academy of Social Sciences, was one of them. After watching the exhibition, she had a sense of happiness and excitement, and she told Nandu reporter: "Design is a medium, through which to achieve how to make life better." At the Shenzhen Design Week, we can see many forces acting together, and it is this synergy that produces beautiful results. Shenzhen Design Week promotes the public's close contact with excellent creative works, and deepens the perception of design awareness in the aesthetic experience. To let more people understand what is good design, design not only needs to integrate a variety of knowledge elements across borders, but also is an innovative way to scientifically solve many problems in society and even daily life. Among them, tencent's "2021 China Art Public Welfare White Paper" and "New Campus Action Plan" launched at the Design Week are impressive. This year's theme is 'Design to Solve Problems' is actually closely related to every citizen, and the driving force and influence of design on industry, culture, life and innovation cannot be underestimated. ”

Design solves problems, and design presents a better life. Looking back on the history of the fifth Shenzhen Design Week, we can see Shenzhen's active construction of international design discourse, and we can also see the positive actions of Shenzhen design in the exploration of localization. The many attempts of the fifth Shenzhen Design Week (such as the Shenzhen Global Design Award will adopt a new award setting: there are two grand prizes, namely the International Pioneer Award and the China Power Award, and ten annual new awards, focusing on the new forces of design at home and abroad, focusing on the new forces of design at home and abroad, so that Shenzhen can gather the eyes of domestic and global designers, become the vane of the development of the design industry at home and abroad, and design theme business travel destinations) means that the future of Shenzhen design will continue to play an important role in gathering high-quality resources and design forces and leading Chinese design to the sea.

07-08 Edition Writing/Photography: Nandu reporter Xie Xiangnan

sound

The theme of this year's Shenzhen Design Week is "Design Solving Problems", which not only reflects the relationship between design and the city, but more importantly reflects the consciousness of design as a discipline and social function, this kind of self-consciousness is what I should take the initiative to do, otherwise design is a work,At least in today's design exhibition, I see a kind of historical ambition.

——Famous curator Cui Cancan