YODEX 2008 Biggest Yet for Non-professional Design Exhibition

The 27th Young Designers' Exhibition (YODEX 2008), the world's largest non-professional design fair, was successfully held, at unprecedented scale, from May 15 to 18 at the Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC) Exhibition Hall 1, according to organizer Taiwan Design Center (TDC), a national design center on the island.

YODEX 2008 featured a variety of creations by young graduates from design schools in Taiwan and worldwide, with pieces from wide-ranging disciplines such as fashion, multimedia, product design, interior design and so on. The four-day annual event, according to TDC, attracted about 100,000 visitors; while the show occupied all the 1,900 booths on the first and second floors of the TWTC venue.

This world-leading platform offers global viewers an encapsulated view of the finest work by potential design professionals of tomorrow. The 2008 event showcased the creative masterpieces of graduates from 48 universities (87 disciplines) in Taiwan, as well as projects from 20 design schools from Australia, Italy, New Zealand, the U.K., the Netherlands and the United States, TDC pointed out. The exhibition was more than a showpiece of design works: TDC also included educational, entertainment and award components to the event, such as YODEX Digital Media Theater, Design Master Seminar, 2008 Young Designers' Competition (YODC), and 2008 YODEX Exhibition Space Award.

Since its first staging in 1982, TDC said, the YODEX has been a successful and highly significant fair for young, non-professional designers in Taiwan. Thanks to its wide popularity and achievement, YODEX is chosen as one of the key global activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID), the global non-profit organization promoting better design worldwide that has over 150 members in more than 50 countries representing some 150,000 designers.

Chao-yi Chen, director general of Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, one of the major sponsors of the annual design fair, pointed out that YODEX is a widely-recognized platform to display some of the finest works by faculty and students from global academic circles. This year, he stressed, the event attracted over-100 schools and organizations for the first time, clearly underlining the increasing influence of the exhibition.

Upbeat Outlook for Designers in Taiwan

At the opening ceremony of YODEX, Chen announced commendable news to confirm the promising future of the Taiwan design industry.

Chen reiterated the enviable achievements publicized for the two major international design competitions in 2008: The Taiwan design community came away with 145 awards, including 83 (containing one gold award) in the iF product design and iF packaging design competitions and reddot of Germany, as well as 62 in the reddot product design (including five best-of-the-best awards). Such achievements already double that of last year's.

The IDB director general also said that designed-in-Taiwan entries have fared increasingly better in the world's four major design competitions, including iF, reddot, IDEA, and G-Mark: only 16 entries from Taiwan won prizes in 2003; 53 in 2004; 100 in 2005 (including two gold awards); 148 (including five gold awards) in 2006; and 133 (including one gold award) in 2007. "This year without doubt will be an enviable and happy year for the local design industry," Chen claimed confidently, "the number of awards received has already surpassed last year's total as of mid-May, and many major design competitions will be announcing results in the next few months."

Taipei to Host IDA 2011

Perhaps equally significant as upgrading Taiwan's design capacity is building international profile, for which Chen added that after considerable effort in the past few years, Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, outdid 18 cities in 13 nations to win the right to host the 2011 IDA (International Design Alliance) Congress, the global centerpiece of design activities held every six years.

The 2011 IDA Congress will be the largest-ever world-class design-related activity in Taiwan history and the event is expected to attract over 2,000 internationally-renowned designers and experts, the director general stressed.

Organized to be the collective stage upon which to represent and showcase all disciplines of design, the 2011 IDA Congress will be the first such activity set up by the three major players in the international design community, including 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).

All signs show that Taiwan is not only rapidly catching up as a creditworthy design community, but also becoming a vital location that can serve as a world-class design citadel, Chen said.