Taiwan companies, many of which are shifting emphasis from excellence in manufacturing to marketing and brand building, have captured a record number of international design awards this year.
Companies from Taiwan won a total of 201 design awards in 2008 from global organizations such as red dot and International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) after winning 133 in 2007, according to the Taiwan Design Center (TDC).
Taiwan has won fame as a major supplier of electronic products. Yet some of Taiwan’s leading electronic companies and an increasing number of local companies in more traditional businesses are making design their top priority, according to TDC Chief Executive Officer Tony Chang.
“In the past, Taiwan’s design emphasis was function”, Chang said. “In addition to function, this year the emphasis has been on emotion.”
Taiwan companies have been innovative in their use of materials, in some cases substituting natural for synthetic materials. This has helped to protect the ecology at each step of a product’s life cycle by reducing consumption of energy and other limited resources during the manufacturing process while also limiting the impact on the environment after a product is disposed of. As well, the emphasis behind product design in Taiwan has been not just on the tactile feel but all the senses, Chang said.
One example of a red dot award winner from Taiwan this year is the Baroque Lighting Luminaire from Amun Technology Corp. The modular luminaire is composed of flexible basic elements in triangular forms that can be assembled into complex polygons without using any tools.
“Thus, geometry becomes a game which motivates individual creativity to adapt the luminaire to different environments and moods,” red dot says of the product on its website. “It generates a warm light entering into an exciting interplay with the intersecting surfaces. Depending on the luminous intensity of the light source, further options of creating new illumination effects turn up.”
A red dot award is one of the most coveted honors in the design community. With about 11,000 entries from 61 nations, the red dot design award has become the largest international design competition, red dot said on its website.
Combining technology and high fashion, Tatung Co. won an IDEA award this year for a phone that can be used to make calls via the Internet.
“Featuring Bluetooth, wireless and a touch pad design, the Tatung VoIP Phone allows easy communication via the Internet,” IDEA said on its website. “While the phone design itself is reduced to the bare essentials, its optical profile is created with rounded edges and a faux antenna for a retro style.”
The TDC has been a key contributor to the Taiwan companies’ success by working with leading international design companies such as U.S.-based IDEO, the UK’s Pentagram and Germany’s designafairs as well as companies in Taiwan ranging from the largest to some of the smallest.
As Taiwan steps up its design efforts, the TDC will hold the International Design Alliance (IDA) in Taipei in 2011. The International Design Alliance (IDA) is a strategic venture between several international organizations representing design that was created in September 2003. In September 2008, the IDA welcomed the International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers (IFI) to the alliance.
IDEAis co-sponsored by BusinessWeek and the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA). The IDEA (International Design Excellence Awards) program is a premier international competition honoring design excellence in products, ecodesign, interaction design, packaging, strategy, research and concepts. Entries are invited from designers, students and companies worldwide.
Many of Taiwan’s award winning companies are building international brands. The recognition these brands have won for design is a reflection of their effort to provide customers greater quality and value.
To promote the island’s industry, the Taiwan government has made the development of branding the key task for raising the competitiveness of Taiwan’s economy. There are two ultimate goals of the Branding Taiwan program. The first is integrating resources to assist the establishment of brands and create a favorable environment for development; the second is to aid Taiwan enterprises in brand development and increase the value of Taiwan’s international brands.
Taiwan Design Center, http://www.tdc.org.tw
