via designsojourn

Here’s to the first post of 2011 and an update of my own!

Design Museum Boston is proud to present Tiffany Wan, the newest addition to our correspondents team. A graduate of Syracuse University and currently located in Beijing, Tiffany will be bringing an international perspective to DesigningAMuseum.org. An active member of the Industrial Designers Society of America, a practicing designer and avid photographer, Tiffany also catalogues her inspirations and thoughts on her personal blog.

In addition to some other freelance work, I’ve recently become a correspondent for Design Museum Boston and am excited to share my first post!

The holiday season is the time for giving and China is second to the US in its number of billionaires, according to the Times, but not anywhere close in philanthropy support. Donations in China have “risen from $1.5 billion (10 billion rmb) in 2006 to over $7.5 billion (50 billion rmb) last year, [but] it’s a negligible fraction of the $300 billion annually donated in the U.S.” How can we increase awareness of charitable organizations and their need of financial support?  One person is using design to promote and develop such awareness in his own way; this person is Nathan Zhang.

Nathan Zhang is the owner of the small charity shop, Brandnü located in Beijing’s Wudaoying Hutong near Lama Temple. Although the project is for profit, “Brandnü is an ethical trade network for rural artisans. In partnership with China’s socially-conscious designers and artists, the Brandnü project aims to help (re)design rural livelihoods by offering support, resources and better access to urban markets.”

“Nü” is the Chinese word for female (女), but it also means “new”. One of the main missions of Brandnü is to support gender equity concerns. In Zhang’s words, “Nu is women. My main work is how I can help rural women redesign their handicrafts.” In order to do so, Brandnü works closely with female artisans through collaborating with Rural Women, a non-profit that aims to develop the potential of rural Chinese women.

Nathan Zhang was kind enough to take time out of his super busy schedule to give me some background about Brandnü, which has been open for just over a year. Zhang is continually trying to build his network of non-profits and designers to contribute to his project. He says “not a lot of people are doing this kind of work in China and I’m doing it at the right time. The project is moving forward everyday.” By connecting Rural Women with urban designers, Brandnü uses traditional crafstmanship skills to contribute to contemporary designs. Collaborating designers consider traditional skills such as embroidery and metal-smithing to inspire and create products for the current market. “We use the rural women’s handicraft skills, like embroidery, one of the main skills, and the urban designers design a very contemporary piece like scarves or jewelry,” said Zhang. He provides hourly wages to rural workers and once the shop is self-sustaining, a percentage of profits will go back to these people. Current products include bags, jewelry, electronics cases, and scarves. In addition to the custom created products, Brandnü carries products previously produced from workers by fair trade standards.

You’re probably wondering how Brandnü started. After spending about 10 years in Canada and starting his family, Zhang decided to move back to China in 2008. He was burnt out from the fashion media industry and it was time for him to do something more meaningful; “inspired by Fair Trade organizations like 10,000 villages and popular second hand shops in Canada,” Zhang started Brandnü. With the support of the successful Beijing T-shirt company, Plastered8, Zhang secured a shop space in Wudaoying Hutong.  Nathan’s forward thinking method and his individual concept of gender equity are unique in China.

True collaboration is still at a minimum. Women in Ningxia, for example, have limited access to the post office and other delivery services. The closest post office is almost a 3 hour car ride from their village. Communication is mostly by phone, providing difficulties in understanding the exact process of embroidery production. The craft work of these women is very much traditional and done entirely by hand. Brandnü aims to get a closer collaboration and connection between the designers and the craftswomen.

The goal of Brandnü is to develop its own product lines that combine traditional Chinese skills with contemporary designs. Products will be sold to higher end markets. The business practice must be sustainable in order to continue its mission of helping under-served women. Although Zhang must still iron out the details of his project and its contribution to society, his biggest challenge now is to find further funding.

Full of enthusiasm and seemingly endless energy, Zhang’s ideas for his own product lines range from recycled goods to bags and shoes to clothing. In addition to its own products, Brandnü carries goods made all over China that have similar social missions and values. Among these products is Tranquil Tuesdays Tea, which helps women develop useful skills through working in the tea industry. There are also bags designed by PAE-Halo, candles supporting Magic Hospital, small animal dolls from Shandong, and woven sandals from Guizhou.

Of course there’s always the controversy of fair trade versus exploitation, but that’s a totally different topic. First, come to Beijing and support a little shop called Brandnü that’s trying to make a big difference.

Brandnü is located at 61 West Wudaoying Hutong, Dongcheng District
北京东城五道营胡同61号西

My attempted Chinese translation:
我试试用汉语翻译:

西方的冬天节日是该多善心，根据《时代周刊》杂志说，在世界上, 除了美国以外，中国有最多亿万富翁。但是中国比美国的善款和善心没有比，再说不可能比。虽然中国人越来越多给捐款，2006年中国人善款了1点5亿美元，然后2009年他们善款7点5亿美元以上，但七点五亿美元不可能比美国的每年善款的三千亿美元。呢么，我们怎么可以让人多捐款或帮非正副职和和慈善组织？我成为了一个中国朋友，他启发了我；叫张慧祥。

张慧祥开了一个小慈善商店，Brandnü在北京五道营胡同在雍和宫附近。虽然他的项目是挣钱的，“ Brandnü 是一家以经营农村妇女和其他弱势群体生产的手工艺品为主的慈善公益商店，并一直构建一个联系城市和西方设计师与中国传统手工艺生产者的爱心平台来实现农村妇女经济自立的梦想”。

“Nü” 代表汉语的‘女’，但在英语也代表‘新’。 对Brandnü最总要的目的是关于性别平等。张先生用英语说‘女是女人。我最总要的工程是帮农村妇女生活（再）设计’。Brandnü和农村的女匠一起合作，现在大部分合作是帮‘农家女’磁山组织帮他们的农村匠。

张慧祥非常忙但我感谢他有时间和我说一说Brandnü的背景，Brandnü刚去年开店。张先生常认识多设计师和慈善组织让他们跟他的商店合作。他说在中国很少的人在做这样的工作，他现在的时间很适合。张先生帮农村妇女匠和城区设计师做合作和项目。他们一起做的产品有钱包买啦，首饰啦，围巾啦，笔记本包，等别的生活用具。这些产品都用工艺品展的规定来做。

你是不是在想Brandnü怎么开始的？张先生呆着十年在加拿大，有家庭，然后2008年决定搬回中国。在加拿大，有很多组织和二手商店启发啦他。搬到北京张先生让朋友帮他开了Brandnü也找到五道营的地方开店。在中国张慧祥的商店帮性别平等只有他一位。

真正的妇女匠合设计师的作还是很难。比如说，宁夏妇女大部分用电话交流因为她们的邮局从农村要开车三个小时才能到。呢么关于手工的做法比较难交流。妇女匠用传统的手工，Brandnü希望能让她们和城区设计师有密切的关系。

Brandnü的目的是能用中国传统艺做出自己的现代产品线，然后产品会当高档东四卖的。生意一定要持续才能得到目的帮农村妇女。张先生需要细点儿决定他的项目做法和怎么帮社会，但是现在最难的是找招商。

张慧祥有多积极性和经历，他自己做产品也有非常多概念从再造东四到钱包，鞋子和衣服。除了自己的产品以外，Brandnü也卖别的在中国做的有对社会帮助的产品。

当然这样用做生意可能有争议，但线来北京看看这家小商店想有很大的帮助。
Brandnü在北京东城五道营胡同61号西。

我已经有个“住好的”post。 他们有新东四卖，对我来说有点关于旅行也关于香港。真有意思，让用小东四记得在香港怎么样或者干了什么。真聪明！
在你的城市你会选什么当小纪念品？

A couple months ago I had a discussion with a classmate about our adjustments to living in Beijing. One of the biggest adjustments that seem so simple and natural in our respective home countries is the idea of brands. We know who to trust, what to expect from quality and service, and where to go to look for specific needs. Something that is seemingly obvious in our daily activities has been turned upside down upon our arrival to China. This is certainly all apart of traveling and exploring a new place. But learning all this information is an overload and can be difficult. One thing that I have noticed is for water: of the plethora of choices, locals prefer Nongfu Spring.

Seeing the Business Insider article about 19 Chinese consumer brands was definitely one place to start! Of the better known names are China Mobile, Tsingtao, and Baidu. And a few of the lesser known: Tingyi Packaged Noodles, Want Want food, and Bailian women’s lingerie. I’ll have to start following up on these and understanding their range or products when I’m back in Beijing.

之个月前我和同学谈谈对我们中国的生活怎么样。我们在自己国家的时候知道每个品牌的质量或者应该去什么商店买要东西。但在中国的时候什么都不知道。但这是在旅行，关于每个新地方要学资料。我在北京的时候农夫山泉是中国人最喜欢的水牌子。看到这个文章我能开始听多只个中国品牌。我以前听过百度和青岛但差不多所有的品牌都没听过。

The Shanghai based branding firm Labbrand reviews the impact of packaging design on business in a cultural context, particularly in China. Product brand managers need to pay special consideration to how their consumers view color, materials, images and typefaces, while considering the contrasts between Chinese and Western markets.

Packaging design and color has a a big impact on the failure or success of the product it packages. If the consumer is not attracted to the colors and the packaging, they may pay no attention to the product itself.

People use a little more than a minute to make up their minds about a product they see for the first time, and a big part of this judgment is based on colours alone.
“All of us have involuntary physiological and psychological responses to the colours we see,” according to the Chicago-based Institute for Colour Research, a group that collects information on the human response to colour and then sells it to industry. “Colour…impacts our appetite, sexual behaviour, business life and leisure time,” says Eric Johnson, the institute’s head of research studies.

I knew that different cultures and countries have different opinions on particular colors, but I had no idea that the French, Belgian, or Japanese are not attracted to green packaging or that Islamic cultures react to yellow in a negative way because yellow symbolizes death. And of course for the Chinese yellow is associated with the emperor’s clothing and red represents happiness and fortune. The article lists a variety of other colors and the perception from various cultural contexts. The choice of color is powerful when designing packaging for certain markets.

However, this does not apply to every product category: Chinese consumers generally find appealing these bright and shiny colours for food products but tend to prefer white and pastel colours for personal care and household items. For instance, General Mills adapts the colours used on own product packages in the Chinese market by using bright and flashy colours.

These examples really illustrate the importance of understanding a local consumer market when developing products (both 3-dimensionally and 2-dimensionally).

Researchers estimate that more than 70 percent of purchase decisions are made at point of sale . Here the consumer takes in rapidly all the products displayed – and likewise hastily looks for clues that help him make a decision.
Products brands that are successful on the Chinese market clearly take into consideration how images and patterns printed on the packaging influence consumers decisions towards own products.

Packaging has an incredible power over what people buy. The same way people express themselves through the clothes they wear they also make statements about who they are through the products they buy. Indeed, we buy products not just for their functional attributes but also – and maybe even more importantly – because these products promise to fulfil desires and longings. The package that enfolds the product carries a big part of that promise.

The challenge when trying to build a locally consistent “promise” is to interpret the global brand identity and creative concept in a meaningful way for the Chinese market. The package design needs to attract attention, stimulate curiosity, build a connection and ultimately lead the buyer to think the product is the best one offered. China is a country with a long history and a rich culture, creating codes in the minds of consumers that must be considered during package design. In order to be successful in China, foreign brands need to reinterpret their identity through the eyes of Chinese consumers to truly understand how colours, patterns, images, typeface and material choices can contribute build a meaningful product experience.

via Freelance Blogging

包装和文化真有关系比如说颜色，材料，图像，和字体和不同的国际文化有不同的意思。西方人和中国人的想法当然不一样，所以他们对包装的感觉也一定不一样。我听说有这样的关系但不知道是真么深的。

Dueling Starbucks and Peet’s coffee shops are located directly across the street from each other in the town of Alameda, CA (Bay Area). I’m sure it’s not the only corner in the area with multiple coffee shops. When two huge coffee chains open shop so close together, it certainly shows the presence of coffee culture.

Coffee culture and cafes are growing in Beijing. In certain areas there are multiple cafes in the neighborhood, particularly in the university area of Wudaokou (五道口). I’ve spent my share of time in these cafes and it’s not much different from the ones in the States: friends gather and chat, spend hours using the wifi and doing work, or running in for a quick snack and drink. I must admit that the food and coffee quality could use improvement, but knowing that the cafes are easily accessible and growing in numbers shows a definite demand for the service and atmosphere.

星巴克和Peet’s Coffee 在互相对面。在旧金山能看到咖啡文化是很重要， 当然有别的路口也有多种咖啡店。在北京五道口也有非常多咖啡馆，我自己花了很多时间在这里的咖啡馆。北京的咖啡馆好像美国的：朋友在聊聊天，上网，做工作，或者快吃或者喝东西。但在咖啡馆的西菜能 能更好。有真么多咖啡馆，我们知道这样的商店能有多.

What do people who were once paid to be creative for a living do when they’re laid off? They get creative with their own lives. Lemonade is an inspirational film about 16 advertising professionals who lost their jobs and found their calling, encouraging people to listen to that little voice inside their head that asks, “What if?”

The over-riding theme here seems to be passion…we continue to hear that passion is often key to success and to just get up and do something. I’m preaching to myself, of course…haha. Definite inspiration to get up and do something

Jan Chipchase writes a short entry about the failure and successes of color-changing diapers that alert parents of a wet diaper (or nappy):

Yellow nappy stripes – a familiar, comforting sight for parents indicating that the contents of the container/nappy are dry – with a few drops of liquid the stripes turn blue. Whilst it would be disputed by the marketing departments of FMCGs its rare to see (what most people consider to be) genuine leap-forward innovation in mass-market consumer goods such as nappies and razors – but genuine innovation this is. This nappy design is an absolute time saver – parents/carers no longer need check inside the nappy/feel the groin area for moisture/hold-baby-up-to-nose before heading to the changing table. The yellow/blue stripes provide parental confidence; reduce the risk of baby miscomfort; save time; and reduce the risk of erroneously changing a nappy.

But the feature is far from perfect: there appear to be false positives (where the blue stripes appears with no apparent dampness) – it will be interesting to see how motivated manufacturers are to ‘fix’ this issue given the (if 1 in 20, then ~5%?) bump it provides to the bottom line.

Design helps people in big and little ways, but design is also about business; it’s very insightful knowing that as much as Mr. Chipchase does research and design, he also reminds us that we have to consider the bottom line of the new innovative products we develop.

via FuturePerfect

Shanghai Tang is the first luxury brand emerging from China. Its design mission is to revitalise Chinese innovation and to interweave it with the dynamism of the 21st Century.

Some of their products are quite standard, simply changed with a Shanghai Tang graphic, while other products are much more unique and intriguing like this dimsum inspired basket for trinkets. There are certainly some interesting Chinese inspired gift ideas among some splurges for yourself if you dare

上海滩是个高端商店卖衣服和家里的产品。它们用中国传统的设计来做现代产品。能当礼物或者买给自己的很好礼物。哈哈。

In addition to the concepts from “The Ballad of John & Yoko, adorned with a guitar and simple white interior, to Goldilocks and The Three Bears, which has a quaint storybook feel to it,” there’s a more local feel from the Afro-Funk trailer by Carla Soudien.

The trailer’s earthy colours set the tone for an African experience – minus the wildlife. Soudien was inspired by the street fashion of Cape Town and this is represented in her careful attention to texture.

What a great way to collaborate with local artists and create unique experiences for travelers! Not to mention the poetic nature of the project, where we think of trailers for traveling. Now, the trailers are permanently parked and made into housing for those same travelers. Each Airstream has a small garden, air-conditioning, and running hot and cold water. I want to visit! I’m so curious how the interiors are have been redesigned.

via CoolHunting