I want: Chinese Military Shovel

As multi-function as a Swiss Army knife! On a larger scale. – shovel, dig, cut and chop, saw, peel, measure, climb, hammer and much much more… – 铲(chan3),挖(wa1),砍(kan3),锯(ju4),削(xiao1),量(liang2),攀(pan1),锤(chui2)…

bathroom icons

Usually toilets stick with just 1 icon, but at Vancouver’s BC Place Stadium, they’ve decided to emphasize variety with the use of 6 different icons for the women’s toilet. Oddly retro.. maybe it’s the use of the lime-green color?

clever advertisements on buildings

Oddee‘s post of 10 clever ads on buildings made me think about the number of advertisements I filter out, particularly in China with all its saturation of lights and colorful billboards. As we consumers continue to filter out advertisements, ads are becoming more clever in order to grab attention. Have a look at a few posted from Oddee:

VisionUnion: Chinese design blog

I’m well aware of many of the US based design blogs, but was recently directed by a friend to VisionUnion: Visionunion.net was found in June, 2008 with responsibility to introduce China Design to the world, report important affairs in China, promote China’s design firms/school of design/designers, present China’s original design works and articles. Have a […]

graphics + fashion: thething

Founded in 2005, a local Chinese graphics and t-shirt company called thething has some unique streetwear graphics. I like. Our goal is to design clothing and products that are innovative and aspirational, yet affordable. The inspiration for our designs comes from our daily lives and we try to infuse each product with a unique sense of style and […]

living hinge fork

I’m starting to realize that some of my fascinations may seem a bit silly to local Chinese. Regardless, I was super excited to find a collapsable plastic fork packaged with my cup of noodles! I’m curious though, why a fork over chopsticks…? (apologies for the poor quality pics)

China pavilion – shanghai expo 2010

I previously posted my excitement for the Shanghai Expo. And here’s another pavilion that looks amazing! The china pavilion at Shanghai Expo 2010 is designed in the shape of an oriental crown, showcasing the spirit of traditional chinese culture. its main structure includes a six layer, 30 meter high roof made of  56 traditional wooden brackets. the brackets symbolize the […]

Beijing bus stop

Crowds of people rush on and off the bus… Once they’re gone, more people line up at the designated spots.. Such a self-explanatory, simple way of organizing and coordinating.

water bottles galore, part 2

I recently posted an image of the many options for bottled water in China. This 4.5Liter bottle is interesting for a completely different reason. There are many bottles, or jugs, blow-molded with the handle as part of the mold, for example: WatsonsWater, on the other-hand, has decided to make the handle from a completely separate piece of plastic, […]

No Littering, Vendors, Begging, Pets

Some interesting notices in the Beijing Subway: No Littering, No Vendors, No Begging, No Pets. Was this instituted because of the Olympics 2 years ago? What would the subway be like if these notices weren’t posted?? Filled with all of the above? And not so clean..

fooled by look-alike packaging

Wrigley’s, you fooled me! The green label made me automatically think the flavor would be mint. Instead, I opened the package to find an intensely floral taste in my mouth. Ahhh.. I see, the top of the cap says “herbal” and the side has photos of flowers. Fooled. And not enjoying this gum flavor at […]

culture shock #1: my bathroom stall

I’ve arrived in Beijing about 30 hrs ago.. alive, well, jet-lagged, and culture-shocked. I was more than well prepared for squatting toilets, but had no idea what to expect from my living accommodations. Leaving from the states, I thought that I had no expectations. And after arriving from a long journey to find a cozy, […]

Looking forward to Vancouver!

With a nice list from the NYTimes and DesignWeek Vancouver, I’m sure that I’ll wish I had more than a week to eat my way through the city! I had heard that there’s a great deal of Asian food in Vancouver, but I had no idea that it was to such a great extent. I’ll let you […]