China Design Now

While interning with Ink Publishing, we took the afternoon off last Friday to visit the China Design Now exhibition at the V&A. I've never been to the V&A before - it was massive and filled with such enriching pieces of art. The exhibition we visited was interesting as well. It presents "a critical survey of the development of design culture in post-reform China" and explores it throughout various forms of media: graphic design, youth cultures, architecture and urban planning, designing for sustainability, and much more. China Design Now was divided into three areas: Shenzhen, 'Frontier City', Shanghai, 'Dream City', and Beijing, 'Future City.' A few striking pieces:

Han Jiaying, Mei (Beauty) , poster for Frontier magazine, 1997



Maleonn, Days on the Cotton Candy #4, photography series, 2006



Herzog & de Meuron, National Stadium – the Main Stadium for the 2008 Olympic Games Beijing, China, completion 2008. (Photograph by Iwan Baan, May 2007)



It was fascinating to get a glimpse of how China's new design culture began, how it's developing, and above all, where it is going.