China Good Design: New Asian Moods and Award-Winning Products

From 4 May to 3 June 2018, the Red Dot Design Museum Essen will present the exhibition “China Good Design – New Asian Moods and Award-Winning Products” in cooperation with the Xiamen Culture Media Group. For the first time, the exhibition will put products that won awards in the China Good Design Award on show in Germany. The roughly 90 exhibits stem from a wide variety of different areas of life, giving visitors an overview of the state-of-the-art of Chinese product culture.

About the exhibtion

What is special about the exhibits is that they straddle Asian design traditions on the one hand and the need for product internationalisation on the other. They build a bridge between the cultures of the Far East and the West, between traditional design influences and the latest technologies. This gives them their very own special charm.

Part of the exhibition is dedicated to products designed by Chinese designers especially for the Asian market, such as tea sets, furniture or accessories whose form, choice of materials or decoration reflect their deep roots in eastern traditions. By contrast, other products are clearly geared to the global market. The Chinese design influence is evident, but they also cater to western tastes and meet high international technological and environmental standards. Yet other products are the result of an increasing number of intercultural collaborations between designers and companies from China and all over the world.

The many outstanding design exhibits make one thing clear: Over the past two decades, China has transformed from a mere production location to a country that creates truly good design. The Chinese creative industry is growing, and with it the awareness that design is an important economic factor. The China Good Design Award was established in 2015 to strengthen this understanding of design and make design achievements visible.