Huatung Youth Practical Design Camp
A true practical design professional understands both science and sociology and applies the designer’s professional skills to solve realistic problems. Truly successful design bridges artistic expression and consumer needs. The Huatung Youth Practical Design Camp aims to stimulate participants to discover their own spiritual interests and joy through practical design in daily life.
Half a century ago, a group of Fathers from Switzerland founded the Kung-Tung Technical Senior High School in remote Taidong. They architected the school’s elegantly simple yet homogeneous campus and instructed local students in machinery, industrial design, carpentry and other skills. Their design innovation became legendary, and the enthusiasm of teaching brought about by the Fathers has long been imprinted in everyone’s memory and will forever be honored.
Traditional Formosan aboriginal artistic design was known for its blend of dynamism, austereness and natural charm. As time has gone by, however, the market for Formosan commercial merchandise has gradually declined due to its lack of fashionable elements. The absence of current design courses in local high schools, vocational schools and universities has resulted in a shortage of modern design talents in Huadong region.
Invoking the spirit of Father Hilber Jakob’s founding of the Kung-Tung Technical Senior High School, the Department of Communications Design of Shih Chien University, National Taitung College and the Alliance Cultural Foundation jointly hosted the 2011 Youth Practical design Camp.
The 2011 Practical design Camp provided a useful channel for attendees interested in practical design to quickly plug into the modern world of design. Led by Professor Ta-Lih Shieh of Shih Chien University, more than 20 faculty members and student volunteers participated in a design workshop. The workshop’s objective was to provide a platform for academicians and practitioners, amateurs as well as professionals, to incorporate the intrinsic beauty of Taidong culture into their design work. Participants included high school and college students and practicing aboriginal art workers.
The five-day, four-night workshop included design courses in four major areas: Creative Visual Animation, Woodwork Design, Laser Engraving Product Design, and Plane Visual Design. Each area had a mentor professor who led the participants on expeditions through the Dulan Sugar Factory and to the Bixilian Pawpaw Drum Orchestra at Sansiantai, Chenggong to hunt for ideas and concepts of interest. That was followed by creative brainstorming, group discussion and critique, and iterative prototyping practices. The synergy among the participants and volunteers resulted in many impressive innovations.
The old saying goes: “Be a person first, then a designer.” Simply stated, to become a great designer, one must possess a high degree of curiosity and interest in objects, be observant, be an independent thinker and be capable of expressing one’s own ideas and convictions. Design allows the full expression of one’s hidden talents for innovation. Further, design rooted in culture can often generate the greatest emotional impact on human lives. Through the Huadong Youth Practical Design Camp, we hope to provide an opportunity for the general public to appreciate the natural resources offered by our soil, sky, mountains and human spirit, to continue innovation, and to create value in life.
Traditional Formosan aboriginal artistic design was known for its blend of dynamism, austereness and natural charm. As time has gone by, however, the market for Formosan commercial merchandise has gradually declined due to its lack of fashionable elements. The absence of current design courses in local high schools, vocational schools and universities has resulted in a shortage of modern design talents in Huadong region.
Invoking the spirit of Father Hilber Jakob’s founding of the Kung-Tung Technical Senior High School, the Department of Communications Design of Shih Chien University, National Taitung College and the Alliance Cultural Foundation jointly hosted the 2011 Youth Practical design Camp.
The 2011 Practical design Camp provided a useful channel for attendees interested in practical design to quickly plug into the modern world of design. Led by Professor Ta-Lih Shieh of Shih Chien University, more than 20 faculty members and student volunteers participated in a design workshop. The workshop’s objective was to provide a platform for academicians and practitioners, amateurs as well as professionals, to incorporate the intrinsic beauty of Taidong culture into their design work. Participants included high school and college students and practicing aboriginal art workers.
The five-day, four-night workshop included design courses in four major areas: Creative Visual Animation, Woodwork Design, Laser Engraving Product Design, and Plane Visual Design. Each area had a mentor professor who led the participants on expeditions through the Dulan Sugar Factory and to the Bixilian Pawpaw Drum Orchestra at Sansiantai, Chenggong to hunt for ideas and concepts of interest. That was followed by creative brainstorming, group discussion and critique, and iterative prototyping practices. The synergy among the participants and volunteers resulted in many impressive innovations.
The old saying goes: “Be a person first, then a designer.” Simply stated, to become a great designer, one must possess a high degree of curiosity and interest in objects, be observant, be an independent thinker and be capable of expressing one’s own ideas and convictions. Design allows the full expression of one’s hidden talents for innovation. Further, design rooted in culture can often generate the greatest emotional impact on human lives. Through the Huadong Youth Practical Design Camp, we hope to provide an opportunity for the general public to appreciate the natural resources offered by our soil, sky, mountains and human spirit, to continue innovation, and to create value in life.
