Working with He Min Harry our guest lecturer from Suzhou we organised a live web-based ‘design dialogue’ this week. The project aimed to give UK-based students an insight into Chinese design and vice versa. The lively informal event kicked off early / late at 9.30am GMT / 5.30pm CST with the now familiar task of wrestling with ethernet cables, Skype, monitors and laptops… Then we got down to business with a series of quick-fire 2 min presentations about design informed by questions the students exchanged with each other last week.
What ensued has been described as “surreal, weird, awesome, hilarious and very complex” — a dodgy internet connection meant we had to resort to a complex assemblage of laptops filming other laptops. However, despite the glitches, students in both countries got to see an exciting mix of work which ranged from typography and signage through to Kun opera costumes and how to make dumplings. Well done to the Suzhou participants and UK-based students Grant Norris, Itai Akrah, Naomi Mann, Karo Cichon, Corey Dixon, Victoria Cedano and Charlotte Scarrow. See more examples and read a review of the event here Design Dialogue 2012.