Taipei, Taiwan
I’m currently spending the better part of a week in Taiwan, lecturing in three cities as part of the 2009 Conference of International Design Competitions (a truly innovative program that encourages and rewards Taiwanese design students for entering international design competitions). This is my third visit to Isla Formosa in recent years, and unlike the rushed and jam-packed previous visits, I’m happily able to engage in some cultural and touristic discovery this time around.
Accompanied by two beautiful and knowledgeable young interpreters (Julia and Tree), my Taipei tour started with a visit to the towering postmodern Taipei 101 (the world’s tallest skyscraper when it was completed five years ago), some upscale window-shopping (you’d almost think Christmas was an ancient Chinese holiday), a delicious Dim Sum lunch (best dumplings ever), followed by a half-day visit to the incredible National Palace Museum (with its collection of 650,000 ancient artifacts encompassing 8000 years of Chinese history). The day ended with a fancy dinner of traditional foods and fine fellowship with Taiwanese design colleagues.
Following the formal presentations and conference proceedings at the Red House Theatre the next day, I had the chance to take in the impromptu street-sights and sounds of the Ximending district. Next stop, Taiching…
(Nice to see you again, Jennifer).
São Paulo, Brazil
André Felipe has pulled together a remarkable online collection of largely type-based posters from around the globe… enjoy—here.
(Thanks to Matthew Wells for the link).
Copenhagen, Denmark
Leading up to the Copenhagen global climate negotiations that start next week, Greenpeace is currently running a clever ad campaign in the Copenhagen airport. Adverts feature digitally aged images of sad-looking world leaders apologizing for not addressing climate change when they had the chance. (Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper looks like “the saddest hockey coach in the land” according to one pundit).
I, for one, am not holding my breath in expectation of meaningfully positive outcomes from the upcoming talks… and I must say, with our country’s shamefully deplorable environmental record (and total lack of leadership) in recent years, this is one of those (thankfully rare) times I’m truly embarrassed to tell folks that I’m a Canadian.
Buenos Aires, Argentina
In 1971, my dear Argentinian friend Ronald Shakespear was commissioned by BA’s City Hall to undertake a design project that would eventually grow to be called the “Visual Plan for Buenos Aires.” The project was unique in its context (certainly the first in South America) not only because of its massive scale, but also due to the dynamic interaction it entailed with both “the client” and ultimately “the client’s clients” (the city’s citizens). This turned out to be the first time that the Helvetica font was used in Argentina’s urban landscape… and among the hundreds of sign iterations generated, resulted in (I will argue here) the best design of a Taxi sign ever…
You can read more about the full project scope and its sustained impact in Eye #63 (UK), Domus #159 (Italy), and Graphis #168 (Switzerland).
Taxi!
