Theme: Innovative Design, Key to Better Future

The 14th China (Wuxi) International Design Expo (hereinafter referred to as the “expo) was grandly opened at Wuxi Taihu International Expo Center on September 21, 2017, and successfully concluded four days later on September 24.

The exhibition of the 14th China (Wuxi) International Design Expo, 2017 International Artificial Intelligence and Industrial Design Trend and Top Interview, the 6th Taihu Award Design Competition & Awarding Party were held concurrently with the expo. Over 200 universities, enterprises, design institutes and industrial associations were invited to the expo as exhibitors, including nearly 30 foreign ones and presenting more than 10,000 pieces of exhibits. Around 100 guests from both home and abroad were invited, with foreign guests including design elites, industrial celebrities and representatives of important exhibitors from a dozen of countries and regions like Germany, France, Switzerland, Australia, Denmark and Japan.

Exhibition of the 14th China (Wuxi) International Design Expo

As a quality and specialized event, the exhibition involved three exhibition halls and covered 23,400 sq m, with many exhibits of rich connotations worthy of attention.  

With the focus on culture and technology, Hall No.1 was for the excellent design of digital home appliances and porcelains. Both famous porcelains, such as Jingdezhen porcelain, Dehua white porcelain and Longquan celadon porcelain, and the latest products of well-known home appliance manufacturers both at home and abroad, including Haier, Xiaomi, Changhong, Little Swan and Sunra, were displayed in the hall. The hall also saw the “Belt and Road” contemporary Yixing porcelain art exhibition and the special exhibition about Wuxi National Industrial Design Park, which demonstrated the strong vitality of Wuxi in both traditional design and innovative design.

Hall No.2 was for international design works, reflecting the global trends in which frontier technologies like AI, virtual reality and 3D printing are integrated with the design industry, and showcasing the excellent pieces from Germany, France, Switzerland, Australia, Denmark, Japan, etc. The hall also included special sections for the exhibition of works honored international design awards like IDEA (US), GDA (Australia) and G-Mark (Japan), Germany Quantitative Design Exhibition and the exhibition of collections from Ludwig Doerfler Museum. Yves CHARNAY, Chairman of French Color Association and Honorary Chairman of European Color Association, had a booth set up in the hall to have face-to-face communication with attending guests, and delivered impromptu speeches several times.

Hall No.3 was for creative design and interactive experience, demonstrating the emerging force of the creative design industry and showcasing the works by college students honored the 6th Taihu Award, excellent NOC works and the outstanding works by the 2017 graduates of the design colleges of Jiangsu Province. It served as a platform for the face-to-face exchanges between exhibiting and visiting students. The International Olympic Youth Intelligent Robot Competition-2018 Jiangsu Preliminary was held in the Lego Experience Section during September 23-24.

2017 International Artificial Intelligence and Industrial Design Trend Forum and Top Interview

The forum held on the afternoon of September 22 took the form of a top interview. Ms. Huang Xiaoshan, deputy director of Wuxi Bureau of Science and Technology, Mr. Lin Xiaoyue, head of the Department of Appearance Design Review of China National Intellectual Property Administration, Mr. Wu Dongrui, professor of Huazhong University of Science and Technology and chief scientist of US-based DataNova, the famous designer, maker and educationist Mr. Li Shenghong, and Mr. Zhao Wenlai, leader of the big data and deep learning project at the National Supercomputing Center in Wuxi, joined the interview and had in-depth discussions about issues like AI, industrial design, IPRs and their relationships and trends. At the forum held on September 23, five experts and scholars, including Liu Yongxiong, professor of the Department of Computer Science of City University of Hong Kong, and Wang Xinlei, called “left-handed master” in the design circle, delivered keynote speeches.     

6th Taihu Award Night of Design

Collection of works for the 6th Taihu Award competition lasted for six months from March to August. A bigger number of works of richer connotations were enrolled for the competition. On a specific term, the creation group received more than 1,000 pieces of works from over 100 colleges at home, including the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Nanjing University of the Arts, Jiangnan University and Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, and the product group saw participants like Xiaomi, Haier, Changhong and some other famous enterprises and design institutes at home and abroad.

During the expo, the Organizing Committee invited experts to appraise the works shortlisted for the 6th Taihu Award Competition, and announced results at the site of the 6th Taihu Award Night of Design. The 6th Taihu Award included product group and creation group and saw 87 prizes generated in total.

　     产品组特等奖:  长虹C5F系列100吋激光电视  　

Grand prize in the creation group: ZEEN electric Chinese Zither

On the 6th Taihu Award Night of Design, Sun Haidong, head of Wuxi Bureau of Science and Technology (Bureau of IPRs), offered invitation for exchanges and cooperation to all design associations at home on behalf of the Organizing Committee, and signed the memorandum on friendly cooperation respectively with eight organizations including IDSA, the Industrial Design Association of Heilongjiang Province and Guangzhou Industrial Design Promotion Association for further cooperation.

Exhibition outcomes

1.Wider target groups

The expo introduced new categories of innovative design and creative design, and included both the experience section for frontier technologies like FEG intelligent vehicles and virtual reality and the exhibition section for creative cultural design like 3D printed accessories and the application of painting elements, which were targeted at professional groups and ordinary public as well.  

2.More spotlights

The expo included some distinctive exhibitions, such as the exhibition for the collections from Ludwig Doerfler Museum, the exhibition for Chinese and western art design themed “East Wind into the West”, Chuangya international exhibition for ergonomic design and interactions and the international art doll master exhibition. They displayed some works and fresh elements in the design field that are interested by the public but can be rarely seen, adding some shine to the expo.    

3.Richer connotations

The selected exhibits at the expo showed the diverse design elements in a dozen of countries and regions, including Germany, France, Switzerland, Australia, Denmark and Japan, as well as the trend in which technologies are integrated with design. The exhibition not only advocated the smart and artistic lifestyle led by innovative and creative design, but also was aimed to establish a platform of exchanges and cooperation for innovative resources and talents at home and abroad, promote the further application of innovative design to different economic and social fields, and foster the atmosphere of mass entrepreneurship and innovation.