Lao Jianhua - HSBC Designer in Residence

It’s been a great experience to be HSBC Designer in Residence at the V&A. I learned a lot from the varied collections in the V&A and other museums in London. It makes me understand more about others cultures and styles. And by learning more about others I’ve come to understand my own culture and style more clearly. Six months is a short time for me to learn everything that I want to learn so I’m continuing to learn now I’m back to China. The experience at V&A will affect my design for a long time.

It’s very good that in London designers seem to communicate with and learn from each other. I learned a lot from the public and the designers in London. Life is beautiful because the things are different and I hope I could design some products that benefit the people’s life and they are really want to use them. More and more people in China go to museums to learn the design and culture of our own. And a lot of new design practices are now happening in China. I am excited to be part of the future of China design.

---

持续学习和实践在V&A的这段经历使我受益良多。我从V&A博物馆和在伦敦的其他博物馆的丰富藏品中学到了很多不同文化和民族的设计。它就像一面镜子，当对异国文化和设计了解的越多也就使我更加认知自己本国的东西。时光流逝，半年时间一晃而过，也没能学习完我想学的东西，所以回国后我继续学习，相信这些所学的东西也将影响我很长时期的设计。不同的设计师能够相互学习交流是一件很好的事，在伦敦我从很多设计师和公众那里学到了很多知识。事物的差异性使生活变得美丽，所以我希望将来可以设计出大家真正需要也乐于使用的产品。在国内越来越多的人走进博物馆学习文化和设计，设计实践也在火热的进行中，所以我坚信中国设计的明天。

Every day I have to take the London Underground train (the Tube) from my flat to the Museum. But it’s so crowded in rush hour, especially the Piccadilly line and Central line, as I mentioned in my first blog post. So I’ve tried to work out a new solution for the Tube train. I am sharing my first rough ideas here, and I hope more people get involved in discussions about the Tube trains, to help find a good solution for their design. This concept idea focusses on the arrangement of the seats. In my design there are more folded seats, to provide more space for standing passengers during rush hour. The seats are placed unsymmetrically, allowing more space for passengers to get in and out of the carriage. This also makes it easier to locate the nearest priority seats for disabled and old people on either side of the doors.

Also, my design is meant to create a more contemporary look on the outside and cleaner look on the inside. This is just a draft  and I hope you will get involved by adding your comments!

---

伦敦地铁概念设计每天上班从公寓到博物馆都是坐地铁，但是在高峰期实在太拥挤了，特别是Piccadilly线和Central线，我在第一个博客中就提到了这个问题。所以试图找到一个解决的方案，这个一个粗略的草案，希望更多的人参与进来讨论然后最终找到新的解决方案。这个概念更多的关注在座位的设置上，车厢内设置了更多的折叠座位，为了在高峰期提供更多空间容纳更多乘客。座位的不对称设置也是为了方便乘客从不同门口上下车。同时在每个门口都设置了残疾人和老年人的优先座位。新的伦敦地铁试图寻求外观现代，内饰干净的设计。

Nowadays we are living in a fast-paced world where speed and convenience are increasingly important. With high-tech developments it’s easy to travel and communicate. Cities are crowded and big flats difficult to afford. Instead we live in flats that are compact but comfortable. We work hard and have no time to clean a big home so we prefer the simple and easy life. The products we use are becoming more compact and easy to use. Living space, furniture, home appliances, computers, mp3 players, mobile phones, are all being designed to be more and more compact. It’s like a piece of micro art.

This design for a toaster was inspired by this way of living.  My flatmates in London usually prepare two slices of toast and a fried egg for breakfast. The frying pan is difficult to clean after frying an egg in it, so I designed this toaster to try to solve the problem. It looks like a music box, and is compact and easy to clean, especially the frying pan, because you can clean it using a paper towel which should make it more convenient for other flatmates to cook their breakfasts afterwards. Because it’s quicker to clean it also gives you more time to enjoy life!

---

紧凑设计，便利生活 如今生活越来越便利和快节奏。高科技的发展也便利的人们的出行和沟通，世界正在变得越来越小。城市越来越拥挤，以至于我们负担不起一套大的公寓。生活在这样的城市我们也不得不经常搬家。我们必须努力工作，大的房子我们没时间打扫。我们渴望简单便利的生活方式。周遭的产品设计得越来越紧凑方便使用。大到房子、家具、家电，小到电脑、mp3、手机我们会发现生活中的设计再变紧凑，就像一个微型的艺术。 我在伦敦的室友早上会做两片烤面包和一个煎鸡蛋，但是问题煎完鸡蛋那个煎锅很难清洗，经常要等到晚上回家再洗，所以这个烤面包机就是尝试着解决这样一个难题。这个设计看起来像一个音乐盒，上面用来煎鸡蛋，下面用来烤面包，为了移动方便设计尽可能的紧凑，特别的是煎锅只需要一张餐巾纸就可以擦干净，方便另外的室友做同样的早餐。这样你就有更多的时间来享受生活。

Background
China is developing very quickly. People in the UK are very familiar with the ‘Made in China’ label on many goods. But what about product design in China?

Many Chinese designers are studying and working abroad, and some of them have already returned. Is Chinese design changing? What is the future of design in China?

Topic
The seminar will focus on Chinese design now and what the future holds for it.

Time and place
16 April 2009, 14:00 - 17:00
Sackler Centre, Seminar Room 1, V&A Museum

Everyone is invited to attend this free seminar. If you are interested in Design and China, come and join us!

I’d like to thank Vtop for its cooperation and the exquisite poster design. A very special thanks to Mr. Hongxing Zhang and Mr. Zhongmin Wu. Vtop is a multinational network of designers. If you are interest, please check their website.

---

中国设计论坛 背景：对高速发展中的中国，英国人从很多产品中已经熟知了“中国制造”标签，但是对于中国产品设计呢？他们知道多少。如今有很多中国设计留学生在海外求学和工作，有些也已经回国，设计在中国有所改观吗？未来的设计出路在哪儿？我们将尝试着探讨这些问题。 这个论坛的主题是关注中国设计和中国设计前景，欢迎海外的中国设计师参加和关注中国设计的海外设计师参与近来。非常感谢中国部的高级馆长张洪兴和Vtop design的吴仲旻参加此次论坛。同时感谢Vtop design的合作并为这次论坛设计了精美的海报，这是一个海外华人设计师的交流网，有兴趣交流设计的朋友可以访问网站。

This idea was inspired by bad manners that I saw in a public park. Sometimes people sleep on the benches in parks and I think this is really bad manners! I think that to prevent this, park benches should be made uncomfortable for people to sleep on, so I’ve designed this one. My bench was also designed with families in mind - the seats are lower in the middle so a child can easily sit on them. The separate seats also provide a more comfortable private space when more than one person is using the bench. The hole in the base of the seats is just a bit of fun design.

 

---

公共长凳
这个想法是来自一些公园里占长凳的不雅行为。
有时你能发现有人睡在公共长椅上，这是一种不雅的行为，所以我想对于公共空间中的长椅应该对这些行为说不。这个长凳特别考虑了一家三口的需求，长凳中间部位略低于两边，这样的高度更适合孩子的高度。同时当一个人已经坐在长凳上时，也为另外一个人坐在另一端时提供各自相对舒适的私人空间。
设计中间的圆洞是为了增加一些乐趣。

We ran two very interesting workshops for schools during March. Students from Norwood School and Langdon Park School were given the brief to design a lamp inspired by an object from the V&A collection. I’m really pleased with the results and I would like to thank our staff Janson, Wensheng and Suzuka.

My last workshop will be on the April 28th. Please do have a look at our flickr group to see the interesting work from the students who attended the workshops and to find out more details about what went on:

Norwood School Workshop

Langdon Park School Workshop

---

产品设计劳技课非常有意思的劳技课，我非常开心能为学校做这些劳技课，感谢我的同事Janson, Wensheng和Suzuka的帮忙。我的最后一个劳技课将在4月28日。如果您感兴趣可以访问上面的链接。 

Last Sunday I visited the Barbican Art Gallery and the exhibition ‘The Art of Architecture of Le Corbusier’, about the work of the architect Le Corbusier. The Barbican Centre is a huge complex of buildings including private residences and the public arts centre; it’s a good example of how to combine the two kinds of use. The architecture and gardens are very geometric - like Lego models. It’s quite different from the Suzhou gardens in China. The Suzhou gardens are more flexible and the views change with each step. The Barbican Centre is an architectural icon in the City of London. It’s a great building and garden.

If you visit there soon you could also see the Le Courbusier exhibition.

Our flickr group is growing really fast and with fantastic contributions. Here, some of my favourites:

• Machaggis: This plug looks really cool. The important thing is that it’s safer for the user.
  这个插座很有创意，人性化的设计，最重要的一点保证了使用者的安全性。

• Math Paul: This bicycle pump is useful for the public and hard to vandalise.
  这个打气筒在公众场合对骑车者非常有用，而且不容易被破坏。

 

• Frankfarm: Your spice rack project - before and after is cool! It looks like a refrigerator. The cabinet space became more useful and everything was in order, after it was constructed.
  这个搁架改装后看起来像个冰箱，每样东西都比较归整，有效得利用了空间。

 

 

• Isdesigns: This tile design is very nice. It will make the walls look great. Maybe it would be good for outdoors as well.
  这个墙砖的设计很有意思，使墙体看起来不那么单调。不过也许可以放在室外墙体上，效果也许会更好。

This is a re-design project. I like natural materials because their various properties, such as texture, give them their own character. Take for example wood. It needs time to grow and over time each piece of wood gets its own character, and has a unique texture, that is like its ‘face’. I exploited this character to re-design a clock.

First I found a second-hand clock in Brick Lane market (one of my favourite markets in London). I took the clock parts out and attached them to a piece of wood. I used some map pins stuck into the wood to create clock ‘numerals’.

It’s easy to redesign your own second hand things.

You can find a step-by-step tutorial at Instructables.com

---

自制办公室座钟 这是一个重新设计的项目。我特别喜欢材料自身特有的特性，诸如材料的纹理。每一块木头都需要一段时间去长成，而且每一块的纹理都不一样，就像是它们的脸。利用这一特性我重新设计了钟。首先我从Brick Lane的二手市场买来一个二手钟，Brick Lane市场是我在伦敦最喜欢的市场中的一个。然后取出钟的内部零件，找一些办公室常用的大头针作为钟的刻度。重新设计制作二手的东西其实很简单。你可以在上面的链接中找到制作步骤来自己动手制作。 

The V&A has setup a new Flickr Group called ‘Clever Design Solutions’ and I’ve been asked to periodically select and review some of the designs here on my blog. It’s been running for about a week and people have already added amazing pictures so I hope you can join too!

Here’s the group’s description:

The Clever Design Solutions V&A Flickr Group is devoted to ingenious design solutions, professional or amateur, commercial or domestic: wherever you discover clever design, we want to see it.

Or maybe you yourself have figured out a new and simple way of solving an old problem: that’s clever design! Just capture a good image and add it to the pool! (please include a short explanation if needed).

Anyone can take part in this project and no invites are needed to join or to add pictures.
You can also join the discussion by leaving your comments.

Note: If you are not familiar with Flickr, you can read a brief getting started guide.

---

V&A在Flickr上建立了一个命名为“聪明的设计想法”的设计群，每周我们会定期的选取一些我们自认为好的设计符合这个主题的设计放在我的博客上。这个项目已经运行了一周，我们已经看到了很多有意思的设计加入我们的群，希望有想法的您也加入进来。
下面是这个设计群的简介：
“聪明的设计想法”V&A Flickr群是致力于发现身边聪明的设计。无论是专业的或者业余的，商业的或者非商业的我们都欢迎您把他收入进来，共同学习讨论。
这种设计可以是你用一种新的简单的设计解决了生活中的小问题，或者你在身边发现的设计。可以是一张草图，效果图，实物模型或者现有产品。只要能表达您的想法，如果有必要你也可以写一个简短的介绍。
欢迎您加入我们的这个项目，无需通过邀请就可以在V&A Flickr群里加入您的设计图片，点击英文介绍后的快速链接地址你就可以找到这个设计群。