The project.

I am designing a storage system for the home in China. I was originally going to design a storage system that was situated in the entry area. I wanted to create an interesting yet functional piece that was thought inspiring and elegant. I had chosen to do some sort of shoe storage. As i persued this direction i found myself doing things that were going against my basic philosophy for this project. The philosophy was as folows. That i would create a piece that maximised the efficient use of materials and spoke to the user about the basic value of an object. Some how i wanted to communicate a basic life of a product. At very least speak to the user about where this product came from. And i thought that one way to do this would be to use there timber. I also thought that the form of the furniture should speak about some of the timbers qualities. The problem with the shoe rack is that it was becoming over engineered due to the need to conceal and hide the shoes to keep the entry area clear clean and uncluttered. The message I was trying to convey would deffinatley be lost in this piece.

Inspiration From Chinese Mythology.

LIU-BEI: God of Shoes and Heroics. Although a shoemaker and weaver by trade, he was actually a distant relative of Han Dynasty Emperor Liu. In that troubled time of rebellion and civil war, friends in high places were of no avail. Still, he thought, at least everyone needs shoes. As all hell broke out across the country, with rebels and war all over the place, LIU-BEI swore a mighty oath to defend his Emperor. As told in Romance Of The Three Kingdoms, he joined forces with ZHANG-FEI and GUAN-YU and became an one of the Three Peach Orchard Brothers — and an instant hero. LIU-BEI was tall, extremely good-looking, and, thanks to the fortuitous positioning of his eyeballs, blessed with amazing eyesight. (Not only X-ray vision, but Y and Z-vision too.) But for such a mighty warrior, he was modest and kindly, which made him all the more popular.

Product Oppertunity Chart

Project Aim

My aim is to create a peace of fun and functional furniture. It aims to improve the user experience in a daily task. I am looking at the entry area of typical urban apartment in china. This space is a particularly interesting area as it is a transitional space in the home. This is a very important part of the home in terms of Feng Shui and the welcoming of guests.

Project plan

Pearl River Delta Region

The Pearl River Delta is the major economic zone of south China. It is home to less than three percent of chinas population, but is responsible for nearly one third of of the countries manufacturing output.This is nearly the size of the Taiwanese economy.

The chinese government has gone through a process of economic planing streching back to the 1980's. The (PRD) region was one of the first areas to expierence change as it has the highest number of specially designated areas for economic reform. This means (PRD) has had more than twenty years of expierence in market economy operations. Because of this it has built up a large population of middle class consumers and a broad base of manufacturing capabilities.

Design Project Base.

We are 3rd year Unitec Product Design students and are working on a project in association with the Mayde(Mainland design exchange) staff in Guanzhou.We are focusing on three major cities, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou creating designs for home furniture and furnishing. The brief is centred around new product development for Chinese manufacturers.