Taiwanese won three gold and four silver medals in the student graphic design category at the 6th International Design Awards (IDA) in California.
Two of the golds and all four of the silvers went to students from National Taiwan University of Science and Technology in Taipei.
The IDA competition was established by the Lucie Foundation in 2007 to recognize and promote emerging talent in architecture and interior, fashion, product and graphic design.
Photo: CNA
Gold medals were awarded to Lee Pei-wen (李珮雯) for Cloudist, Chan Kai-ming (詹凱名) for Unknown & Trinity and Huang Tsung-min (黃聰閔) for Don’t Tell in poster and other graphic designs.
Lee depicts 25 modern celebrity and historic icons such as Confucius (孔子), Marilyn Monroe and Lady Gaga in her poster.
The figures appear to have different cloud shapes as hairstyles, but a close examination shows they were composed from the mold of the same person.”
Photo: CNA
“The shallowness of the information age makes it easier for people to disguise themselves. We have lots of personality styles that can change and camouflage [themselves] anytime. Cloud means virtual imagery,” Lee said.
“The personalities between reality and the Internet are not the same. The value of networks and technology depends on how we use them. If we spend too much time or become addicted, it could change every single person and the whole society,” she said.
Chan said it took him two months to come up with the Unknown & Trinity album cover for a gothic band that mixes mystery and medieval art, with images of bats, withered trees and castle.
“Music has power and rhythm, so the graphic design combining a member of band with fantastic cloud, smoke and motion lighting aims to express the spirit of Gothic music,” Chan said.
For Don’t Tell, Huang said he wanted to examine the oppressive nature combination of family and education, where children suffer mental and physical abuse from the high expectations that parents place on them for academic achievement.
Huang said he wondered if this “is this a kind of twisted parental love?”
His poster has the image of two fearful children, with bruises on their faces, swollen red noses and tearful eyes, as they are enveloped in the darkness surrounding them. A piece of memo paper bearing the words “Don’t Tell” is placed across their mouths, to suggest the indescribable pain and suffering by the children in domestic violence cases, and that other family members are “silent witnesses” to such abuse.
Huang said he was reacting to news reports about a Chinese man who was so proud that he had beaten his children to “enable them get into top universities” that he wrote a book about it.
Students who earned silver medals include Huang, for his DNA-Genetically Modified poster and Hua Li-han, for Food, both of which address the issue of global food shortages. Hsiang Wen-chun won for Floating, which focuses on the destruction of historical structures amid rapid urbanization, and Min Hao-siang and Fung Cheng-wen’s Forged package design was inspired by the history and traditions of tea in Asia.
Entries from other Taiwanese, either as individuals or university groups, earned seven honorable mentions in several categories of contest’s student division.
However, all the Taiwanese winners are identified on the IDA’s Web site under “Country: Taiwan, Province of China.”
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese