Cultural Elements Enrich Furnishing Products

Creative designers are adding cultural elements to

Taiwan is home to a number of non-profit institutions that are devoted to the development of creative cultural products. Many of these are furniture and furnishing items which are closely associated with the daily lives of the people, and represent the lifestyles and tastes of the users.

The Chinese Foundation for Digitalization Technology, which uses the “CMEX” logo, focuses on promoting the beauty of Chinese characters by using images from Chinese calligraphy and oracle bone inscriptions on their creations.

The foundation was established in 1988 by several of Taiwan's leading computer companies, including Acer, HP Taiwan, Mitac, and Tatung, for the purpose of promoting the application of Chinese characters through advanced digitalization technology. Many foreign information technology (IT) companies have joined the foundation, among them Digital, Microsoft, and IBM of the United States, and NEC and Epson of Japan.

The foundation has cooperated with manufacturers in launching several new creative cultural items this year, including a striking “oracle bone” cushion and a cutlery package.

The oracle-bone cushion is made with a Chinese character that means “enjoying food with others.” The character is composed of two parts, the left part signifying two people sitting face-to-face and the right part meaning enjoyment of food. People who see the character (especially if they read Chinese) immediately see that it means two people sharing food at the same table.

“Ancient Chinese characters were created to present a certain meaning by using a particular image,” said Tanya Yeh, who is working on the foundation's creative cultural project. “The Chinese character itself has interesting significance, and the beautiful calligraphy in which it is written represents the uniqueness of Chinese culture.”

The Chinese calligraphy is printed on the cushion using digital printing technology, using printing of the highest quality to ensure that the colors will never fade even after hundreds of washings. Another advantage of digital printing technology is that it provides a convenient way of printing customized colors to make the cushion even more personalized.

The material used to make the cushion is polyester satin, giving it a silky and comfortable feel.

The cutlery package consists of a pair of bamboo chopsticks and a bamboo spoon packed in a cloth bag and accompanied by two coasters and a larger place mat. When not in use, all of the items can be packed away inside the place mat for convenient storage and transport.

The cutlery package comes in four styles, all of which use Chinese calligraphic images to generate a Chinese cultural ambiance.

The foundation, also called CMEX, was founded in 1988 by several Taiwan's leading computer companies such as Acer, HP Taiwan, Mitac, and Tatung, dedicated to promoting application of Chinese characters through advanced digitalization technologies. The foundation's goal is well recognized by the IT (information technology) industry in Taiwan and has been joined by many foreign IT companies as its members such as America's Digital, Microsoft, IBM, Japan's NEC and Epson, among others.

Taiwan Design Center

The Taiwan Design Center (TDC), founded in 2003, is another non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the creative cultural products of Taiwanese designers. Under the direction of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), the TDC introduces Taiwan's creative cultural products through several channels including website marketing and participation in exhibitions.

At Giftionery Taipei 2010 (a TAITRA-organized show focused on gift and stationery items), for example, the TDC arranged a pavilion to introduce the works of aboriginal designers in Taiwan. One of the most eye-catching of these works was the “Blessing Stool,” which impressed visitors with a unique shape and structure.

Assembled of wooden pieces in the shape of the Chinese character “又,”which has the same sound as another Chinese character, “佑,”which signifies the blessings of ancestors.

“Ancestor warship is a very important tradition for aboriginal people,” noted a designer at Patada Design, creator of the stool. “The aborigines consider people very lucky if they have the blessing of their ancestors.”

Aborigine designers frequently use a diamond-shaped pattern in their creations, because it symbolizes the eyes of ancestors. Patada Design has launched a series of products designed with diamond-shaped patterns—salt and pepper shakers, coasters, and others. The upper part of the “Blessing Stool” is in the shape of a triangle, which is also half of a diamond.

A reclining rocker introduced on the TDC's website is a creation of the Yeong Jin Furniture Factory Corp., which was established in 1951 and is one of the oldest furniture makers in Taiwan.

The rocker features a one-piece thick cushion attached to a wooden frame with two curved bands of wood attached to the bottom of the legs (one on the left, the other on the right). The chair is very soothing and comfortable because it automatically rocks backwards when someone sits in it, keeping the occupant at a very unstressing position and angle.

The cushion is made of high-density EVA foam to give strong support to people who sit on it.

After making wooden furniture for six decades, Yeong Jin is now at a turning point, transforming itself from an OEM manufacturer into a designer and producer of furniture with a rich Chinese cultural content that is marketed under its own brand name.