With the Olympics in China approaching and current exhibitions about Chinese art, we are asking once again: what’s happening now in the country where, until a decade or two ago, graphic design and illustration were the preserve of the propagandists. And more importantly, where can we see the fresh, hot stuff that the kids are turning out? Until now, they post it mostly online on their blogs, under the radar for a lot of galleries. However, last year, we showed you the exciting new photography in China. Now the same
publisher, 3030, has another work of love for you: New Graphic Design In China. For that, Hong Kong-based editor Javin Mo of Milkxhake has gathered thirty Chinese graphic designers around 30 years old for your typographic pleasure. PingMag talked to Javin:
Kids in China increasingly use Flickr and social networks to show their photo work. But how do people get to know upcoming graphic designers in China?
- There is the Art & Design magazine from Beijing which is very popular, and there’s another one from Guangzhou called Design 360 bc. I know one of the Art & Design editors, and she recommended to me some of the young talents. For example, in the book there’s one guy from Guangzhou, Bai Ganggang, who does a record label called Vowelmusic. He is a music producer in his mid 20s, being part of a really energetic underground music scene in China.
Where are China’s creative capitals in terms of graphics and illustration?
- In Hong Kong, we started our graphic design history only in the 1970s. In mainland China, it’s been like ten to fifteen years maximum. And in the last seven years, I’ve seen a lot of interesting projects online by these 20-something people. I can see the freedom in spaces like Shanghai or Beijing, because contemporary art is super crazy there. These two art scenes are providing a really good atmosphere for graphic design. The kids can find magazines for their illustrations and open-minded clients for collaboration, especially when it comes to art- and culture-related product design. That’s quite different from Hong Kong where it’s pretty commercial: our art space is not as big as China’s right now. That’s why not many designers can just do art- and cultural-related things and survive.
Are there any non-commercial spaces in Hong Kong where artists can show their graphic works today?
- We have a lot of galleries that are more like auction places. But there are some interesting happenings, like the new media art festival called Microwave I’m working for now. It’s a bunch of young people and right now they are doing an exhibition called Act Local where they are working with British UVA in collaboration with a local artist.
What Chinese design blogs would you recommend?
- There is one from the south called ad110.com from Shenzhen focusing on all the big design happenings, including industrial. They feature critiques for logo design and design news. For the north, there is chinavisual.com. There are quite a lot of blogs, but these two are the biggest and they are pretty good among design schools. And then, there is also Get it Louder, of course. It’s a shame that, in Hong Kong, we don’t have a big community website.
Interesting! Thank you, Javin Mo of Milkxhake for this marvelous New Graphic Design In China compilation!
Written by Verena
Article courtesy of PingMag. View full article here: http://pingmag.jp/2008/04/14/new-graphic-design-in-china
Photo from “I Love Guangzhou” poster series by Wu Zhen. Photo courtesy of Wu Zhen and 3030 Press.
