Blog Entry #1

Hello blog :D

Today was officially day three of our Design Taiwan Study Abroad program and it has been absolutely amazing! For the past two days, we woke up at around 7:20 to have breakfast with the group and although it has been tough to wake up so early everyday, the routine is very refreshing and it has been nice to start off the day seeing my new friends. 

 

Day 2 - Dot Design & Da Dao Cheng

 

Yesterday was our first day introducing ourselves to some of the students at National Taiwan University (NTU) and making and meeting new friends has been exciting. Our ice breaker activity which included the caricature drawing was very entertaining and really helped us become closer with NTU students. After our lectures, we headed to Dot Design in small groups. Dot Design incorporated recycled materials into their works and strives to create a more sustainable environment while maintaining aesthetic visuals into design works. Their overall works were fascinating and seeing such works being produced with different kinds of recycled materials was so cool to see. Every design was meticulously calculated in a way to be designed a certain way and being able to pass them around and hold them really made us feel connected with their company's work. 

Dot Design Cafe 

After Dot Design, we headed to one of the oldest cities in Taipei known as Da Dao Cheng street. Since I had brought my camera to the guided tour, I was able to capture so many scenes from the street that seem so magical when I look back at them. Learning about the old history of the streets and how each building had their own story made me realize how everything surrounding has a deep story behind it that I never knew existed. Hearing about one of the oldest libraries and their building structure, the shops selling unique and extraordinary snacks, and also the pillars which incorporated intricate designs was very informative and made me think more about the culture behind Taiwan streets. 

Da Dao Cheng street

Da Dao Cheng street library sign

Day 3 - TDRI & Miniwiz Trash Kitchen

 

On our third day, we visited the Taiwan Design Research Institute (TDRI) which was one of the most moving places I had seen so far during our program. Witnessing the offices of the institute and touring around the building which incorporated multiple museums was very inspiring. I absolutely loved seeing different types of works TDRI had produced and walking through the building made me realize how much I loved design. Seeing how design could be used in so many different ways with industrial, interaction, and also graphics made me so happy and encouraged me to want to be involved in such a field. 

Overall, going around Taipei during our first few days of the program has been an eye opening experience. Although this is my second time ever visiting Taiwan, I realized there is still so much to explore and see especially when looking at the different cultures incorporated in the city of Taipei and also the design features. I am excited to see what the rest of our trip in Taipei will be like and cannot wait to explore more new designs!