The new edition of the group event for talents under 35, including Chinese designers and students of the country’s design schools, is back – parallel to the Salone del Mobile.Milano Shanghai – displaying a design approach that draws on the local tradition and then interprets it in a spirit of freedom of expression. A focus on materials, sustainability and use is an inseparable aspect of the creative process of these up-and-coming talents, selected by a jury of sector professionals that will also have the job of indicating the three winning projects for the SaloneSatellite Shanghai Awards: their designers will be invited to take part in the 2020 edition of the SaloneSatellite in Milan.
Chenyu Wang
«The production capacity is becoming greater and greater so I think in the future design should focus more on people’s feelings, user experience and technology breakthroughs. I decided to showcase my work named Seeing Sitting because I want to show the audience a different angle to look at things. I think there are lots of interesting works and designers here in SaloneSatellite, where I can not only get to know more people but also share my thoughts with them».
Jiaxin Hong
«I think that future design should incorporate green materials into the equation while focusing on the aesthetics. So I decided to show my graduation project Cloud dot at SaloneSatellite. In this project, I explored and researched some new materials, and combined temperature-change materials with paper to design a seat that can sense the temperature of people and weather, it also has a unique curved shape. I hope it can bring new experiences to people».
Chen Yalan
«The project I submitted is also my design thesis project. It is an attempt to study structural design, because I think the simple but valuable structural design is worth exploring. I believe that future design projects will be more adaptable to the nomadic lifestyle of contemporary people. No matter how the residence changes or transforms, it will be very adaptable and flexible».
Roy Jia
«When I think about a design project, there is an idea that moves me, and then, it must bring meaning or value to those who need it. In my opinion, future design needs to pay more attention to emotional needs, because the development of cities has made people’s pace of life become very fast, and people have become very indifferent. I want to design a product that allows everyone to see and laugh and to communicate with each other. My work for the Salone Satellite is A Living Pet Litter. This is a bed/sofa dedicated to cats which can make people laugh when they lift it for its natural shaking legs. This is a design with soul».
Weijian Zhou
«I choose Fan Lamp as my exhibition project because its spirit fits the Salone Satellite well. Through Fan Lamp, I’m willing to show to the world our Chinese traditional culture and how can it be combined with modern design. I’m more concerned about how to make the ideas of us designers not the main part of our products but the practicability. Maybe what we try to express is too much, after all, the products we design should be things to be used by people. Before I start my work, I try to understand why I decide to choose a topic. Every project has its own personality. In general, I consider the practicability and the mental suggestion it can give people as the fundamental elements».
Shiyu Xu
«I will showcase my Crutch Chair at the SaloneSatellite, a modern furniture in Chinese style that, in my opinion, will occupy a large area in household in the future. First of all, I think the design should pay more attention to the importance of culture; a well-designed product should have its own soul and, in my opinion, culture is its soul. Secondly, I think we should pay more attention to the humanized design: the boundaries of design are gradually disappearing, people in the design industry and the methods of design are rapidly evolving. But what design never changes is that it is human-centered, a system design based on “people”.
Wenxuan Qian
«I think design is warm. It needs to pay attention to people’s different inner feelings, their real psychological needs and expressions. Design is fair, it needs to pay attention to the old and the sick as well. Design is permanent, it needs to value and protect the earth and nature. Through design, people can live better in the present and enjoy life. That’s why I decided to show STAY -the floor lamp – in SaloneSatellite because STAY is a product with warmth (and all the components are detachable and recycled). When you come home after a hard day at work, STAY allows you to stop and enjoy your own relaxing time to release stress».
Yue Chen
«I am going to show my furniture design project Lotus at SaloneSatellite. This chair is inspired by the traditional Chinese folklore Dharma meditation. Dharma is a meditation technique to pursue faith, the spirit and mentality that are worth to be learned by modern people. Combined with the shape of the lotus seat in Buddhism, this lotus meditation chair was created. Through the change of light, the shadow below the chair has a different effect, reflecting the passage of time. The overall structure is spliced, simple to make and simple in appearance. It gives people a feeling of calm and stability, which makes people find peace of mind”.
