ying。design

Take aways from 2011 IDA Congress

2011-11-11T00:01:00.001-08:00

Digital v.s. Traditional Content?

2011-08-19T00:05:00.000-07:00

Is it really the end of printing content and traditional publishing house? Where does opportunities for printing business lie?

Created by Knewton and Column Five Media

Seamless Engagement

2011-06-29T00:53:00.000-07:00

"Feeding or pushing information to users are obsolete. In the future, people will be able to comprehend, analyze, synthesize, share and critic each other’s thoughts in a seamless way."

The AVShanghai 2011 was filled with manufacturers, developers, and material vendors. This was not a huge exhibitions, about 80 companies, including PHLIPS, Mitsubishi, LG and Samsung, participated.

A range of commercialized products were displayed in the exhibition: different forms of large display, interactive kiosk, interactive display, seamlessly tiled large display, etc.

Although many of the products showed allow one way of information delivery, that is, displaying information and expect to attract viewers, there is an emerging trends of content syncronization across devices (platforms). Combining with the fever for social media and interactive exhibition space design, I believe it wouldn’t be far to find people interacting more intuitively and sponstaneously on these synced devices.

Feeding or pushing information to users are absolete. In the future, people will be able to comprehend, analyze, synthesize, share and critic each other’s thoughts in a seamless way.

The Power of China

2011-06-20T02:21:00.000-07:00

Merchandise shipment estimation from Harvard Business Review

Original Article: http://hbr.org/2011/06/what-the-west-doesnt-get-about-china/ar/1

Fragmentation of truth?

2011-01-01T03:41:00.000-08:00

Days of Our Lives by Wong Hoy Cheong

I passed by the Eslite Gallery by accident. Maybe I should call it a lovely surprise cause it gave me much more than what I have expected.

The MUJI show on the 6th floor were interesting yet disappointing in some ways. There was a sense of emptiness... The content was too superficial. My heart craved for some inspirational content. Some real substance of self-revelation.

Of all works exhibited, two of them are my favorite.

Re: Looking
Wong fabricate a documentary on how the Malaysian Empire and it's former colony: Austria. The presentation was so real that I second thought of the content and my own understanding of the South East Asian history. How easy is it to reinvent the truth! Are we in some ways deceived by others? Ohmae Kenichi urged that all should doubt what you think as unshakable truth. The key to problem solving is not finding the right answers but to always question what you think you know.

Oh Sulukule, Darling Sulukule showed Wong's effort in liberating the right of news delivery. It was very interesting to see how children frame and share their thoughts. All clips are in their own unique structure and way of filming. Not one of them is repeated.

Go visit Wong's show. I appreciate if you can share your thought with me at this blog.

Eslite Gallery: http://www.eslitegallery.com/page2-1.asp
Article on Re: Looking from Nafas: Wong Hoy Cheong, Re: Looking

A bad example of displaying information

2010-02-17T16:33:00.000-08:00

inexplicit and mashed information containing multiple magnitudes are confusing and misleading

I recently came across a graph published by The Economist Online. The purpose of the graph is to showcase the relationship between parents' level of education and their offspring's level of education and earning. However, the graph is confusing to interpret and to me, it is misleading.

ONE of the reasons people try to get ahead is to boost their children’s chances in life. And indeed the children of the well-off and well-educated earn more and learn more than their less fortunate peers—but to an extent that varies from place to place. In Ireland and Luxembourg, sons of fathers with a university degree or the equivalent are around 70 percentage points more likely to complete tertiary education than those whose fathers failed to graduate high school. In Britain and Portugal, a still-hefty 40-percentage-point lead is dwarfed by the premium in wages commanded by those with well-educated fathers, suggesting that other factors alongside education—social networks and employment markets that disproportionately reward those at the top—contribute to the cascade of advantage through the generations too.Click here to access the original post on The Economic Online.

What is the correlation of "percentage points" in acquiring university degree and "percentage increase" in wage? Did the two pieces of information came from the same group of subjects or did them come from mashed up census data?

The implies the editor drawn from the graph is also inappropriate. "That other factors alongside education—social networks and employment markets that disproportionately reward those at the top—contribute to the cascade of advantage through the generations, too." How about traditional values and cultural acceptance? Britain, Portugal and the Netherlands are known for their adventurous entrepreneurship, it is possible that education background is not valued as much as in Greece. Thus, wages do not reflect the person' level of education.

Data on Home Modifications for the Disabled

2010-02-16T17:39:00.001-08:00

Data on Home Modifications for the Disabled

Posted using ShareThis

This website is definitely a self-promoting medium for Bathroom Safety Systems. However, it contains many useful and current design recommendations for bathroom safety issues. Much of its information is common sense yet it is nice to have all these organized and ready to access.

A brilliant way to campaign a business and a great site for bathroom remodeling know-how.

Tony Fernandes: to succeed is to understand

2009-11-27T14:13:00.000-08:00

candid and clear insights on management and entrepreneurship

I came across Tony Fernandes' interview with The Economist and found this thirteen minute conversation extremely interesting and inspiring. Fernandes is a living proof that by implementing a well-developed business plan, you can succeed in any industry. The key is understanding.

In this short interview, Fernandes talked about his upbringing, education abroad, professional experiences, and most important of all, his decision on launching AirAsia post 9/11. His confidence roots deep in his understanding of his own capabilities, political and economical climate of South East Asia.

He clearly pointed out the appealing opportunities and potential threats in the South East Asia airline industry.

This market consists of 600 million consumers with most of them underserved. Trading with neighboring countries are common but airfare before AirAsia was unaffordable for most people in South East Asia. The situation was worsen by the lacking of Open skies agreements and the fact that most South East Asian airlines were operated by or affiliated with governments. By implementing a successful operation model and proposing the open skies agreement between his native Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia, he made "Now everyone can fly." a reality.

I later visited Fernandes' blog. He is constantly compare and reflect on his business model. His own review and discussion on Singapore Airline and AirAsia praised Singapore Airline (view original post here):

1) Focus and disciplined. They stick to their model religiously. They are premium brand and they don't cut corners i.e. they are not a 5 stars value airline. They are a 5 star premium airline.
2) They market aggressively. Too many companies don't put enough into marketing.
3) They hire the best people. It's a meritocracy. The competition within the organization is fierce and the best people get the jobs.
4) The government is very pro-business. Bureaucracy is kept to a minimum. Things are done fast, infrastructure is been built quickly.
5) They innovate - the first all business class airline to New York. They're the first to order the A380.

Lesson for today: Be critical about your self, your environment and your competitors so you understand. Reflect and improve.

What do we do with design

2009-10-28T15:51:00.000-07:00

My personal journey and revelation as a designer.

What do we do with design by Ying Lee is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

YingDesign Vol.1 Available

2009-10-22T13:16:00.000-07:00

The first issue of YingDesign: the research issue is available!

YingDesign Vol. 1 by Ying Lee is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Feel free to pass it along! You can download the document here

What is DESIGN RESEARCH?

2009-09-02T19:42:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about my role as a design researcher lately. A year in graduate program did not cast its magical spell on me. People question the logistics of "design research" and wonder the value of my work. In the first issue of Ying Design (coming soon), I will use some of my works to discuss the application and possibility of design research.

What is design research? Open, interactive, collaborative and accessible.

My roommate is a PhD candidate in rehabilitation studies and one day she spotted me making an affinity map for a website rebuilding project with post-its on my bedroom wall.
"So, people pay you to stick post-its on walls?" The future PhD was not inspired.
Upon first glance, my action seemed ineffective. What can a wall of post-its do to problem-solving? The value of design research roots deeply in externalizing the creative process. Unless documented, presented and shared with others, experiences, ideas and thoughts inside your head are inaccessible and therefore useless. By adapting tools such as the affinity map, interactive workbooks, sticker exercises, etc. participants of the creative process are able to visualize and better understand and interact with each other. This understanding and encouraged interaction is the base of innovation and effective collaboration.
How the results are presented also sets design researchers apart from researchers in other fields: compelling, sensual and accessible. Information exhibited by Bruce Mau or the Laboratory of Architecture is not new. Scientists and advocates warn us consistently about climate change and immigrant issues via journals, newspapers, televisions, or radios, and how many of us actually paid attention to them? Yet visitors at the exhibitions were all gripped. Even the success of “The Inconvenient Truth” owes much to the design team behind its fascinating presentation.
In short, design research supports people to create and to understand issues at stake in an open, interactive and collaborative environment presenting with accessible and inspiring results.

My take of design research : it must work and it got to be fun!

Later that day, I showed my example of affinity map and facilitated a workshop with Tim Cunningham, founder of Daedalus Excel and member of the club, at the Fox Chapel Racquet Club. At first, participants viewed the exercises as unconventional and wondered if it would bring much progress. By the end of the two-hour workshop, all participants had equal opportunity in sharing thoughts and everyone was on the same page regarding target audience, future directions and club image.
"I don't know what we just did, but it surely was fun!" one participant commented at the end of the workshop. Goals must be completed. Nonetheless, participation should be honored and the process highly interactive and interesting. When you listen and the ride is fun, people answer.

Reflecting on Social Appropriateness

2009-07-02T20:29:00.000-07:00

As I am typing up these words while listening to "Soul of Tango" in my iPOD, a little girl, around 4 years old, just came sit by me in this library courtyard and started fondling with the toys I cling on to my pencil bag. I can see her family is sitting by another table and keeping an eye on her. I smiled at them. "What is this?" she asked, pointing to the pink thing my friend gave me. "An Alien. My friend gave me. It looks funny, isn't it?" I was wondering if I should elaborate on my response. Short responses always give me a cold feeling. Yet, I am also trying to capture my thoughts about this topic and thinking it would great if she would just go away. She played with them for a while and ran back to her family. She than went on looking at another couple at a different table. She just stand there and look. (Well, the guy has really, really, REALLY bushy and tangling hair. Even I peeked at his hair when I first entered.) There was no conversation exchanged. The couple started to show some level of uncomfortableness and the girl certain degree of nervousness. Soon one of the girl's family took her back.

This instance reminds me of the day when taking the kids out to the playground in summer camp that I was working with, one of the kid, we will call him Sean, started play with others from a different camp. I kept an eye nervously on Sean and prepared to interfere and drag him away while he ran in circles with this new group of people. Staff from the other camp was also alarmed and tried to figure out who this extra kid is. Yet it was easy for the kids. Within seconds and some looking-back-at-each-other stares, Sean blends in.

I think the so-called "social appropriateness" would be more accurately defined as "social acceptance." When you, as a person or your behavior, are accepted by the majority of the people around you, you are considered appropriate. This is a trial and error process that we all learn through our our life just gets more and more complicated as we grow. Bad experiences with school bullies, horrific (and sometimes misleading) images on TVs, allergies that break out for different seasons and strangers you ride the same bus with everyday... It seems that the more things we see, the more assumptions we make and we forget the simple feeling of being open and accepting a new friend.

Does majority really rule? It's a cliche but two wrongs really does not make a right. The idea of norm is subjective and the more we experience doesn't make it easier to tell right from wrong. Sometimes it only complicates the simple human interaction called "acceptance."

I was glad the little girl played with my pencil bag. I think it's cute and it wouldn't hurt if another person thinks so, too. I would like to share the whole story behind the alien with her but I wonder if she will walk up to me if she sees me again.

Needs, dreams, communicated.

2009-02-20T06:21:00.000-08:00

Being an industrial designer is to explore and to communicate the needs and dreams of all stakeholders so that all people involved, end users, purchasers, manufacturers, etc. understand what each other want. Only by doing this can satisfaction of a product or service be maximized.

Access to Hospitals for the deaf, hard of hearing and deaf-blind communities:

2009-01-07T08:41:00.000-08:00

Pittsburgh takes initiative in improving services for the disabled communities

A case study on evaluating and improving the effectiveness of accommodations in hospitals for deaf and hard of hearing patients. The resulting recommendations for a standard process of providing accommodations for the deaf, hard of hearing and deaf-blind communities by the hospitals will be presented.

Better Access to Hospitals for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and the Deaf-Blind

View more documents from Ying Lee.

Lead Presenter:
Richard Meritzer, ADA Coordinator, Department of City Planning, City of Pittsburgh
Presenters:

Ying Lee, Carnegie Mellon University

Multiple Perspectives on Access, Inclusion, and Disability: Change, Challenge Collaboration
April 28 - 29, 2009
Pfahl Executive Education and Conference Center
The Ohio State University

http://ada.osu.edu/conferences/2009Conf/announcement.html

The Legacy of Simplicity and Harmony

2008-11-07T21:07:00.000-08:00

A Study on the Zig-Zag Chair

Four panels, two triangular wooden wedges and 20 metal bolts; two kinds of materials and one profile. This is all the Zig-Zag Chair is. Many significant pieces in furniture design of the same era featured then state-of-art tubular chromed stainless steel. Designed by the Dutch architect, Gerrit Thomas Rietweld in 1928, the Zig-Zag Chair reflects the core principles the De Stijl adherents stressed. Although it has been 80 years since its first debut, the Zig-zag Chair still has continuing impact on contemporary designs. Its simplicity in form, austerity in style and detest of the production industry realized the ideology of De Stijl.

The Zig-Zag Chair consists of a continuous geometric line when viewed from the side. The four panels situated in vertical, horizontal, diagonal and horizontal planes, create a crisp profile. Although some Zig-Zag Chairs were painted in various color palettes, and some later versions even have armrests attached to them, the one displayed in Scaife Gallery at the Carnegie Museum of Art is the original version which was stained with no supplementary surface treatment. The only ornaments are the hammered bolts and three holes drilled through the back panel. No additional parts were attached to the structure.

The Zig-Zag Chair was designed in an era of new material discovery. The employment of new materials and innovative production methods greatly impacted on the early twentieth century design. Take the Arm Chair designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier’s Chaise Longue, for example. Both van der Rohe and Le Corbusier incorporated the curvy form resulted from manufacturing tubular chromed steel into their designs. They also experimented on combining organic materials and metal, creating an interesting mix of texture. However, while the rest of the world busy applying and combining new materials to design, Rietweld followed De Stijl’s principles and created a modern image with traditional elements.

De Stijl was originally a journal founded by artist-designer Theo van Doesburg in the Netherlands, 1917 (Raizman, 2004). Numerous Dutch designers, including Rietweld, contributed to the journal. The dialogue and influence brought by the journal evolved into a loose movement. According to Mel Byars, author of The Design Encyclopedia, De Stijl is the “utopian vision in response to World War I.” World War I was the first war applying industrial methods. The De Stijl adherents, detested the destruction brought by the production industry, tried to break away from the past (Raizman, 2004). They believe a new art must be created and this new art must be austere in form and clear in function so that it is universal and harmonious in its style and can be applied in all art forms (Byars, 2004).

Although Rietweld was never an active player among the De Stijl adherents, the Zig-Zag Chair resembles the essence of De Stijl:

Simplicity in form. The connection between the Zig-Zag Chair and De Stijl is best illustrated by Rietweld's usage of straight lines and its elimination of ornament. De Stijl saw "architectural and functional principles" as the right way to "satisfy 'spiritual and physical' means." (Byars, 2004) The application of straight lines, vertical, horizontal and diagonal, was used extensively among the De Stijl advocates.

Austerity in style. Even though in some later versions, additional parts such as armrests were attached onto the design, Rietweld originally stripped off all supplementary decorations. The omission of legs prevents people from placing it in different position. The Zig-Zag Chair achieved clarity in function with its austere appearance and fixed position.

Detest of individualism rooted in production industry. De Stijl believed the economic impediment in 1930s was brought forth by the industrial advancement and that the egocentric focus the industry took resulted in destruction. In Design of the 20th Century, Charlotte and Peter Fiell argued that Rietweld's choice of using wood is his "response to the economic slump of the 1930s." Instead of using design to alleviate from reality, Rietweld embedded the image of economic recession into his design. This approach reflects the "universal harmony" De Stijl voice. Design is not something people have for personal pleasure, but something that mirrors the social environment. Design would not retain self-integrity but has the ability to blend in.

Many contemporary pieces we see today echo design elements of the Zig-Zag Chair. A plastic chair shown on the International Design Yearbook 19 is also constructed with simple profile with no ornament. However, unlike the Zig-Zag Chair, which has one fixed position, users can sit in various positions in this chair and use it as a stool. The fact that plastic and modern molding techniques were adapted also demonstrates its different attitude towards the production industry compared to the Zig-Zag Chair. Although this chair is multifunctional and it has a different stand when it comes to production, the chair still mimics the simplicity and austerity the Zig-Zag Chair represents.

The Zig-Zag Chair is not Rietweld’s most famous piece and De Stijl was short-lived with limited recognition from the design community. Their impact on the design history does not measure up to other designers from the same era. Nonetheless, the application of straight lines, austerity in style and clarity in function are still valued in today’s design. Rietweld captured the essence of De Stijl and the key design elements he advocated proved to be timeless.

Bibliography

Byars, Mel. The Design Encyclopedia. London: Lawrence King Publishing, 2004.

Dixon, Tom. ed. International Design Yearbook 19. London: Abbeville Press, 2004.

Fiell, Charlotte & Peter. Design of the 20th Century. Taschen, 2000.

Raizman, David. History of Modern Design. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc., 2004.

The Product Development Spiral

2008-10-27T10:45:00.000-07:00

from idea to product launch

Product development is a cycling process. There are basically three different phases: conceptualization, production and promotion. In every phase, time and efforts must be invested into ideation, research, engineering and branding. The time committed to each activity and the focus might vary from phase to phase, however, all activities must be practiced.

The most important thing is, although the activities are repeated and sometimes it seems it will never end, this process is actually moving forward. And, the more time and efforts you spend in the early phase, the less investment you will need in the later phases.

New Way to Use Concrete

2008-09-26T08:52:00.000-07:00

The unusual employment of concrete lends this object, which is nevertheless fit for everyday use. Its extraordinary presence, the apparent contrast between materiality and variability has been translated into a piece of textile architecture.

The colour and form of the concrete cushions are adaptable to the respective function.
The concrete curtain may be installed indoors and outdoors. It serves as a sun- and windscreen, privacy screen, façade element, or heat-accumulating room partition. The texture of individual elements attached to a textile carrier material is reminiscent of a quilt and holds visual surprises on both sides. Here concrete has been given a soft, poetic character, which is increased through the refracted light, its sluggish movement in the wind, and the sounds resulting from it.

Click here to view original page.

Cloaking?!

2008-08-14T20:53:00.000-07:00

Is the day when people walk invisibily near?
(originally posted as "Invisibility Cloak on the Horizon, Scientists Say" by Steven Musil, CNET news.com)

An illustration of how a fish in water is seen by an observer, with the red lines marking the refraction of light and the purple lines representing the path towards the perceived location of the fish, which appears above its actual location.

Credit: UC Berkeley

Scientists say they are a step closer to developing materials that will render people and other objects invisible.

Researchers say they can redirect light around 3-D objects using metamaterials--artificially engineered structures created at a nano scale that contain optical properties not found in nature, according to an Associated Press report.

People see objects as a result of the light reflecting or scattering off them. This new mixture of materials has "negative refractive" properties that keep light from being absorbed or reflected by the object, allowing only the light from behind the object to be seen. Essentially, the material bends visible light in a way that eliminates the creation of reflections or shadows in much the way water flows around a stone.

The findings, to be released later this week in Nature and Science, were made by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, led by Xiang Zhang. The research, which was funded in part by the U.S. Army Research Office and the National Science Foundation's Nano-Scale Science and Engineering Center, could have broad applications, including for the military.

But the materials work in limited wavelengths, so they won't be used to hide buildings from satellites, said Jason Valentine, who is a co-author of one of the papers.

"We are not actually cloaking anything," Valentine told Reuters. While the Harry Potter series of books and films has made the idea of a personal "invisibility cloak" popular, he says, "I don't think we have to worry about invisible people walking around any time soon. To be honest, we are just at the beginning of doing anything like that."

For more infomation, check UC Berkeley's News Release on August 11 2008: Invisibility shields one step closer with new metamaterials that bend light backwards

Corporate Identity Redesign

2008-08-07T20:29:00.000-07:00

Merry-Terry Language is a private language learning agency located in Taipei, Taiwan. Established since 1997, Merry-Terry Language is dedicated to provide customized and focused study-abroad programs to Canada and the United States for Taiwanese students. My project is to redesign the corporate image.

Merry-Terry Language has been a successful language agency. However, over its 11 years of establishment, most of its marketing is done through words of mouth.
There has been no effort putting into graphic design. Nor was there an official logo or any forms of business publication. Only an image of dove with mid-century font type has been used and the president strongly insisted that the dove be incorporated into the new design.

My design consists of bright colors and fluid lines, which indicates energy and movements. This is a company of vibrant energy and gives people limitless possibilities and the vivid colors and splines reflect the image. The color scheme were also incorporated into the company blog, brochure and Youtube channel.

CAT-iq Student Design Competition

2008-07-14T09:54:00.000-07:00

Berne, Switzerland, July 2, 2008. The DECT Forum invites design students from all over the world to participate in the first international CAT-iq Design Competition and investigate in the future of broadband home communication.

This is an opportunity for design students from various disciplines to showcase their creativity and exciting ideas to an international jury of industry leading companies.

The DECT Forum would like to encourage students’ creative thinking to conceive the future of home communication. There is almost no limit on the creative and innovative opportunities of the CAT-iq technology. The home communication industry is challenging participants in the competition in two basic areas:
· Products – stylish non-computing hardware devices
· Innovative and new services that can be offered by telecom network operators

The registration closes on September 19, 2008. The deadline for the
submission of entries is October 10, 2008. Winners will be announced on
November 14, 2008. Interested design students find all details and contacts
at www.catiqdesigncompetition.org and www.cat-iq.org

PEAT: Planning and Execution Assistant and Trainer

2008-07-03T14:53:00.000-07:00

Artificial intelligence developed for NASA robots compensates forexecutive function impairments including initiation, planning, and error correction

I recently came across an article about an assistive device called PEAT designed by the Attention Control Systems Inc. Its principles are very similar to my thesis project completed independently in summer 2007 at The Ohio State University. Although I am not impressed by its interface, the technology is sophisticated and the senario is more complicated then mine. I just wrote an email to Attetion Control Systems Inc. about my opinions. Wonder if they would ever reply me?

Attention Control Systems now offers people with memory, attention, and cognitive disorders a computerized, personal planning device to help them stay on task by overcoming limitations in planning and fulfilling their daily schedules. The device, called the Planning and Execution Assistant and Trainer, or PEAT, is a pocket-sized PDA, complete with a graphical display, touchscreen controls, an electronic calendar, an address book, and a built-in phone. The functionality of PEAT, however, transcends that of a regular PDA scheduling device. PEAT cues users to start or stop scheduled activities, monitors their progress, and adjusts schedules as necessary in response to delays or calendar changes. It uses the automatic planning model developed for NASA to make automatic adjustments to daily plans when a situation changes. Most PDA systems lack this flexibility, requiring their users to manually re-plan and update schedule data when changes occur.

To read the full story on Spinoff, click here.

SkySail

2008-06-13T08:27:00.000-07:00

a green alternative for the shipping industry
(abridged from "10 Fixes for the Planet"; Newsweek)

Any idea how far the largest container ships can go on a gallon of fuel? Try 37 feet. That adds up to 2 billion barrels of petroleum a year. "If the shipping industry were a country, it would be No. 7 in carbon emissions," says Michael Hirshfield, chief scientist for Oceana.

That's why some major shippers are hoping to tap wind energy to help pull their vessels along. They're not talking about traditional sails, which would require rebuilding ships' hulls to withstand forces from a mast. Instead, they're thinking of giant kites—as big as 20,000 square feet in area—that could be attached to the bow of a ship. "They look like parasails," says Hirshfield. "They could be a relatively cheap add-on, without designing a whole new ship." Not that industrial-size kites are simple, either. "When you launch a kite in a park, somebody holds the string and someone else launches the kite," says Dave Culp, CEO of KiteShip in Alameda, Calif. "For a giant kite, you need a robotic arm to pick it up in the wind and let go of it. That sounds trivial until you consider the kite is the size of a football field." And if the wind dies suddenly, you can't have the kite crashing into the sea. A German company called SkySails has developed a fully automated system that appears to have solved these problems without requiring skilled sailors to manipulate the kites. SkySails recently completed a test run on a 10,000-ton ship from Germany to Venezuela and back, saving roughly 20 percent on engine power.

For more information, check SkySail's website. I highly recommend you watch their videos.

從2008新一代設計展看台科的工業設計教育

2008-06-08T07:02:00.000-07:00

買了張全票，自己一個人去看展。不知現今台灣的設計教育，在睽違了兩年之後，有了怎樣的變化。

覺得台灣人真的是一種「一窩『瘋』」的民族。雖然是星期五下午，世貿展場裡人山人海，擠滿了設計相關系所的師生、業界人士、高中生還有各界親友。對於台灣民眾如此看重設計這個領域，我十分感動。但，看到川流不息的觀眾、應接不暇還有四處兜售、宣傳的學生，我不禁開始懷疑，在嘈雜喧囂聲中，新一代設計展，是否成了譁眾取寵的活動?

"「新一代設計展」除了提供我國設計新秀展現設計創意的平台外，更結合了「新一代設計競賽」與「新一代空間設計競賽」，能夠讓展覽有更多的交流與互動。除此之外，協助廠商及設計公司發掘優秀的設計新人，除了展現國內設計院校之創意成果外，更邀請國際設計名校展出，為本展打造出具有國際規模的知名設計新秀展覽。"
2008新一代設計展官方網站

新一代設計展的意義，不只是設計系所學生的大型成果發表會，為參展的學生而言，更是一場非正式的工作面談；也是各設計院校宣傳自己、吸收新人的時機。策展的成功，受益者不僅僅是參展的學生，也為學校帶來正面的幫助。

//國立台灣科技大學工商業設計學系
在時間與體力都很有限情況下，第一站就直奔台科大的場子。大體而言，學弟妹的作品完成度高，除少數作品尺寸略大...模型精緻、造型表達上，並不難懂。亦有許多偏時尚、織品產業的作品，是今年的特色。

相信學弟妹在策展的過程中都付出了極大的心力，
但此次展覽，基本上有兩點不足之處。一是展版內容的設計，二是動線的規劃。不提供說明性展板的抉擇，雖然使得整體風格統一，卻無法向參觀者傳達作品理念的深度。參觀民眾若是沒有專人導覽，作者設計的理念與考量、設定的使用情境、使用方法等，都不易理解。而這次展場動線的規劃雖單純明確，也貼心地以過往得獎作品提供民眾休息的區域，卻單調了些，沒有驚喜。

//私立實踐大學設計學院
不惜血本、國際化包裝。這是我對實踐設計的最大印象。外籍教師與學生穿梭於展場之中、展場佈置貼滿學生參與外國展覽或是與國外設計院所合辦的Workshop紀錄，加上專業DJ現場混音，集服裝設計學系，建築設計學系、工業產品設計學系與媒體傳達設計學系的人力與物力，實踐大學擁有極大的展場面積與專業華麗的布景，粗估布景成本約是台科大的五倍以上。

姑且不論五光十色的聲光效果與設計之間的關係，或者過度的聲光是否喧賓奪主，搶了學生為每件作品投注的理念與心力；實踐帶給參觀民眾的，是一種印象、是學校本身對於設計教育的重視以及極度活潑的課程規劃。而近年來實踐媒體曝光度激增，於國內外設計競賽中得獎人次也漸增，在在顯示實踐設計的企圖心。

//台科的未來?!

直至目前為止，台科每年高中生申請入學的最低錄取分數不斷飆高，由2003年的58級分，四年內躍升到66級分。但，「沒有永遠的優勢，只有創新才能確保先機。」近年來，台灣設計教育蓬勃發展，公私立大專院校紛紛設立設計相關系所，北科大、實踐、雲科大、成大、樹德科技大學工業設計系漸受矚目，其中，以媒體曝光度與在國內外大賽中獲獎率激增的實踐大學，最有競爭優勢。面對重資包裝自己並積極拓展國際能見度的實踐，台科該如何應對?

自我定位=藝術學院??

首先，是台科的自我定位。若將工業設計教育粗略地以藝術學院與研究學院分類，台科，是要成為美學極致的藝術學院，還是全力朝頂尖的研究型設計學院邁進？

若是要成為美學極致的藝術學院，那麼，面對財利豐厚的實踐，台科大要如何大放異彩？近幾年來，台科大在國內外各大設計競賽的獲獎率不再一枝獨秀，反倒是實踐、大同、樹德等私校漸漸展露頭角。這樣的現象在公立科大體系的設計系所普遍發生，北科大、雲科大都有此危機；公立設計系所在補助款的取得、運用的靈活度、聘請外籍師資或簽定雙修計畫也不比私校。台科大欲轉型為「綜合性」大學，即便納入「發展國際一流大學及頂尖研究中心計畫」，對設計系所的挹注也許不如全力塑造設計領先地位的實踐大學。

培養「創造力」與「美感」，需要時間，更需要金錢。創造力不同於理解力，時間的投注與學習的成效不成正比也無法以任何量尺判別能力的提升；美感，是主觀而抽象的，個人對「美」的定義。而培養設計能力最困難的就在於，一個成功的產品，絕對是簡單的。「這樣我也會，只是我沒想到而已。」不論是Apple的iPOD系列或是Karim Rashid為Dirt Devil設計的Kone Vacuum，造型無特殊之處、使用簡便，連初學者都可輕易上手。簡單、卻與眾不同；在某一個功能鍵的配置上、某一條曲線的獨到之處，設計師的創意與美感，創造了成功的產品。這帶領Apple超越iriver、HTC，使得Dirt Devil取得handheld vacuum領先地位的關鍵能力，需要長時間吸收、接觸新的理念、新技術與不同的文化，才能做出「大家都會，只有台科想到」的成果。延攬國內外頂尖的師資指導學生、提供赴外進修的機會、與國外設計院校合作、添購硬體設備、購買新版軟體等，都是必須，而這些計畫需要大筆的金錢投入。在無法客觀衡量成效的狀態下，如何取得更多的補助與重視，是台科設計系所要成為頂尖的藝術學院不得不面對的難題。

自我定位=研究性設計學院??

若台科設計系所的目標是成為台灣首屈一指的研究型設計學院，則本次新一代設計展中並沒有凸顯台科在這方面的努力。「研究」最可貴的不在於結果，而是過程。正如我先前提及，一個成功的產品，絕對是簡單的。一個在開發過程經過審慎處理的成功產品，對最終使用者而言，是在第一瞬間就可輕鬆使用的產品。因此，在開發階段的用心，是研究型設計學院的教學重點，卻是在最終產品上無法傳遞的。

因此，當學校的教學重點放在卓越的「研究」計畫時，在一年一度的新一代設計展上，就要聚焦在每件作品背後的理論、探討與專業性。持平而論，本次展覽台科的作品並沒有突顯各個設計者在開發過程的努力。

以王世旭同學的作品為例，作品的完成度極高、產品語意明確，除了觀賞其流線的造型，參觀者多能在一眼間了解產品的用途(音響系統)與使用方法(壁掛式、直立式)；但成品背後層層的研究與驗證等，在開發過程中採取的步驟與對細節及可行性的探討卻無法在展覽之中看見。葉佳純與陳昱蓉同學的作品，可愛溫馨的造型深受年輕女性青睞。但是，他們作品的內涵與深度僅此而已嗎?雖然展場中總有排班的同學可供諮詢，對於設計，參觀者也應秉持"Let the design speaks for itself"的精神，當能感受到只是作品的外觀模型，what does the design speak for?

台科的展場中，缺乏展板的設計。有效的展板設計能夠幫助設計師向參觀者闡述自己的理念、產品的使用方式，更可以說明產品開發過程的重點發現。這對朝研究型設計學院邁進的院所尤其重要。也許在時間的壓迫下，考量空間規畫的一致性，台科的學弟妹選擇極簡風格的展版；但新一代設計展已銳變成台灣民眾、高中職生能親身了解設計最直接的途徑，也是產業界發掘新秀的管道之一，因此幫助這些來自不同領域的人們了解自己的作品，是所有參展設計者的要務。

//學校意志 vs. 學生自主意志

其次是學校對於展覽內容的介入。新一代設計展已成為台灣設計院所建立形象與傳達自我的場合，策展的成敗，直接影響外界對學校的觀感。在實踐、大同等有著聲光效果與國際合作企畫加持的私校環伺之下，台科對學生的支持與對設計教育的關注，相形失色。

台科近五年來，就我所知，在新一代設計展上，給予極大的自由與個人發揮的空間；而雲科大則是具有統一主題、成大工設的作品多以主題式的小組設計呈現。統一或是小組式的主題，雖帶給個人色彩濃烈的學生壓迫，卻使得單看之下，略顯薄弱的作品，在群組中顯得完整，且產品使用情境、方式等，都定義的十分清楚。

重視學生自我意識為台灣的設計教育而言是值得嘉許的。但，第一次面對規模如此龐大的盛事，所要處理的也不是個人的成就，而是在一個空間之中呈現集體的成果，對於公立大學設計系學生而言，也許超出負荷。若學生無法有系統地規劃呈現作品，而學校方面也無法提供充沛的資金與協助，台科將無法凸顯自身設計教育的特色，進而無法與其他學校區隔。

誠如我之前所提及的，雖然現今新一代設計展已被過度炒作，但仍然是台灣各設計系所展現特色、吸收未來新生的戰場。畢業生策展的成敗，不只影響自己的前程，最大的受益與受害者，是學校本身。如何能展現學生最好的一面，有系統地呈現全體的成果並展現與其他學校不同的風範，對學校而言，是有利而無害的。

//台灣設計教育的藍海

目前台科最大競爭優勢，除了師資外，就是地段與地位。地處台北市中心，不論是參觀展覽、邀請外賓到校懇談或是與業界互動都十分便利，即便專任教師不多也有機會請到兼任教師或是業界講師教學。不同於歐美國家，台灣大學排名以公立學校為優先，私立居次。身為國立科技大學排名第一的台科大，對學子與家長都有一定吸引力。

隨著高鐵的開通與日新月異的通訊技術，城鄉差距日益縮小。以往在台北才看得到的個展，如今在台中、台南、高雄等地也能看到。而近年國民所得提高，「使用者付費」的思潮興起，「選校再選系」的觀念也漸漸被「選系不選校」所取代，認可「受教者付費、選擇適合的學風、訂作教育」理念的人越來越多；許多家庭經濟能力條件許可的學生，因受到學校辦學風格的吸引，選擇就讀私立大學。

雖然台科工商業設計仍是許多高中職生心中第一志願，在傳統優勢漸漸消失的年代，若無法突顯自身特色、價值，難保被別人取而代之的一天不會到來。現階段的台灣設計界，在媒體炒作下，強調「創意」的概念性產品紛紛躍上檯面。產品的「實用性」、「市場接受度」、「使用者研究」等重要議題卻常被忽略。台科在大學部的課程規畫多以產品開發後端的技術性課程為主，依產業需求訓練畢業生以期能快速就業；而研究所課程則包羅萬象，從產品企劃、開發以致對設計文化的探討等，不單單只講求「創意」。強調工作能力與開發前端研究的特色是否能被看見?而學校是否有支持學生，表達這樣的理念呢?

在全民一窩瘋「創意」的年代，積極地秉持不同的理念，走自己的路，才是最大的「創新」。

Zhi-Dao

2008-04-17T05:04:00.000-07:00

How many forms can be elaborated from a single material? I traveled to Central Taiwan to find out. I was really skeptical about the quality of the show. "Will it worth all the hours spent on trains and buses? Will I be disappointed?" Most of all, "will I find this show alright?"

Never have I taken the train alone. I took the train from Taipei to Taichung at 7:40am; circled around the Taichung Station for almost an hour before I finally located the bus stop; finally I arrived at the National Taiwan Craft Research Institute around noon time.

Despite my exhaustion, this show was terrific!

小林慶子(Kobayashi, Junko)

I was looking forward to Kobayashi’s work. From the website, the forest of bamboo she created with handmade wallpaper, dye and lights reflects peacefulness and the essence of tranquility. I was also curious about the atmosphere crated by paper in a large scale.

I wonder if it was because of cultural differences or I did not find my inner peace, I was not terribly impressed with her work. I do admit that the pure quietness and the sense of nature created by her 150-yard-long surrounding work was refreshing. Even surreal. The lighting and the handmade texture captured the splendid suns I used to see in the bamboo forests in the childhood. I enjoyed the work. However, searching for inner peace by recreating nature, for me, was an interpretation too straight forward. Something was missing when I stood in front of the bamboo forest. An emptiness I found.

Manage Your Life

2008-04-06T18:58:00.000-07:00

The Digital Calendar for Residents with Alzheimer's in Assisted Living Facilities
Senior Thesis at The Ohio State Univeristy June 2007

The objective of this project is to design a product that can ease the frustration that exists in assisted living facilities between residents with early stage Alzheimer’s disease, care-givers and family members.

Although these residents can care for themselves, because of their mental condition, they need to be constantly monitored. This can be annoying and can build anxiety between people.
By setting up an accessible and interactive routine, the digital calendar helps residents maintain independence as much as possible while giving care-givers and family members a less intruding way to assist them in their lives.

Future Musts: be in, be rich, be plastic

2008-04-06T08:17:00.000-07:00

Have you ever owned a Barbie? If the answer is “yes,” congratulations! You just got thousands of sisters! According to research done in 1996, ninety-nine percent of American girls age three to ten have at least one Barbie doll (Rogers 13). If your answer was “no,” you are very special. In spring 2002, Mattel, the manufacturer of Barbie, announced the sale of Barbie to be one per second in the world (Barbie fun facts 17). With the fast spread of Barbie, you will soon be one of the distinct species. Although many people consider Barbie as a sexist and an inappropriate toy for children, Barbie still is the most sold toy throughout the world. Whether you like her or not, “playing with Barbie” is definitely the ultimate popular culture on Earth.

However, what is “playing with Barbie?” In order to answer this question, we need to know who “Barbie” is. Barbie, the first adult doll marketed to children, was introduced to the world by Mattel in America during the Cold War period (Debouzy 149). It was the time when teenage culture was highly valued due to the massive population of baby boomers growing up (Debouzy 149). During this time, girls were growing into women with only baby doll or toddler doll to play with. Ruth Handler, co-founder of Mattel, saw the opportunity of manufacturing adult dolls (Stern). Unlike dolls before her, Barbie was fashionable, sociable and had a great body. She was an over night success. During the first year of her promotion, 351,000 Barbies were sold (Barbie fun facts 44). Today, Barbie is sold in more than 150 countries and products sold under the name of Barbie include magazines, films, music, clothing lines, sport equipments, and soft wares and so on (Barbie fun facts 15). Barbie is not more than a doll. She is the sum of multimedia, technology and design. “Playing with Barbie” means more than interacting with the doll. It is the interaction with the massive Barbie world.

The world consists of two kinds of people: people who love Barbie and people who hate her. Ever since her first debut, the debate of Barbie has never ceased. In the 1960s, her independent and active image made Barbie a genuine threat to the conservative male dominant society. Barbie was described as an extravagant shopping-holic in the Grandpa magazine and was suggested “not to buy for your granddaughters this Christmas” (qtd. in Stern). Her self-supporting image, on the contrary, was praised as the milestone of femininity. Barbie freed women from traditions. Today, however, most feminists and people alike condemn Barbie as the greatest material girl who needs feminine liberation herself. The controversy of Barbie’s image and her impact on girls concerned many researchers. As a result, numerous papers and essays arguing the Barbie impact have published and aroused rave discussion.

Although much discussion and research has been done to study the phenomenon of Barbie, most of the scholar conducted these papers academically; these scholars neglected the prospect of ordinary people. Barbie Nation, a documentary released in 2003, looked into the issues of Barbie through Barbie players’ eyes. Director Susan Stern conducted the film with interviews. Stern interviewed four groups of people: Barbie creators, Barbie collectors, Barbie players and Barbie protesters. By recording their interaction with Barbie and thoughts about Barbie, Stern achieved something that previous researchers had failed to accomplish. That is, to create a conversation between real-life Barbie supporters and protesters. For the creator of Barbie, Ruth Handler, Barbie is her helping hand in aiding girls with facing their physical transformation into women. For children playing with Barbie, Barbie reflects their assumption of adulthood. However, Barbie protesters see Barbie’s physical appearance as misleading and twisted value for girls. Stern also identified some important usage of Barbie in the Barbie Nation. For Barbie collectors, Barbie is not only a toy but also an investment. Barbie collectors buying Barbie to accumulate capital while Barbie players, whatever games they play with Barbie, see Barbie as a tool to express themselves. Barbie Nation allowed its viewers to stand in others’ shoes and observe the world of Barbie in depth. She is a tool in adulthood education. She is a mean to invest. She is the tool of self-expressing. For many people, Barbie is everything but a toy.

Some people think that the influence playing with Barbie has on children is exaggerated. However, as director Susan Stern presented in Barbie Nation, all of the devoted Barbie collectors and players she interviewed, grew up with Barbie dolls. The influence of Barbie is obvious and should not be overlooked, especially when the target buyers of Barbie are little girls and teenagers, because childhood through adolescence is the crucial period of self development. According to Clarke-Stewart, co-author of Children Development through Adolescence, children start their recognition of self-identification, self-esteem, and especially sexuality between the age six to twelve (363). During this time, these children are easily affected by their surrounding, including things they play with. This is when they form their personality and it is the toys that affect them the most. Although being surrounded by a lot of things and people, as lifestyle of modern society becomes more and more compressed and busy, children are usually left alone with their toys. Since the sale of Barbie boosts up everywhere, Barbie surely obtains her power over mankind. However, what kind of message is passed down onto these girls? Ruth Handler and Mattel have always claimed that Barbie’s adult figure helps girls in dealing with their physical transformation to women and her social personality helps girls get insight of adulthood (Stern). If this claim of the purpose of Barbie is true, has Barbie fulfilled her mission? If not, what kind of effect has Barbie caused?

First of all, instead of helping girls face their physical transformation, Barbie creates a stereotyped image of women for girls to follow. Some people argue that Barbie’s adult figure enables girls to know more about their physical growth. Nevertheless, Barbie has a pair of anti-gravity breasts, super skinny legs and ever-arched feet and these are not common features of female body. Many girls want to be like Barbie so bad that they go on strict diet and hurt themselves. An art student interviewed in Barbie Nation shared that she ate nothing but a latte for dinner everyday in order to look like Barbie. Eventually her health went down but her weight had never decreased. “It is impossible (to be like Barbie),” she said. Some people take the “Barbie style” to an extreme. In England, Cindy Jackson took fourteen years and undergone thirty-one plastic surgery to have the “Barbie look” (Schlesinger). She admitted that her old look caused her no trouble. It is only that Barbie has always been her role model and the obsession of becoming Barbie compelled her to undertake all these surgeries (Schlesinger). Barbie forms a set of appearance standards for girls to follow at any cost. A female should be skinny yet her breasts must be big at a wrong body proportion. Barbie has misled the assumption of female body.

Barbie also misleads the assumption of adulthood lifestyle. Many people dispute that Barbie enables girls to understand the importance and possibility of self-support because she has always been working. Nonetheless, Barbie avoids any kind of struggles that are common in life. Despite her incredible job list, including positions in different military troops, Olympic athlete, American Presidential Candidate and so on, Barbie has never demonstrated the true working experience and how much effort ones need to put into in order to achieve their goals (Barbie fun facts 5, 7&8). Barbie achieves her goal by changing outfits. Barbie simplified the world. It is this problem-free philosophy that attracts many Barbie players. A devoted Barbie dealer expressed that she likes Barbie because the world is so complicated and full of anxieties, yet Barbie’s world is never so (Stern). When playing with Barbie, girls are implied that the adult world is a place where everything can accomplished as easy as the way they change Barbie’s outfits. These simplified steps to all careers girls learned in their early life will not help them cope with all pressures and hardships await them. Instead of preparing them for their adulthood, Barbie weakens girls’ ability to confront their future.

Besides deceiving the truth of adulthood, Barbie twists the family structure that has sustained the society for thousands of years. Aside from some siblings and friends who appear once in a while for special occasions, Barbie has no parents, but only a boyfriend. Relationships between people, especially within the family, are the columns of the society. For thousands of years, people have survived because of parents taking care of their offspring and then children grow up to care for their parents and so on. By neglecting the importance of parenthood, our society will face serious problems. Children playing with Barbie may grow up without understanding their responsibility of taking care of their parents and offspring. When girls play with Barbie, they often set Barbie in love scenes and party scenes but seldom in family scenes (Stern). The Nativity was the only occasion that Barbie took part in a family scene as shown in the film, Barbie Nation. Yet Barbie was used as a “role.” The Barbie player even used Barbie as Joseph, “because I ran out of Kens” (qtd. Stern). Some people may argue that not all toys have a complete family background and Barbie should not be condemned for her neglecting of parenthood. However, no other toy has gained as much power as Barbie has. Barbie’s advice, that one can survive alone, will lead the society to destruction.

You might not like Barbie, but you know her. Being one of the most recognizable faces in the world, Barbie surely is one of the most dominant powers. Values and thoughts apply to girls when they play with Barbie. For most of them, Barbie is their role model and goal. Barbie did bring many positive things to this world. She dares women to dream their future with boundless possibilities. There is no wrong in dreaming, but when the dream is misguiding and twisted, it should be re-examined and one should not follow it blindly. Barbie is fashionable and has everything a woman can ask for, but her whole life is a make-belief. As Adrienne Fontanella, President of Mattel, addressed in 2000 that Mattel took the “intangible spirit of Barbie” and “used it to bring life to a whole line of products for girls,” Barbie is a successful brand. She is not a role model. Barbie leads a fake life style and we should stop our girls from following Barbie’s deceiving steps. Barbie is not our future.

Work-cited List

Barbie Nation: An Unauthorized Tour. Dir. Susan Stern. 2003. DVD. El Rio Production LLC.
“Barbie Fun Facts.” Mattel, Inc.: Investor Relations. 27 Feb. 2006.
Clarke-Stewart, Alison, and Koch, Joanne B. Children Development through Adolescence. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1983.
Debouzy, Marianne. “The Barbie Doll.” European Readings of American Popular Culture. Ed. John Dean and Jean-Paul Gabilliet. London: Greenwood Press. 1996.
Rogers, Mary F. Barbie Culture. California: SAGE Publications. 1999.
Schlesinger, Richard. “Becoming Barbie: Living Dolls.” CBS News. 6 Aug. 2004. 28 Feb. 2006.

Evolve: the success of 7-Eleven in Taiwan

2008-04-04T06:57:00.000-07:00

7-Eleven, Inc., the world wide phenomenal convenience store franchise claims to be the first convenience store in the US. It was first introduced by the Southland Corporation in 1927, in Dallas, Texas (7-Eleven: About – History). By 2006, there are more than 30,000 7-Eleven stores operated globally; however, only 7,100 stores are located in the North America, while in Taiwan, which is roughly half the area of the state of Ohio, there are 4539 stores and many are still opening (7-Eleven: About – History; Welcome to 7-Eleven Taiwan).

In fact, 7-Eleven had seemly stopped growing since the 80s. Most of its profits actually generated from its international franchisers such as the Seven Eleven Japan (SEJ) or the President Chain Store Corporation (PCSC) in Taiwan. Although 7-Eleven had tried to revitalize its business in the States with the aid from SEJ, in 2005, after 73 year of operation, the 7-Eleven Inc. officially became a subsidiary of Seven & I Holdings Company, the parent company of SEJ (7-Eleven: About – History).

Taiwan does not have the most 7-Eleven stores, but it has the highest density of 7-Eleven in the world (Wikipedia). It is a common to see two or three 7-Elevens located on the same street within walking distance. PCSC has become one of the most rapidly growing corporations in Taiwan. It not only operates 7-Eleven but also companies that support the 7-Eleven operation. The performance of 7-Eleven franchising in Taiwan was so outstanding that it led itself to the perpetual license contract with the Southland Corporation in April 2000 (Enterprise History).

The differences in geographical, economic or social environments are the most discussed causes of the defeat 7-Eleven Inc. experienced in the US. Many had stated that the great mass of the US territory and the fact that most Americans are used to the separation between residential and commercial areas led to the defeat of 7-Eleven Inc. in the US. However, if the idea of convenience store should fail, it would have failed since its first introduction to the American market. Yet 7-Eleven was very welcomed until it ran out of cards and lost its competitiveness in the 80s.

Success is always the result of correctly identifying the value opportunities. Nevertheless, as the society evolves, so do the value opportunities. 7-Eleven Inc.’s failure to obtain its competitiveness and the success PCSC is experiencing with its continuously reinventing strategic plans will be discussed in this case study.

7-Eleven Inc.: 7-Eleven in the US

In the beginning, 7-Eleven successfully distinguished itself from various types of stores of its time. Many innovative business strategies as well as a range of state-of-art technologies were utilized and products and services that tailored to customers’ needs were developed.

The name “7-Eleven” itself was a result of originality. Originally named “Tote’m,” because customers “toted” their purchase, 7-Eleven was the first store that opens from 7am to 11pm, 7 days a week (7-Eleven: About – History). The unique service was the right reaction to the consumer market and the service became so popular that people began to refer to it as the “7-Eleven.”

7-Eleven was the first convenient store chain developing Electronic Ordering System (EOS) to control its circulation of inventory. EOS was a product of military improvement to reduce inventory, and gain better understanding of distribution thus provide a more efficient way to dispense needed supplies. 7-Eleven was the first to put this technology into commercial use in the 60s and the efficiency brought 7-Eleven great profit for two decades. The introduction of Slurpee in the 60s was also another successful combination of frozen technology and precise business strategy (Bernstein, 1997; 7-Eleven: About – Company Milestones). These innovative technical and business strategies established 7-Eleven a high-tech image with provocative point of view.

However, during the 80s, because of continuously burgeoning competition, the rapid growth of 7-Eleven had been put to a halt.

The introduction of g-stores, convenience stores located at gas stations and operated by their gasoline companies, threatened 7-Eleven with their advantage in locations (Bernstein, 1997). Supermarkets also proved to be a tough competitor. By 1980s, many supermarkets extended their operation hours due to the increasing demand from their customers (Bernstein, 1997). Although 7-Eleven was the first store to open 24/7 since 1962, by 1980s, 7-Eleven was unable to compete with those open-late supermarkets in the variety of carrying products; 7-Eleven also lost the advantage of location in providing the most convenient services when competing with the g-stores. The once state-of-art EOS had also become obsolete after decades (Bernstein, 1997). Even though 7-Eleven later on launched the ATMs to convenience stores, which combined consumer needs with financial services, this financial strategy alone could not revitalize the out-of-date franchise.

While its international licensed franchises succeeded in their lands, 7-Eleven struggled with initiating original strategies that would help it thrives in the changeable modern American market. The failure eventually led to the purchase by its previous licensed franchiser, Seven & I Holdings Company in November 2005 (7-Eleven: About – History, 2007).

President Chain Store Corporation: 7-Eleven in Taiwan

The statement from the company profile of PCSC, “our major competitors are not those who are sharing the same market, but the constant change in customer requirements,” proved to be the key to its phenomenal success for PCSC.

Nonetheless, this was not an over-night success. When 7-Eleven first launched in Taipei City, 1980, it was not much welcomed (Basic Info, 2001). On the contrary, 7-Eleven was not perceived well for six years. However, after 27 years of discovering, applying and reinventing strategies, there is currently 4,539 7-Elevens open 24/7 in Taiwan (Welcome to 7-Eleven Taiwan). For more than two decades, PCSC never stopped improving its strategies. Everyday, something new is happening in every 7-Eleven.

Strategies that led PSCS to success
The strategies or plans used by PCSC can be generally divided into three spectra: business strategies, and technology strategies. These plans were not coming from the same discipline or perspective but a combination of all aspects. One can find that instead of outsourcing for more services, PCSC networks its services and uses its internal sources extensively.

Business strategies

1.Develop product and service

PCSC continuously identifying unmet needs within products and services, including pre-ordering services, bill payment, online shopping and explore new product opportunities.

/pre-ordering service

In late 1990s, PSCS was the first in Taiwan to promote pre-order services through chain store system (Wong 2007). It identified that with the extended working hours, people were having less time doing necessary shopping. The pre-ordering services started with Valentine’s Day gifts, cakes and bouquets for Mother’s Day, moon cakes for Moon Festival and then festive dishes for Christmas and Chinese New Year’s dinner. Customers can order gifts or foods from famous companies or five-star restaurants in any of the 7-Eleven and request to pick up the item from a selected 7-Eleven. Starting 2006, customers caneven request the merchandise to be delivered to their home through PCSC’s own delivery services.

PCSC provided an efficient channel for both providers and customers and by using its existing services, PCSC created a win-win situation.

/bill payment

PCSC also establish 7-Eleven as a platform for all possible bill payments. Starting with telephone bills, till 2006, PCSC collaborate with more than 400 companies (Wong, 2007). Customers can go to any 7-Eleven to pay for almost all of their bills, including telephone, gas, electricity, water, public parking, tuition, credit card fees, etc.

/online shopping

Unlike in the US, people in Taiwan do not have visa with their debit card, the usage of check is not common, either. Therefore, for people who are not eligible for credit card such as students, do not have access to online payment.

PCSC worked and invested in one of the most popular Chinese online bookstore, books.com.tw (About books.com.tw). Instead of using visa or master card to pay for one’s online purchase, customers can pick up and pay for their purchase at any 7-Eleven that is most convenient for them. The positive experience with books.com.tw allowed PCSC to further expand its online shopping services. Now people can book their plane tickets, buy computers, books, clothes, accessories, etc. all through the same channel: 7-Eleven.

PCSC did not provide this service through its own expense, such as product development or new ways of transportation, but using its existed delivery system to create new service in the user market that had been developed.

/fresh food industry

Most people in Taiwan bought their breakfast fresh on their way to school or work from breakfast stands or stores. Although 7-Eleven in Taiwan had fresh food like its American originator, such as the Big Bite and some heated buns, it was not perceived as good as the ones from the breakfast stores. As for convenience, because venders can sell items at mobile stands, 7-Eleven is at disadvantage when competing with these individual vendors.

In order to compete with these traditional stores and vendors in freshness and mobility, in 1996, PCSC imported the rice ball from Japan and established its own fresh food manufactory and series of standards and regulations (Basic info). The most well-known campaign was the “insisting 18℃.” This soon became the standard knowledge for people to purchase their fresh food.

Every year PCSC continues to develop new flavor and new categories. Most of its types of fresh food are still Japanese and Taiwanese but various flavors of sandwiches are sold as well.

2.Network of services: companies within the company

As previously discussed, instead of outsourcing for supporting services, PCSC established various services companies that support the 7-Eleven system. Thus PCSC can generate great revenue, have better control over its inventory and distribution and regulate its product and service line.

For example, for transporting different types of merchandise, room-temperature foods, frozen foods, dry-foods and publications included, PCSC set up different delivery companies to be in charge of different spectra.
The separated yet unified transporting system along with manufactories and vast range of physical locations form an indestructible structure. All goods flow within this system are been controlled under same level of standards and regulations. The ability to control all services also reduces the risk of experiencing counter-effects from other companies’ mistakes and gives PCSC more flexibility in internal evolution.

3.Establish standards and regulations

In 1988, before PCSC reached its opening of the 200th store, PCSC had already set up a Quality Assurance Center (Basic Info, 2001). This establishment along with other standards, the 18℃ campaign, for example, created a high-quality and fresh image for the 7-Eleven product line. The 18℃ campaign is the publication of the standard temperature for all fresh food sold in 7-Eleven set by PCSC. According to their research, this is the temperature that food can develop the best quality for people to taste (Rice rolls). By maintaining 18℃ from cooking, delivering, shelf-displaying all the way till the product reaches the customer, PCSC promised its customers to have the best eating experience.
Thus, 7-Eleven upgraded its image from a store providing convenience but not necessarily quality to a place where quality and efficiency meet.

4.Create unmet needs

Besides discovering and identifying the unmet needs of its target customers, PCSC actually created new category of unmet needs. It promotes campaigns that lure customers to buy more when they actually need not to.

In April 2005, the phenomenal “Hello Kitty magnet collection” campaign swept through Taiwan. The rule was simple, for every NT 77 (about USD 2.3) one spent in 7-Eleven, no matter what one bought, he or she would receive a 3D Hello Kitty magnet sealed in a foil bag. Every month there would be a new series and there were special versions, festive versions, hidden versions, etc.

One might question, “why would people want to have Hello Kitty magnets anyway?” Indeed, Hello Kitty was a feminine symbol and was perceived to attract only the younger female generation. However, PCSC’s strategy was to attract this certain group of people and by personal relationship and peer pressure, other people would be inclined to follow the trend. For example, if one had a girlfriend that likes to collect these magnets, he might try to reach the NT 77 requirement whenever he shopped at 7-Eleven.This also worked with parent – children, grand-parents – grand-children relationship or even friends would help each other collect.

According to PCSC’s own statistics, within only one month, the total monthly sales of 7-Eleven had reached record-high to NT 8.4 billion (USD 254.5 million) (Techvantage, 2005). The second month the number even soared to NT 93.8 billion (USD 284 million) (Techvantage, 2005). This exceptional strategic campaign indeed grasped customers’ attention and prompted 7-Eleven’s profit.

Technical strategies

7-Eleven was the first convenience store in Taiwan to use EOS (Electronic Ordering System). Nevertheless, while 7-Eleven Inc. in the US content with EOS alone, PCSC continually implementing new technologies and adapting to new managing strategies. In 1995, PCSC improved its existed EOS with Point of Sales (POS) system and within 2 years, Graphic Ordering Terminals were introduced to aide the ordering process (Basic Info). PCSC also started implementing the concept of “Mobile Office” in 2000 (Basic Info). These technical implements enabled PCSC to market their services more precisely and supervise different franchise to their own market.

1.Point of Sales (POS)

In 1995, besides using EOS to regulate its inventory, PCSC implemented POS to help analyze its sales and predict future development. POS linked the cashiers with the head quarter. When a customer bought an item, the head quarter will receive data from the cashier indicating the specific item(s) with the time, the location and the quantity of the purchase.

2.Graphic Ordering Terminals (GOT)

This is a system that aides the POS. These portable graphic terminals grant employees a more efficient way to report inventory and process ordering when working up and down the aisle (Information System).

3.Mobile Office

Besides the existed EOS, POS and GOT systems, the usage of notebook computers and installed on-site store terminal computers allowed Operation Field Consultants (OFCs) to instruct individual stores with real-time information. The complete system operated in the store environment is illustrated as picture 1 listed below.
These real-time information and info-exchange platforms enabled OFCs to analyze specific data and design business plans for individual stores according to their customers’ behavior patterns. The virtual working platforms also eliminate the wasting of time for OFCs to travel from head quarter to franchises as seen in picture 2.

Picture 1: The implementation of EOS, POS, GOT and Mobile office in store

Picture 2: The operation of Mobile Office within the Corporation

Lessons learned from 7-11 in Taiwan

The principles for success are the same for all disciplines: identifying value opportunities, discovering solutions in response to those value opportunities, and executing these solutions correctly.

However, as the society progresses, so do the value opportunities. What people needed yesterday may not be cared today. If the solutions do not evolve accordingly, soon these once innovative solutions would out-of-date. Therefore, a successful design, whether it is a product, a building or a business plan, needs not only to have the right solution, but to have it all the time. In other words, a good design is able to solve the existing problems and is also capable of foreseeing and reacting to the upcoming problems.

PCSC, within 27 years, has already succeeded in many ways. Although experienced some setbacks in the beginning, 7-Eleven in Taiwan the most successful 7-Eleven franchise in the world second to Seven Eleven Japan. Even if it has reached a point where many considered that it is over-populating Taiwan, so far, there is no stop sign for its expanding. As a matter of fact, while I was doing research on its business for the past few weeks, 6 more 7-Elevens had opened in Taiwan. Yet the most important key to its success is still the ability to reinvent itself. Despite its overwhelmingly accomplishment, PCSC still promotes new products once to twice a month and still works on improving the corporation of provided services.

Compared with 7-Eleven Inc., who stopped seeking for better solutions and self-improving years ago, PCSC proved to the world that “continuous improvement” with original ideas can bring great success. There is always value to redesign.

worklist:

Jeffrey R., Bernstein. “7-Eleven in America and Japan.” Creating Modern Capitalism. Ed. Thomas K. McCraw. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1997.

Chung, Cheng-Yuen. “0元行銷術4：贈品勾引法 0 spending strategic promotion: luring with gifts .” TechVantage Aug 2005. < http://www.techvantage.com.tw/content/056/056092.asp>

Wang, Chia-Ying. 8 Jan. 2007. Economic Daily News. < http://www.tcfa.org.tw/asp/announce_detail.asp?sn=9173214&class=4>

“Basic Information.” 2001. Welcome to 7-Eleven Taiwan. 3 May 2007.

“Enterprise History.” 2001. Welcome to 7-Eleven Taiwan. 3 May 2007. < http://www.7-11.com.tw/english/about711/pdf/02.pdf>

“Rice Rolls.” 2007. < http://www.7-11.com.tw/711/02-ricerolls/index.asp>

“7-Eleven: About – History.” 2007. 7-Eleven: About 7-Eleven. 30 April 2007. < http://www.7-eleven.com/about/history.asp>

“7-Eleven: About – Company Milestones.” 2007. 7-Eleven: About 7-Eleven. 30 April 2007. < http://www.7-eleven.com/about/milestones.asp>

“7-Eleven.” Wikipedia. 2 May 2007.