The annual student design festival “YODEX” will be held at Exhibition Halls 1 and 3 of the Taipei World Trade Center from May 19 to 22. With its 36-year history, the exhibition has become the world’s largest and oldest joint exhibition of design departments. This year, YODEX features 145 departments from local institutions, and nine design academies from five foreign countries (the United States, Canada, Australia, Italy, and Japan). Over 9,000 young designers will showcase their talents on the platform, exhibiting nearly 4,000 creative works.
To meet the expectations of all sectors for YODEX, the organizer, the MOEA’s Industrial Development Bureau specially organized a pre-exhibition press conference on May 9 at Songshan Cultural and Creative Park. Using “Show Your YODEX Time” as the theme, the press conference invited new designers to present their own works on stage, providing sneak previews to 36 works ahead of the official opening of the exhibition. The innovative designs integrate current events and fashion, and was a warm-up for this year’s YODEX.
With the rise of funding platforms in recent years, many design or cultural and creative concepts and products have been able to gain exposure or successfully launch, creating a brand new business model. This year, YODEX collaborates with funding platform for the first time to host a sharing session, with the aim of facilitating cooperation and ultimately elevating the economic value of the design and creative industries.
The issues of environmental protection and the concept of green exhibition have gained growing awareness around the world in recent years, and YODEX and Bureau of Foreign Trade, MOEA, are therefore co-organizing the “Green Booth Competition” for the first time to encourage participating schools to adopt environmentally friendly design principles and utilize green materials for the decoration of the booths, reducing the impact on the environment of exhibition decorations and renovation materials and waste, and realizing the concept of the green exhibition. YODEX will also hold the “Sustainable Circular Economy Seminar—Design Professionals Must Know Sustainable Design!” where designers of different disciplines, including product, crafts, and architecture, are invited to share with students and the general public trends of sustainable economy, applications of recycled materials, and successful cases, in the hope of achieving the goals of sustainable development through design.
In the national comprehensive plan for the promotion of design, YODEX is an important event that helps establish a sound foundation for the local design industry. The creativity and vibrancy of young designers bring unlimited hope to the future of Taiwan. Through design, we look forward to improving our life and making the world a better place, and we also hope that individuals interested in design will come visit YODEX and show support for the young designers at the exhibition, while also witnessing the bright future of Taiwanese design!