Design 21: Social Design Network

Sean Gallagher is a British photographer based in China. He has lived and worked across the world, spending extended periods of time in locations as diverse as Japan, Brazil, New Zealand, the UAE and Europe. His most recent work focuses on social and environmental issues, such as desertification and its effects across China, and has recently been published in National Geographic China and The New York Times, and screened at the COP15 Climate Change summit in Copenhagen as part of the Earth Journalism Awards. We spoke with Sean, upon his most recent return to Beijing from Inner Mongolia, to discover more.

Read more at Notes on Design

Originally from South Korea, Currie Lee is a fashion designer now based in Beijing. After retiring from law, Currie founded DimSum of all things Asian: D-SATA by CuR, an ethics-based brand that subtly incorporates luxury fashion with social and environmental concern. Her products are carefully crafted with upcycled, natural materials, such as snake, fish and frog skin (originally caught for consumption in local Asian villages); all pieces are also manufactured in Southeast Asian “cottage industries” by women who earn a living income (vs. minimum wage). In an exceptional demonstration of social responsibility, Currie illustrates that “going green and ethical” does not necessarily mean boring and low-market.

Read more at Notes on Design

The US seems to be running out of chips with China...

See larger size here: The Epoch Times

Happy New Year!

Thought I'd kick off 2009 with a new cartoon in full color. Hope you enjoy.

"Free" countries are getting entangled as the CCP remains determined to preserve its image and control.

A look at the regime's peacemaking process and transparency.

Greetings!

I've been a bit absent from the Design21 community recently, largely because I hadn't had much new content to post. To rectify this, I will begin posting cartoons related to China.

I welcome other artists in the Design21 community to contribute their cartoons related to covering current events or happenings within China. I only ask that the content is kept clean (ie. no vulgarity, nudity, etc.) and you think of publishability (if that's a word). Perhaps down the road we can put this in print or expand to other forums.

Here is one based on a recent situation where the Chinese Communist Party claimed Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses to be the mastermind in uniting western countries against communism via their new album.

Enjoy!

Cheers,

JP

The article, Chinese regime wins medal for human rights abuses in The Epoch Times showcases an interesting effort by a Czech fashion designer to use her talent to raise awareness of the situation in China.

Click here to see a translated version of the webpage. There is a photo gallery with unique photos showing several prominent human rights abuses, as well as some of Marie Copps stunning outfits.

Perhaps she could start a charitable clothing line from this. What do you think?

Cheers, JP

Hi all,

I was thinking about a little design project to get going. Something that has always intrigued me about Chinese culture is its focus on the essence of a matter. Their painting often have simple lines with a tremendous amount of space. These works of art lead you to feel the art rather than see it alone.

What I'd like to achieve is to use graphic design to bring out some of that mystical feeling of old China, some of its culture, or other aspects. It doesn't necessarily need to be like traditional Chinese painting, but maybe that style of "leaving it up to the imagination" could produce some interesting results.

An easy place to start is with Chinese characters. Pick a character and build a design around it. This would give an obvious theme and may spark the imagination.

What do you think?

Greetings everyone,

I'd like to first introduce myself and let it be known that I love the Chinese culture. I became engrossed with it at a young age and have learned more about it over the years and have come to respect it more and more. I have met many kindhearted Chinese who have offered tremendous insight into their world and their roots. I truly respect these great people.

Although what I said above was said in truth, the moment I begin talking about any negative aspect of what the Communist regime is doing or has done to China, I will immediately be labeled by the regime's supporters as an "anti-China force" who is bent on destroying China and the Chinese face. This is simply not true.

The Communist regime has invested an enormous amount of resources into developing this "us vs. them" mindset. If I mention Tibet, I have become a public enemy. If I speak out for Falun Gong, I am trying to overthrow the regime and cause social chaos. These labels are simply not true.

As an advocate for China, one is necessarily concerned about the well-being of the Chinese people. We have studied the past and the present. We have well-documented cases of slave labor camps, torture, murder, and so on. Chinese guns pour into Darfur. This information is available to the free world and it is terrifying. Amnesty International, the UNCHR, Reporters Without Border, etc. all have pages and pages of cases of abuse. Why would everyone be so concerned if there weren't an ...