Description

Design is ubiquitous in our lives. It not only is a composed and rational technical practice, but also a pursuit of creative art rich in emotions and humanity. Drawing inspirations and ideas from human sentiments and cultures, designers put forward designs that equally reflect their concerns and care for human life. Through their observation and understanding of the needs, social environments, cultural backgrounds and other aspects of the users, designers create products and services that are both practical and artistic. The selection and usage of elements such as colours, materials, forms and space also communicate the designs' concepts and values. Further to satisfying the functionality, design also aims to bring users a better, more comfortable and meaningful life, thus transcending the materialistic level and becoming the embodiment of emotion and liveliness.

Since the era of modernism, design in the West has, under the influence of Bauhaus, embraced simplicity and geometric shapes. The design concepts and methods of modernism also have a far-reaching impact on the field of design in China, sparking a school of excellent designers and design theorists in their creations and research.

In contemporary context, 'warmth' in design has become increasingly important. As our usage and reliance on digital technologies such as social media, virtual reality and artificial intelligence grow, our craving for authenticity, warmth and humanness has become more pronounced. 'Design with Warmth' hopes to inject deeper cultural significance and humanistic values into the design, providing more comfort to our spirituality and resonance to our emotions while earning approachability and relatability from users.

As the first large-scale, inter-regional, sectoral and disciplinary design triennial in China, the inaugural Guangzhou Design Triennial, organised by the Guangdong Museum of Art, not only sets up a platform to bring together design synergies and practices but also offers an opportunity for designers from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and their international counterparts to delve into the development and research of design, as well as the contemporary beliefs and social values. ‘The Warm-beings’ exhibition is the first Guangzhou Design Triennial that actualised a cross-border exchange in Hong Kong, in which works from indicative designers are showcased. Our exploration of design in this exhibition leads to a much more sublime exchange which goes beyond a mere artistic expression or the expansive meanings it embodies in humanistic sensation, cultural heritage, eco-responsibility and social values. Through this exhibition, we look forward to demonstrating the various degrees of warmth conveyed by designers from assorted cultural backgrounds via their excellent works, whether they be past, present or future. We also aim to yield more possibilities about design from this field filled with humanistic touch and exuberance and promote the research on design history, the growth of the discipline, innovation to the industry and long-term prospect of designers, injecting new impetus to the sustainable development of culture and economy of our time.

Wang Shaoqiang

Director of the Guangdong Museum of Art Association

Vice Chairman of the Guangdong Artists Association

Director of Guangdong Museum of Art

Bai’e Tan, Guangzhou, November 2024