innovo chinese design at salone satellite 2010

umbrella stand

chinese innovo design team exhibited their ‘nong yi’ works at the salone satellite in milan.

seeds inside the umbrella stand

innovo aims to explore and reclaim the essence of design in china, a country which is gradually losing her way because of the impact of western civilization. although brocade patterns, bamboo, peonies, the distinctive ‘red’ color are all representative of china, they are not the essence of design in the country.

innovo looks at the objects which we interact with daily, rethinking the little details about those pieces which we may normally never pay attention to. drawing on the classical philosophy of china, dominated by confucianism and taoism, they consider these philosophical approaches in their product design, developing solutions which fit with our natural behaviors and are minimalistic in form.

china is a traditional agricultural country. since ancient times, most commodities have been self-supplied with the circulatory system of natural work, which follow the rules of nature – people, work, harvest, and recreation. in this way, the long-term spirit of ‘nong’ was formed. the design exploration of innovo combines the spirit of ‘nong’, traditional crafts and contemporary understanding.

yì（wing）

‘yì’ means wing. it is derived from the typical roof shape in traditional chinese architecture, which appears like a flying bird. a man’s dreams of flying and getting ahead are shown. a traditional bench is regarded as one of the simplest and most practical objects. ‘yì’ still keeps the original shape of a bench, simple in its form. however, its parts are designed with rounded angles, with two tilted ends, mimicking the roof shape of chinese architecture.

wu (nothing)

‘you’ (something) and ‘wu’ (nothing) are a dialectical theme in lao-tzu’s (father of taoism) theory, where the intangible is able to create the tangible and the tangible can be transformed into the intangible.’wu’ allows users to make a lampshade freely on the basis of a bamboo framework. its appearance is a flexible structure which utilizes the method of making classic chinese paper lamps and lanterns. production wise, the framework structure (bone) is made from bamboo stick, and traditional rice paper is for applied as the cover (skin) of lamp.

bud

an old chinese rattan chair which is fifty to sixty years of age is combined with a widely popular embroidery method. the image of a peony is vividly embroidered across its back reminiscent of chinese floral imagery. an old wicker chair is given new life to blossom once again.

the team has won more than 12 international design awards, among them:

‘imagine the home in 2020’ the designboom / electrolux design competition 2005, in which their project ‘the flavor of sunshine’ was acknowledged. the entry looks at the method of sun-baking clothes which is considered to be a sterile practice in asia. people think that the smell of the sun-baked clothes has the flavor of sunshine. the technology of sun-ray simulation is applied in this dryer.

in 2006, 2 of their projects were shortlisted in the designboom competition ‘shelter in a cart’.