Now in its fifth edition, Design Shanghai (14-17 March) has established itself as the go-to exhibition for talents rooted in the heart of Oriental culture. Held in the Shanghai Exhibition Centre in the upscale city centre, it welcomes brands and designers from around the world to gather and showcase their creativity. Contemporary Chinese design is evolving, and Chinese elements are seen, not merely at the edges but in the nation’s core values – social and environmental – creating a lifestyle that facilitates and enhances its modern urban life. Here, we select our new talent highlights...
Furong Chen started the brand WUU in 2014 and a year later won Design Shanghai’s China Emerging Chinese Designer Award. Dedicated to furniture, lighting and accessories design, Chen aims to produce timeless pieces in materials that focus on sustainability.
Tony Lee’s Shenzhen studio focuses on developing products for the home that are influenced by lines and clean surfaces with a strong minimalist aesthetic. One of his most important designs is Wait, a simple but versatile geometrical floor lamp.
Frank Chou Design Studio seeks to find a unique, modern expression of Chinese design while balancing the stylistic differences between East and West.
Designer, brand founder, businesswoman and mother, Sherry Xu aims to use design to balance work with the other aspects of one’s life. Born and trained in Shanghai, her ideas are mostly based on the city.
Founded by Zhang Zhoujie in 2014 and formally launched this year, Endless Form focuses on avant-garde, computer-aided designs while providing customisation services to shape and promote a new direction in the digital era.
Tells studio was founded by Xinyu Dang and Jie He in 2015. Basing their work on craft and material research, the studio aims to balance the relationship between creativity and functionalism.
The brand caters to the rapidly growing Chinese middle class, offering furniture and lifestyle products manufactured in the country. Founder Shu Wei and Italian creative director Luca Nichetto this year launched their collaboration with China-based Japanese architect Shuhei Aoyama and French designer Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance.
Raffles Design Institute interior design graduates Jerry Huang and Eva Zhou co-founded Dongwest Design Studio in 2007, specialising in interior, exhibition and furniture design services. In 2010, they established the brand E-Y (which sounds like ‘surprise’ in Chinese) creating products, that aim to surprise.
Founded by Ximi Li, Urban Craft seeks to integrate unique cultural elements of different regions around the world into its works. Li, who studied in China and Italy has worked for designers including Andrea Branzi, Luca Trazzi and Neri & Hu.