Does anyone have insight on design trends for Asia (specifically: China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore)? Any perspective on consumer behavior, buying habits, etc.? Any specific trends of colors, materials, finishes, etc? Anything specific to consumer electronics? Can anyone post links to articles about something like this?
Here are a couple examples of what I’m looking for (from Business Week):
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_47/b3960003.htm
“…Some Chinese designers call that sort of ostentation “gold teeth design.” It’s a hit in China, where it’s more important to appear rich than to have a fat bank account. That means companies both foreign and local often trot out products that sell well in China but might not have much resonance in other markets. Lenovo Group Ltd. (LNVGY ), for instance, has had fabulous success with a cell phone that holds a few drops of perfume, filling the room with sweet smells as the battery heats up. And Volkswagen designers in Shanghai have for the first time been permitted by the company’s design bosses to use artificial wood in a car. While customers in Germany would turn up their noses at a car with fake wood – even if “real wood” is just a veneer that’s less than a millimeter thick – Chinese car buyers want it because it makes their autos stand out. “Understatement in China is a no-no,” says Stefan Fritschi, chief designer at VW’s Shanghai operation. “You want to impress your neighbor.”
…Some of the best surprises, Yao says, come when his designers combine traditional elements of Chinese culture with today’s technology. In one instance, a designer charged with developing a speaker phone modeled his proposal after the traditional Chinese “hot pot,” a serving dish that families place in the middle of the table and share. The phone, which looks like a red and black dish, includes a remote control that balances on its tip in the center of the “dish” and automatically rights itself when it gets pushed over, like a wobbly doll. “This is a great example of a product that combines culture, style, and function,” says Yao.â€
