China's Design Revolution

China is on the verge of a design revolution. A "third generation" of thePeople's Republic of China that came of age during China's "opening up" period of the1980s now strives for fame, fortune, and self expression. This generation, workers in their thirtiesand forties, has more freedom to create--and to consume--than their parents or grandparents. InChina's Design Revolution, Lorraine Justice maps the evolution of Chinese designand innovation. Justice explains that just as this "third generation" (post-Revolution,post--Cultural Revolution) reaches for self-expression, China's government is making massiveinvestments in design and innovation, supporting design and creative activities (including designeducation programs, innovation parks, and privatized companies) at the local and national levels.The goal is to stimulate economic growth--and to establish China as a global creative power.Influenced by Mao and Confucius, communism and capitalism, patriotism and cosmopolitanism, China'sthird generation will drive the culture of design and innovation in China--and maybe the rest of theworld. Justice describes and documents examples of Chinese design and innovation that range fromancient ceramics to communist propaganda posters. She then explores current award-winning projectsin media, fashion, graphic, interior, and product design; and examines the lifestyle and purchasingtrends of the "fourth generation," now in their teens and twenties. China'sDesign Revolution offers an essential guide to the inextricably entwined stories ofdesign, culture, and politics in China.

Lorraine Justice, formerly Director of the School of Design at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, is Dean of the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences at Rochester Institute of Technology.