intl. design fair opens saturday-m6米乐app

the first china (shenzhen) international industrial design fair is scheduled to open saturday in hall 9 of shenzhen convention and exhibition center in futian district.

billed as the biggest design fair in the world, the four-day event will feature more than 5,000 design works from 25 countries and regions displayed in an exhibition area of 15,000 square meters.

an eight-member jury that's headed by ralph wiegman, jury chairman of the if design award in germany, will select outstanding exhibits.

wiegman has served as a judge for many international design competitions, including the intel design prize.

other jury members include italian designer stefano giovannoni; soon-in lee, president of seoul design center; and tapani hyvonen, co-founder of ed-design.

"a total of 176 exhibitors have confirmed their participation, and 107 of them are from overseas," gao guohui, vice secretary general of shenzhen municipal government, said at a press conference thursday.

gao said more than 100 foreign enterprises, institutions, schools and design alliances will attend the fair, which has a theme of "innovator-integration of global design."

in addition to the exhibition, the fair will include three forums, four dialogues and 12 design workshops, fair organizers said. scheduled speakers include some big names in the design industry, such as american karim rashid, who is known for his bold and fashionable designs.

topics will include "rational thinking and sensible design," "user-central design," "traditional elements meet innovative design" and "creating a new lifestyle."

award-winning designs from shenzhen also will be displayed at the fair.

"shenzhen is home to almost 6,000 design institutions, which employ about 100,000 people," chen biao, the city's vice mayor, said thursday.

shenzhen's design industry achieved an output value of 3.1 billion yuan (us$510 million), representing a 25.8-percent increase from 2011, according to chen.

chen said the city will make continuous efforts to increase shenzhen's design competitiveness.

the fair will be open between 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. from saturday through monday, and between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on tuesday.

detailed information about the fair is available at www.szidf.com, which has an english-language version.

(source:shenzhen daily)