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United Designs Collections 2009

An International Design Exhibition

2011.11.20-12.04

Shanghai, China


Wu Xing Gallery
Fine Arts College
Shanghai Normal University
Shanghai, China


About “United Designs”

The United Designs, an International Biannual Design Exhibition, is founded in the year 2004. Since its first exhibition on 17 May 2004 at Hanyang University, it grew from 6 nations with 46 friends to 23 countries with 210 friends as of the fourth United Designs exhibition in the year 2009.

As a chief director of the United Designs, the exhibition never judges participants’ talents but understands their culture and visual communication. All designers can able to become a United Designer if he or she wants to share his or her expertise to communicate today’s sophisticated messages, either client-related practical design or environmental awareness poster design.

As United Designers, we do best to express our concerns through designing posters. These posters are personal expression about environmental awareness issues. We see a variety of different visual messages here. Some posters might disturb you, and some might even move your heart. These outstanding posters influence your mind and spirit about the environment. If just one of these posters affects your thoughts, I believe we did an excellent job of communicating the message, and we have a successful exhibition.

Another category of this exhibition is a practical design. In this part of the show, we can understand how we communicate the client’s message now. Each era has its visual language, and through these outstanding designs, we surely learn the contemporary design style in the participant’s country and the world. We cannot judge its content and visual message, because its audience has its convention

by Albert Young Choi



The 2009 Shanghai International “United Designs” Collections Exhibition, as one of the countless and continual exhibitions in Wu Xing Gallery, maybe the same kind as others in some people’s eyes. However, I consider it a very different and significant one compared with other exhibitions because it is not only the first international exhibition held in Wu Xing Gallery but an excellent and high-level design exhibition as well. It is an exciting gathering for Fine Arts College, SHNU, as well as Shanghai Normal University. Working staff carefully selected over 120 works from the four previous successive “United Designs” exhibitions, combine to form the most representative and splendid one this time and add to the brightness and beauty to this exhibition. A stone from other hills can serve to polish the jade of this one. I believe our audience can grasp the trend of international design, appreciate creative ideas and wisdom of these designers from all over the world and with different backgrounds, and enjoy designers’ deep understanding and exact command of visual language.

I admire the interpretation of design by Ahn, Chang-Ho, chairman of the Korean Society for Experimentation in Contemporary Design very much, who explained that design is the best way to ensure international competitiveness and increasing living quality. Here I’d like to add that design also undoubtedly helps to change people’s views. The increasing knowledge and understanding of world and life are the real motivations for human beings to step forward from the realm of necessity to the field of freedom and create miracles in civilization.

I sincerely hope that the 2009 Shanghai International “United Designs” Collections Exhibition can not only bring us the aesthetic appreciation for the sense of sight but also serve as a window towards international design. I wish the exhibition a complete success!

Welcoming remark by Wan Qinghua, Dean
Fine Arts College, Shanghai Normal University



Chief Directors: Albert Young Choi and Wan Qinghua
Curators: Albert Young Choi and Liang Min
Director: Chen Jing


Selected 120 works from four United Designs exhibitions