Taiwan Design Week 2024 (TDW 2024) is set to open its doors in December, offering a unique platform that showcases how artificial intelligence is transforming the creative process. Under the theme “The Gateway,” this year’s event focuses on the intersection of technology and human creativity, exploring how AI is reshaping design, architecture, and cultural narratives. Building on Taiwan’s strong AI hardware industry, the country’s vibrant community of designers, artists, scholars, and tech companies will present a wide range of works that push the boundaries of imagination.
An Evolving Dialogue: AI and Design
Much like the pivotal scene in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, where a monolith inspires humanity’s first steps into technological advancement, TDW 2024 highlights AI as a modern-day equivalent, inspiring new horizons for creativity. Over the past few decades, we’ve witnessed the rise of personal computers and the Internet revolution, and today AI is taking center stage—becoming not just a tool for efficiency, but a co-creator in the design process. This year’s exhibition invites visitors to explore how AI serves as both a technological tool and a creative catalyst.
An Exhibition Merging AI and Creativity
TDW 2024 delves into the intersection of AI and design innovation. Among the key installations is "Digital Home" by SHARE LAB and MMR Team, where visitors' subconscious inputs are transformed by AI into dynamic, interactive visuals, which can then be 3D-printed to produce a tangible representation of the design.
Another highlight is "New Taipei Station: The Digital Nomad's Playground" from Tunghai University, which reimagines Taipei’s central station as a futuristic, ever-changing landscape. This project reflects on the fast-paced, fragmented nature of the digital age, transforming through AI the station’s physical structure in response to modern requirements.
The exhibition also explores AI’s role in shaping architecture and cultural evolution. "Every Building’s OOTD" translates textile patterns into architectural designs, while "Infinite Evolution: Local Mascots" examines how AI can help local traditions adapt to societal changes.
Beyond celebrating AI's potential, the event also addresses its challenges. "Project Patching: AI & Geo-cultural Bias" critiques the cultural biases in AI, proposing solutions that integrate localized characteristics to ensure a more inclusive technological future.
AI Innovation, Research, and Urban Impact Forums
Taiwan Design Week 2024 offers a comprehensive program beyond its exhibitions, featuring talks and forums that explore international collaboration and design innovation. Highlights include the Design Without Borders dialogue between Taiwan and Poland, as well as discussions on AI-driven design with representatives from the Busan Design Center and World Design Organization. The Design Research Forum will serve as a prelude to the International Association of Societies of Design Research (IASDR) 2025 conference, focusing on key topics such as micromobility, generative AI, and material innovation, while also showcasing Taiwan's design capabilities through national ecosystem studies and industry surveys. Additionally, the Public Service Forum will explore the role of design in urban development, presenting insights on the Taiwan Design Expo’s impact, and showcasing how local design centers integrate design into urban governance, with a special focus on the transformative renovation of a mall in Tainan.
Taiwan Design Week as a Global Platform for Innovation
TDW 2024 serves as a critical platform for exploring how AI will shape the future of design and creativity. As AI continues to evolve, it will present new challenges and opportunities for designers and creators around the world. This year’s exhibition offers an in-depth look at how AI is already influencing design, architecture, and cultural narratives, inviting global audiences to rethink the role of technology in shaping human creativity.
Why Taiwan Design Week?
Supported by the Industrial Development Administration of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and executed by the Taiwan Design Research Institute, TDW serves as a platform to connect Taiwan’s design community with the global stage. As Taiwan’s prowess in manufacturing and technology has already gained international recognition, TDW now aims to showcase the strength of “Designed in Taiwan” to the world, positioning Taiwan’s design talent as a vital contributor to global conversations.
This year, TDRI will be hosting the second year of "Taiwan Design Week" from 7-15 December 2024. The core objective of this design week is to "Open Borders, Widen the Horizon, and Create a Platform." This year's theme is "The Gateway." A gateway is generally known as networking hardware or software that enables data transfer between different networks, so it functions as an integrator of information, bringing diverse concepts into a central hub and linking them outward. It also symbolizes both a door and a pathway, representing the profound inspiration that AI will bring for the future.