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Above: Gigi Lau’s winning design in the SADI Contest 2002
Gigi Lau, fourth-year student in the York/Sheridan Joint Program in Design has won the grand prize in the international SADI Contest 2002, sponsored by the Samsung Art & Design Institute based in Seoul, Korea. The contest theme was "cultural crossroads". Participants were asked to "attempt to bridge the widening gap between traditional and modern society by creating a design that promotes participation in a global community while preserving the essence of your cultural heritage."
And what is Lau’s prize? Nothing less than a trip to Africa to discover how designers help embrace modern society without sacrificing cultural identity. To see the contest information and find out more about SADI, visit http://www.sadicontest.com.
The rationale that Lau submitted with her entry follows, along with her description of her winning design.
There is a simple message that instigates new relationships everyday. It can break down barriers between neighbours and enemies, it can console lost and grieving souls, it can bring hope to dejected individuals. It renews previous interactions and strengthens sincere intentions. It is communicated every day across the continents, between strangers, neighbours, workers and lovers.
It is a simple message that brings interaction within our increasingly complex lives. Complex lives where we rush through the day, communicating through e-mail, fax memos and voice messages in technologies created for efficiency and convenience but forgetting human interaction. The use of this fundamental message returns us to our most basic needs, the needs of security and comfort. It communicates layers of basic sentiments necessary for our survival, our survival to live together in this more and more multi-faceted world.
Hello.
The design is of a 5x7 personalized postcard with the "Hello My Name is..." labels running across the entire face. The idea is for people to fill out the empty labels with their name (in different languages if they want) and send it out to friends, family, acquaintances, co-workers, peers and anyone they''ve met at least once. It''s a simple method to maintain newly made contacts, to tell someone you care or just say hello to an old friend. I''ve filled out the one you see here with my name.
"Hello" is not just a greeting but a universal message saying:
Welcome!
Good day!
Come on over.
Let me introduce myself.
Like to hear from you!
Let''s talk.
How are you?
Everything all right?
I need help.
I can help you.
Love to see you soon.
Have a wonderful day!
Thank you for listening.