The USITT Upstate meeting that took place at the University at Buffalo Center for the Arts was an amazing experience. Han Lixun, the designer of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, was the headlining speaker. Hearing him speak was very interesting. Han brought up some of the issues faced and how the design team was able to create solutions that were visually stunning. What struck me the most was how the design process that they used was very similar to what we do here in the United States. Han’s English was very limited. However, when showing some of our work, he could easily understand what we were doing and what our paperwork meant. This really proved to me how design is a language of its own. After hearing him talk and going to some amazing workshops, we were able to attend dinner with everyone, including Mr. Lixun. At dinner, we learned some more about his background and what it was like to be a designer in China. As the evening was coming to a close, Han went on to offer a visit to his studio in Beijing! Hopefully one day I might be able to take him up on his offer! Overall, this was an amazing event that I am very glad I was able to experience. Hopefully something similar to this will happen again in the near future.
