EP6 | A Return to First Intentions — The Graduation Exhibition of Shih Chien University's Department of Communications Design Joins The Great Artist to Hear the Creative Manifesto of Young Designers

Department chair Chen Wei-chih and coordinators Liu Hsiao-ching and Hsu Pei-jou discuss the original aims of the "re:mmmind" graduation exhibition

[Taipei] The Great Artist podcast (EP6) by DE Global Art Agency welcomes Chen Wei-chih, chair of the Department of Communications Design at Shih Chien University, along with Liu Hsiao-ching and Hsu Pei-jou, coordinators of the 2024 graduation exhibition, to share the highlights and behind-the-scenes stories of the graduation exhibition "re:mmmind — A Return to First Intentions."

For students of design, the graduation exhibition is often their first formal portfolio facing society, and a crucial stage for testing the fruits of four years of study. The Department of Communications Design at Shih Chien University has long been renowned for cultivating design talent possessed of both creativity and professional ability, and each year's graduation exhibition draws keen attention from the design world. This exhibition, themed "re:mmmind — A Return to First Intentions," invites audiences, amid a dazzling array of visual works, to rethink the essence and original purpose of design.

The ingenious name "re:mmmind" holds rich meaning: it is at once a variation on "remind" and a hint at the concept of "re-mind" (to rethink). Through this theme, the students seek to convey the inner journey and creative ideals of their learning process: that, even while chasing technique and trends, they do not forget the pure passion and first intention with which they first entered the field of design.

In this episode, department chair Chen Wei-chih shares, from an educator's perspective, how the department accompanies students from the learning of technique gradually toward the cultivation of ideas and the capacity for independent thought. In an age of rapidly evolving AI and digital tools, design education has long ceased to be merely training in software operation; it is rather an all-round cultivation of cultural vision, strategic thinking, and the ability to integrate creativity. Chen Wei-chih speaks of how the department helps students, upon a solid professional foundation, build a design viewpoint of their own.

The two graduation-exhibition coordinators, Liu Hsiao-ching and Hsu Pei-jou, set out from their dual identities as students and curators to share the team collaboration, communication challenges, and rewards of growth behind organising a large graduation exhibition. From conceiving the theme and planning the visuals to executing the exhibition space, the birth of a graduation exhibition is itself a condensed course in practical experience, letting young designers taste in advance the workings of real-world projects.

The graduation exhibition is the first mile on a young creator's road toward the professional stage. The Great Artist has long attended to the academic orthodoxy and international careers of design education, hoping that, by documenting this new generation of designers brimming with passion and creativity, more people may see the solid grounding of Taiwan's design education, and that the path forward may be lit for students aspiring to enter the field of design.

The Great Artist EP6 is now available on Apple Podcasts, SoundOn, and other platforms, with each episode running about 30 minutes. You are warmly invited to listen and feel the creative energy of a new generation of designers "returning to first intentions."