Investigating Sustainability of Cultural Identity in Taiwanese Teapots

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Abstract

Due to blooming economics and the growing ceramic industry, drinking Gongfu tea with a unique teapot has been recognized as a new lifestyle in Taiwan. Once the product has become part of our lives, it links automatically with our society and turns into part of our culture. The difference between cultural and general product design is that most product design often is either based on consumer demands or is conducted after the establishment of a target product. For cultural design, one needs to consider the meaning of subject itself in the culture, the cultural implication and significance. Only the products with cultural identities could have a chance to become an icon in the cultural history and continuously develop. Our study focused on the investigation of the cultural identities of Taiwanese teapots. It employs research objects: including the personnel involved in the “In-Depth Interviews” and “Focus Group” studies from professional sectors. Samples are exclusively collected and analyzed from the exhibition, The Finest Teapots in Taiwan. As a result, some fundamental principles have been confirmed for the design of Taiwanese teapots. Furthermore, tentative models for the design of ceramic teapots with a Taiwanese identity are also proposed for the future development of contemporary teapots and their sustainability.