The National Palace Museum As a Case Study for Client-And-Industry Collaboration in the Design and Development of Museum Products
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THE NATIONAL PALACE MUSEUM AS A CASE STUDY FOR CLIENT-AND-INDUSTRY COLLABORATION IN THE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF MUSEUM PRODUCTS By YO-WEI CHANG A thesis submitted to The University of New South Wales for the degree of MASTER OF DESIGN (HONOURS) College of Fine Arts School of Design Studies The University of New South Wales August 2013 ORIGINALITY STATEMENT ‘I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project's design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged.’ Signed …………………………………………….............. Date 30 August 2013 COPYRIGHT STATEMENT ‘I hereby grant the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all proprietary rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstract International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). I have either used no substantial portions of copyright material in my thesis or I have obtained permission to use copyright material; where permission has not been granted I have applied/will apply for a partial restriction of the digital copy of my thesis or dissertation.' Signed ……………………………………………............... Date 30 August 2013 AUTHENTICITY STATEMENT ‘I certify that the Library deposit digital copy is a direct equivalent of the final officially approved version of my thesis. No emendation of content has occurred and if there are any minor variations in formatting, they are the result of the conversion to digital format.’ Signed ……………………………………………................. Date 30 August 2013 ii ABSTRACT Since 1970s, contemporary museums have taken a far more active role in promoting themselves through management and marketing than before. Several internationally well- known museums, such as the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art have been undergoing this process. The National Palace Museum (NPM) is also following this trend. Since 2008 the NPM has played the role of promoting cultural and creative industries based on Taiwan government policy. Under the concept of “Old is New” introduced by the NPM, the museum hopes to engage younger audiences in Chinese culture and promote its image and collection by holding museum product design competitions and the “Workshop for cultural and creative development” to interpret ancient creativity by contemporary design concept. By collaborating with industry, the NPM hopes to engage and nurture young talented designers in Chinese culture, and market its brand through the designers’ creative interpretation of the museum collection. This research focuses on the NPM and the “Workshop for cultural and creative development” as case study. The NPM workshop aims at educating and nurturing designers with knowledge of Chinese culture through its collection so that the designers can present new interpretations of old designs. The workshop was examined for the collaboration between the NPM and five selected design companies that participated in the development of museum products. Qualitative data collected from interviews with NPM staff and design companies were analysed to identify the various levels of collaboration and responses, and types of outcomes in relation to the museum’s aims. Research findings show that various issues affected design process and the collaborations between the NPM and participating companies, such as the interpretation of collection, creativity of design concepts, and difficulties in production. Design companies also responded to the workshop in different ways. The workshop is also a channel not only for the NPM to seek potential partnership, but also provides participants with an opportunity to collaborate with the Museum. Nevertheless the workshop demonstrates potential as a management strategy to facilitate the relationship between the NPM and the cultural and creative industry in the design and development of museum products. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost I would like to thank Associate Professor, Leong Chan and Mr. Ian McArthur, my supervisors for their expertise, understanding, constructive criticism, and time invested throughout my candidature at the College of Fine Arts. I am appreciative for your supervision and editing assistance. Thanks to the curator, Ms. Chou Kung-Shin the section chief of the National Palace Museum, Ms. Sun Hung-Ling for the gracious assistance in facilitating the interview for this research. Thanks to the NPM staff from the marketing, education and administration divisions who gave their assistance kindly. Thanks to the companies (JIA, Chullery, Taiwan Textile Research Institute, Billy King Jewelry, and Bright Ideas Design) which participated in the interview and provided their valuable experiences and information for this research. Without your assistance, this research would not have been made possibly. I also like to thank my lovely family and friends for the support and care to me throughout my candidature. Without your listening and encouragement, I could not have completed this thesis. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS page Abstract iii Acknowledgement iv Table of Contents v List of Figures vii Introduction 1 Chapter One – Museums & Cultural and creative Industries 9 Museum role and management 10 Museums in Taiwan 11 Cultural and creative industries 13 Income streams of museums 15 Trends in museum cultural products 17 Taiwan responses 19 Chapter Two – Co-design, Collaboration & Co-branding 20 Co-design 21 Collaborative Design 23 Brand alliance 35 Brand licensing 36 Co-branding 38 RED Case study of co-branding – (Product) 41 Summary 46 Chapter Three – The National Palace Museum (NPM) 47 Brief history of the National Palace Museum (NPM) 48 Workshop for cultural and creative development 59 The NPM’s collaboration mechanism 65 Museum shop – branding and products 68 v page Museum product design – management strategy 76 Museum cultural product design 79 Summary 86 Chapter Four – Workshop for cultural & creative development 87 Research method 88 Aims of the workshop 90 Communication between the NPM and designers 99 Responses from the designers 107 Workshop challenges and outcomes 120 Summary 127 Conclusion 130 Appendices 140 Appendix 1 – HREA approval letter 141 Appendix 2 – List of interview questions for NPM staff in English and Chinese 142 Appendix 3 – List of interview questions for designers in English and Chinese 144 Appendix 4 – Participant Information Statement and Consent form for NPM staff 146 Appendix 5 – Participant Information Statement and Consent form for designers 148 Appendix 6 – Interview list of NPM staff 150 Appendix 7 – Interview list of 5 participants in alphabetical order 151 Appendix 8 – Chronology of Chinese dynasties 152 Bibliography 153 vi LIST OF FIGURES page Figure 1. Plan for interviews with NPM staff and workshop participants. 5 Figure 2. Liner design process. Source: Foyer 2002, cited in Sun, SY 2010, p. 17. 29 Figure 3. Collaborative design. Source: Foyer 2002, cited in Sun, SY 2010, p. 17. 30 Figure 4. Concept development process - divergent and convergent phases. Source: Bergstrom 2009, cited in Garrido 2009, p. 13. 33 Figure 5. How (Red) works. Source: (RED) website, viewed 22 January 2013, <http://www.joinred.com/aboutred/how-red-works/>. 42 Figure 6. The National Palace Museum, Taipei. Photographed by the author, 15th June 2013. 48-49 Figure 7. Entrance of the National Palace Museum, Taipei. Photographed by the author, 15th June 2013. 48-49 Figure 8. Map of East Asia. Redrawn by the author. 49-50 Figure 9. Curators of the National Palace Museum, 2000 to present. 50 Figure 10. Jadeite Cabbage with Insects, Qing dynasty. © National Palace Museum, Taipei. (翠玉白菜) 53-54 Figure 11. Taiwan government policy for the National Palace Museum, 2010-2013. 56 Figure 12. Structure of the “Workshop for cultural and creative development”, National Palace Museum. 61 Figure 13. Overview of annual curriculum of the “Workshop for cultural and creative development”, National Palace Museum. 61 Figure 14. Male container from the Chin Family series. Designed by Alessi for the National Palace Museum, Taipei. 66-67 Figure 15. Female figure from the Chin Family series. Designed by Alessi for the National Palace Museum, Taipei. 66-67 Figure 16. Condiment set from the Chin Family series. Designed by Alessi for the National Palace Museum, Taipei. 66-67 Figure 17. Five participants in the “Workshop for cultural and creative development” conducted by the National Palace Museum, and selected for this research. 89 Figure 18. String-patterned celadon wine vessel, Song dynasty. © National Palace Museum, Taipei. (青瓷弦紋樽) 111-112 Figure 19. String Tea Set. Designed by JIA for the National Palace Museum, Taipei. (弦紋茶組) 111-112 Figure 20. Calligraphy for poem by Emperor Song Hui Zong, Song dynasty. © National Palace Museum, Taipei. (宋徽宗詩帖 卷) 111-112 vii page Figure 21. Calligraphy - Cutlery set. Designed by JIA for the National Palace Museum, Taipei. (書法系列 – 西式餐具組) 111-112 Figure 22. ‘Zhong Kui in the Wintery Forest’ by Wen Zheng-Ming, Ming dynasty. © National Palace Museum, Taipei. (寒林鍾馗) 112-113 Figure 23. Wintery Forest pins. Designed by Billy King Jewellery for the National Palace Museum, Taipei. (寒林胸針) 112-113 Figure 24. Porcelain vase with red plum blossom painting on coral red ground, Qing dynasty.