Alibaba Charity Museum

„Design for Love“ exhibition on U Design Week by Alibaba Philanthropy

Mission:

In April 2022, Alibaba Philanthropy commissioned a charity exhibition during the 2022 U Design Week. The mission of the exhibition is to raise public awareness of charity and to explore the connection between charity and design.

Welcome to Alibaba Charity Museum where innovative solutions happen: Designers utilize sustainable materials and creative thinking to address social and environmental challenges.

Idea:

The “Museum of Charity Design” exhibition aims to showcase the power of design to solve social problems and to inspire more people to get involved in charity work. By bringing together designers, charities, and the public, the exhibition creates a space for collaboration and innovation to find solutions for social and environmental issues.

Showcasing eco-friendly design solutions.

A large screen welcomes visitors with a sympathetic character.

Design is a means of solving problems. The core purpose of design is to provide a tool for addressing issues. Once a designer has a clear understanding of the underlying problem and its root cause, they can devise an appropriate solution by utilizing design methods and techniques. In this way, design serves as a conduit between the problem (why) and its resolution (what), by defining the approach and process for achieving the desired outcome (how).

Designers visit the Alibaba Charity Museum to explore the intersection of design and charity.

Boxes carry ideas, highlight potential solutions and are transport medium at the same time.

The use of these boxes also adds an extra layer of meaning to the exhibition, as they represent the connection between art logistics and charity and highlight the potential for creative solutions to social and environmental problems.

Reusing transport boxes to minimize waste.

Solution:

Design-wise, the exhibition focused on the logistics boxes that transport artworks for museums and art galleries, which usually end up in junkyards after transporting artwork for one time.

A charity exhibition to raise public awareness.

The logistics boxes, which are typically used to transport artworks for museums and art galleries, not only functioned as the exhibition itself but also served as containers for carrying ideas.

The team recovered a batch of boards from an art logistics company and reassembled them into wooden boxes, which not only served as the exhibition itself but also as containers that carry ideas. The boxes were transportable, minimizing the waste caused by the exhibition. The exhibition presented eco-friendly design solutions, emphasizing the breadth and educability of charity problems and solutions proposed by design.

the title of the exhibition was applied to the boxes on a large scale and by hand with stencil.

Content-wise, the exhibition is divided into three sections, each with a different theme related to charity and design. The first section, “Design makes a better nature”, focuses on the relationship between humans and the environment, and showcases projects that explore eco-friendly materials and sustainable development.

Due to the various arrangements, which follow a common thread, the exhibition is a successful overall concept.

Content was transported in different media, many as real objects

Recycled oyster shell stool.

Plants and natural materials in the exhibition design give expression to the sustainable concept.

The second section, “Design makes rural development sustainable”, features projects related to rural areas and agriculture, including the management of water resources, packaging design for agricultural products, and branding for local products. The third section, “Design makes a more imaginative children’s future”, focuses on projects related to children’s education and development, including educational toys, books, and other creative designs.

Each box functions as an individual content carrier and can be flexibly placed, the plexiglass fronts functioned as information surfaces of the textual contents.

Visitors leave the exhibition feeling inspired to use their design skills to contribute to social and environmental causes.

One of the most rewarding aspects of this project was the opportunity to collaborate with charities and other organizations working towards positive social and environmental change. By bringing these groups together, we were able to create a space for meaningful dialogue and action.

Haijie Hu Co-Founder VAVE Studio

The exhibition had not only an informative character but there were also workshops in which the designers were encouraged to participate. 

Designers that visited the exhibition created hand-painted packaging designs.

A giant yellow mascot is the sympathy carrier of the exhibition.

VAVE team worked tirelessly to find and showcase the most innovative and impactful eco-friendly designs for this exhibition.

Concept and Design
VAVE Studio

Client
Alibaba Philanthropy

Media Design & Production
InsPUMP

Content planning
Chufan He, Tianyu Li (San Chuan)

Construction
Kastone

Location and date
U Design Week 2022, Hangzhou, China

Photo & Video
Alibaba Philanthropy, Huiyong Huang

Size
400 sqm

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