On The Commercial Press And Modern Design Education

Originated after the Opium War, modern design education in China emerged when mechanized production took the place of traditional handicraft production, and traditional Chinese culture met an influx of modern Western culture. This means that modern design education has shouldered missions of developing industry and bridging Eastern and Western culture. From the Westernization Movement to the foundation of the Republic of China, design education experienced a top-down change:more folk-sponsored schools replaced governmental schools, all kinds of education institutions of design sprang up one after another, and the setup of degrees and courses were improved in accordance with practical needs.Using the Commercial Press (CP), the most influential folk-run cultural institution as a breakthrough point, this article analyzes how it has started and developed design education and affected China’s modern design education. The birth of design education for CP had real urgent commercial needs then, when people started to think in new ways, and in the meanwhile, design education had just emerged. And CP was one of the earliest folk-run design institutions in late Qing Dynasty and the early years of the Republic of China. Seen from its history and organizational structure, its printing house practice and industrialized operation concept has driven CP to pay special attention to the renovation and development of printing technique, together with CP’s brand consciousness, talent strategy, as well as leader team’s ambition for education, all led to its emphasis on design education. Equal stress on printing technique and construction on design related institutions has laid hardware foundation for CP to launch its design education. In terms of CP’s in-house design education, besides the three key aspects of basic drawing skills, design technique, and commercial practicality, CP had invented its own professional training system, which has become a successful model for modern design education. In talking about its external design education, aside from promoting art education for the mass, children, and in vocational schools, CP has also taken advantage of its social influence and resources to participate in exhibitions on art, design, and art education, as well as to promote activities of design associations, so as to advance the modern vocational education of design in all aspects. Last by not least, from the perspective of "human", this article presents a list of design talents in publishing, education, and art design, who have made significant contributions to modern design education. Through their stories with CP and the influence on their later career paths, this paper tries to make a point of the fruits of CP’s design education and its widespread influences.Following its established objective of "commit to education" and unique training method, CP has made its best effort to cultivate in-house design talents, to popularize aesthetic education to the people, and to promote professional design education. The contribution it has made to advance modern design education is not to be neglected.