曾四度入圍葛萊美唱片包裝設計獎的蕭青陽表示，臺灣許多年輕人做的視覺設計，無論是編排或是用色上，都被日本或歐洲殖民了，學習他人的長處是件好事，但若一昧地模仿，就會失去自己文化的根源，而文化根源是做國際交流時最能展現民族自信的要素。
Qing-Yang Xiao, a four-time Grammy nominee for Best Record Packaging, believes that many young Taiwanese graphic designers are colonized by Japanese and Western aesthetics. While it is good to learn from what others excel at, thoughtless imitation will cause designers to lose their cultural roots, which are crucial for expressing national confidence in international exchange.
美國重量級音樂類獎項「格萊美THE GRAMMY」
入行超過30年、做過上千張唱片設計的蕭青陽，堪稱華語唱片設計界的第一把交椅，也是唯一四度入圍葛萊美唱片包裝設計獎的亞洲設計師。蕭青陽將每次的設計都視為一件「作品」，而非一次消費性的「產品」，且致力於將文化元素注入作品中，因為擁有許多國際交流經驗的他深深覺得，唯有拿出自己文化上的特色，才能展現民族自信心，也才能更受國際人士重視。
Xiao, who has been in the design industry for over three decades and has designed over a thousand record covers, is the most sought-after designer in the business. He is also the only Asian designer to be nominated four times for the Grammy Award for Best Record Packaging. Xiao does not regard his design as a consumer product; he sees each design as a piece of artwork. Xiao also strives to infuse his works with cultural elements. As a designer who is seasoned in international exchange, he believes that only by bringing one’s cultural characteristics to the table will one be able to express their national confidence. This will also ensure the designer would be valued by international professionals.
蕭青陽作品《飄浮手風琴》
2005年入圍美國葛萊美獎最佳唱片包裝設計獎
成為第一位入圍此獎項的亞洲唱片設計師，也是臺灣第一位葛萊美獎入圍者
蕭青陽以榮獲第50屆葛萊美獎唱片包裝設計提名的電音歌仔戲專輯《我身騎白馬》為例，原本這只是一件專輯的包裝設計，但5年後，這款極具中國戲曲風味的圖騰被放大兩百倍躍上桃園機場第一航廈A9候機室主題牆，讓往來的國內外旅客皆可欣賞，7年後，又被德國知名品牌Rimowa相中買下版權，明年將推出全球限量款行李箱。蕭青陽說：「這件作品從原本的專輯包裝設計，延伸為機場裝置及全球性的商品，證明了如果作品裡頭有文化意涵，影響力其實是無遠弗屆的。」
Xiao took the example of his design for the electronic Taiwanese opera record, White Horse (which earned him a nomination for Best Record Packaging at the 50th Grammy Awards), and said that, initially, it was just a packaging design. Yet five years later, the image on the packaging was magnified 200 times and mounted on the wall of the A9 waiting room in Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport – Terminal 1 where it could be seen by local and international passengers as they passed by. Seven years later, the copyrights for the image were purchased by Rimowa, a well-known German luggage manufacturer, who will be launching a limited edition luggage line that features the image in 2016. 「The image on White Horse expanded from a record cover to an installation in an airport to a global product. This proves that a work that contains cultural significance will have unlimited influence,」 Xiao states.
蕭青陽作品《我身騎白馬》
2007年入圍美國葛萊美獎最佳唱片包裝設計獎
該作品同時被德國知名品牌Rimowa相中買下版權
至於為何會被Rimowa相中？蕭青陽表示，葛萊美提名的加持當然是原因之一，但更關鍵的因素應該是這款設計代表了華人文化的血統，「我相信他們找我合作，絕不會要我做出一個很「德國式」的設計，現在很多臺灣年輕人追求洋化，很多設計看起來很德國，但站在德國人的角度，他們反而覺得：你不是臺灣人嗎？我比較想欣賞你是什麼樣子？這是一個觀點問題，我相信他們看《我身騎白馬》，就能充分感受到這是一個來自華人文化的作品，這是德國人做不出來的。」
Xiao believes that the image was chosen by Rimowa for various reasons, the most obvious being its Grammy nomination. However, the key reason may be because this design represents the heritage of huarenculture. 「I believe that they collaborated with me not to ask me to create German-style design,」 Xiao explains. 「Nowadays, a lot of Taiwanese youngsters pursue Western aesthetics and their designs seem very German. Germans themselves can’t help but wonder, 』Aren’t you Taiwanese? I』d rather appreciate all that your culture has to offer.』 This is a question of perspectives. I’m confident that when foreigners see the image on White Horse, they can fully appreciate that it’s a work created by a huaren, and understand that it couldn’t have been created by a German.」
蕭青陽作品《甜蜜的負荷—吳晟詩誦與詩歌》
2008年入圍美國格萊美套裝產品設計獎
蕭青陽第四度獲得葛萊美獎唱片包裝設計提名的作品《故事島》，同樣注入文化元素，他運用中國傳統的剪紙藝術，融合現代鐳射切割技術，「剪」出11幅臺灣在地的故事，圖案包括八八風災、檳榔樹、臺灣黑熊等。蕭青陽說：「我喜歡傳承古老的文化，但古老的文化應該和新科技結合，剪紙只能是單一的作品，但有了鐳射科技，就可大量製造，《故事島》就是這樣的典範。」畫面上，他採用臺灣在地的故事和獨特的地景文化，「這很像以前中國的農民畫，農民休息時，會把當天發生的事情用剪紙、彩色顏料記錄下來，把生活的瑣事變成作品，跟看到的人分享。」《故事島》不僅獲葛萊美獎提名，還獲德國紅點以及華語音樂傳媒大獎等四個國際獎項，蕭青陽還將《故事島》的紙雕概念運用到普悠瑪彩繪列車上，並透露明年會有更大型的合作案，原本僅是唱片的包裝設計，再度因文化元素而延續了作品生命。
Xiao’s packaging design for the record Story Island earned him his fourth nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Record Packaging. As with the White Horse packaging, he again infused this work with cultural elements. Using traditional Chinese paper cutting aesthetics rendered using modern laser cutting techniques, he was able to represent 11 uniquely Taiwanese stories including the aftermath of a great flood, betel nut trees, and Formosan black bears. Xiao said, 「I wish to continue our ancient culture. However, such continuation should be done in combination with modern technology. Traditional paper cutting can produce only one piece of work at a time. With the aid of laser cutting, these works can be mass produced. The packaging of Story Island is a model of this combination.」 Regarding the composition of these images, Xiao said he drew inspiration from local Taiwanese stories and Taiwan’s unique landscapes and traditions. 「In ancient times, Chinese farmers would record a day’s work with paper cutting and pigments. They would transform a day’s mundane chores into work that can be shared with others.」 Not only was Story Island nominated for a Grammy Award, it also garnered four other renowned awards such as the German Red Dot Award and the Chinese Music Media Award. Xiao has applied his paper cutting concept in paint to the Puyuma Express, which is one of newest trains in the Taiwan Railway Administration’s fleet, and, without revealing details, hinted at an even bigger collaboration in 2016. This design, which was initially just used for record packaging, has taken on multiple lives due to its rich cultural elements.
蕭青陽作品《故事島》
2009年入圍美國格萊美最佳專輯包裝獎
蕭青陽表示，文化是存在每個人的血液裡的，平常不會察覺，但往往去到另一個國家時，文化的議題就會浮現。「老外會覺得我拿筷子、吃米飯很特別，因為飲食文化是我們一大特色，就像爵士樂源自於美國黑人文化、義大利人用義大利面、披薩行銷全世界，這都是他們引以為傲的，同樣地，設計若要國際人士分享，就非得把自身的文化拿出來不可。」蕭青陽鼓勵設計師們擺脫被殖民的心態，不要再一昧地模仿歐洲、日本的設計風格，不要再老是用英文字、不敢用漢字，應當去挖掘華人文化的寶藏，靈活地運用在設計上，如此才能建立屬於自己的文化特色，才能更受到尊重。
Xiao believes that culture flows in our blood. We might not be conscious of it on a daily basis, but when we travel to a foreign country, cultural identities emerge. 「Foreigners find it special that I use chopsticks and eat rice because our food culture is unique to us. Jazz originated from African American culture and Italians are famed for pasta and pizza. People are always proud of their culture. Similarly, if we want to share our design internationally, we must find ways to assert our own culture,」 he says. Xiao encourages designers to free themselves from aesthetic colonization and cease to thoughtlessly imitate European and Japanese design. He urges designers to stop using English letters and start using Chinese characters. Designers should explore the treasure trove of huaren culture and cleverly apply what they find to their designs. Only in so doing will designers be able to establish their cultural characteristics and earn the respect of others.
蕭青陽小檔案
蕭青陽是華語唱片包裝設計界的第一把交椅，合作過的歌手包括江蕙、周杰倫、五月天、宋祖英、王菲等，他也是首位入圍葛萊美唱片包裝設計獎的亞洲設計師，至今共提名過四次，分別是2005年的《飄浮手風琴》、2008年的《我身騎白馬》、2009年的《甜蜜的負荷》以及2011年的《故事島》，在華人設計師中創下紀錄。自18歲在上格唱片擔任美工，到後來成立工作室，蕭青陽入行已超過30年，做過的唱片包裝設計超過1000張，獲獎無數，包括兩屆金曲獎、四屆華語音樂傳媒大獎、三屆美國獨立音樂獎、德國紅點設計大獎、美國芝加哥GOOD DESIGN設計大獎等。除了唱片包裝設計外，也從事商品設計、書籍設計、裝置藝術、展覽及跨界合作，堪稱全方位的設計大師。
About Qing-Yang Xiao
Xiao Qing Yang is the most sought-after designer in the Greater China region’s record packaging industry, and he has worked with numerous renowned music artists including Chiang Hwei, Jay Chou, Mayday, Song Zuying, and Faye Wong. He is also holds the honor of being the first Asian designer to be nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Record Packaging. A total of four of his works were nominated for this award: The Wandering Accordion in 2005, White Horse in 2008, Poems and Songs in 2009, and Story Island in 2011. At the age of 18, he began to work as a graphic designer at What’s Music and later founded his own studio. He has been a part of the industry for over thirty years and has created over a thousand record packaging designs. He has won numerous awards, including two Golden Melody Awards, four Chinese Music Media Awards, three Independent Music Awards, a Red Dot Award, and the Good Design Award of Chicago, USA. Apart from record packaging design, Xiao is also a product and book designer, and an installation artist–he regularly participates in exhibitions and interdisciplinary collaborations.