The NY TDC (New York Type Directors Club) Typeface Design Competition is the world's first design competition primarily focused on typeface design and is one of the renowned international graphic design competitions. Associate Professor Gen-Zai Lee from the Department of Design at Taiwan Tech has been honored six times in the past with awards from the New York TDC annual competition. This year, he was invited to serve as a judge, marking the first time in the competition's 70-year history that a Taiwanese individual has been invited to take on this role. This invitation highlights the undeniable creativity and design prowess of Taiwanese designers globally, earning significant recognition and praise within the international community and industry.

Associate Professor Gen-Zai Lee is from the Department of Design at Taiwan Tech.

Regarding being the first Taiwanese judge in 70 years, Associate Professor Gen-Zai Lee expressed both joy and apprehension. He noted that the competition is divided into three categories: Type Design, Communications Design, and Lettering, with seven judges in each category. Each category includes one to two Asian designers among the judges. He believes his mission is to facilitate the understanding of different cultural and linguistic text designs and applications for judges from other language backgrounds worldwide and to reach a consensus among them.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the NY TDC New York Typeface Design Competition, attracting designers from over 60 countries/regions annually. Winning entries are not only exhibited worldwide but also featured in the highly esteemed TDC yearbook “The World's Best Typography”, admired by designers globally.

Associate Professor Gen-Zai Lee, whose award-winning design works have been recognized in numerous prestigious global design competitions, aims to bridge Taiwan with the international design industry. He has brought famous international competitions and exhibitions to Taiwan, such as hosting the New York Typeface Art Directors Club annual exhibition at Taiwan Tech for eight consecutive years, organizing the international Young Guns exhibition for designers under 30, and showcasing the UK's D&AD exhibition. Through these efforts, he introduces top-notch design concepts and works to Taiwan, inspiring local students' creativity and global perspectives.

Associate Professor Gen-Zai Lee has designed posters for the Hong Kong renowned theater group, "Zuni Icosahedron”, for the production “Dao Ke Dao, Fashion”. This design earned recognition at the 2022 New York Typeface Design Awards in the Visual Communication Design category, being selected as an outstanding typography design and one of the year's best typography designs.

In terms of teaching, Professor Gen-Zai Lee believes that "inspiration" is the most important teaching method. He avoids excessive intervention in students' creative ideas, stating, "Teaching methods are not formulas, not shaping students into a single appearance." The teacher's role is to guide students in discovering their own distinctiveness and style.

Gen-Zai Lee also advises students to approach various competitions with a neutral mindset. Although the sense of achievement is one reason students persist in their efforts, the purpose of participating in competitions is not solely to win awards. Rather, it is to observe the judges' assessments of designs through competitions. Whether winning or losing, both outcomes provide valuable learning opportunities. He emphasizes that students should find a sense of achievement through diverse means. "Awards are both candy and poison. The key to whether an award is a candy or poison actually lies with the participants themselves."

In recent years, there has been a growing trend of professionals in design-related industries returning to campus for continuing education. Gen-Zai Lee notes that besides cultivating students' professional skills, Taiwan Tech also emphasizes the development of students' potential. Industry internships during vacations allow students to gain a practical understanding of the industry, expand their perspectives, and ultimately find their own direction through interaction and exchange within the industry.

Gen-Zai Lee points out that design is a diverse discipline. Designers should extend their knowledge of their own culture and history to gain a broader understanding of the world. Additionally, in today's emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches, design also benefits from the incorporation of knowledge from various fields, allowing design to have more possibilities.

To celebrate the centenary of the Bauhaus design school, Associate Professor Gen-Zai Lee organized the "Manifesto and Practice: Bauhaus Centennial Design Workshop" and exhibition at Taiwan Tech. His visual design received the Silver Award for the 2020 DFA (Design for Asia) Awards, recognizing it as one of Asia's most influential designs.