THEY'RE HEIRS TO Taiwan's most famous political family. They're blessed with wealth and movie-star looks. But what Demos Chiang Yiu-po and Edward Chiang Yiu-chun want is to build a heavyweight design house.
The brothers head the design and consulting firm DEM. Better known in Taiwan under its Chinese name which roughly translates as Orange Design, the firm handles projects ranging from architectural interiors to industrial design. Although it's just 21/2 years old, DEM already counts among its clients such leading firms as Levi Strauss, Ford, Motorola and Swatch. Its own-brand watches, with high-end and budget versions, proved wildly popular when released earlier this year.
The products' marketability reflects Demos' design ethos.
'A good design is a design that will sell,' he says.
Dressed in his usual T-shirt and baggy hip-hop pants, Demos looks like a laid-back hipster. But the 29-year-old is clearly a savvy and driven entrepreneur. 'I'm not in this business to flaunt highbrow, overly priced products that the average consumer can't afford,' he says. 'Some designers indulge in their own ideals of what a design should be and don't care about the functionality. I care and want to meet the needs of my clients.'
That doesn't mean the results are unimaginative, Demos says. Quite the opposite. The emphasis of the firm is on dynamic, edgy design, drawing on such talents as British designer Michael Young.