50 years Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen

An institution celebrates its past and looks into the future

On October 1st 2004, the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen celebrated its 50th anniversary with a ceremony and some 150 invited guests in the new Philharmonic Concert Hall in Essen.

The Design Zentrum was founded in 1954 by the Krupp Corporation and the Federation of German Industries (BDI) as one of the first institutions of its kind in Essen. At the occasion of the jubilee, Professor Peter Zec, the head of the institution, set a clear course for the coming years: “The future of the Design Zentrum as well as the red dot design award competition lies in its international activities”, said Zec.

The philosopher and economist Professor Birger Priddat of Zeppelin University in Friedrichshafen made the complimentary speech, in which he explored the provocative question, why the Design Zentrum survived for 50 years against all probability. During the past decades, the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen had always adjusted to the changing circumstances. His conclusion was, that “an organisation remains what it is, if it changes. Nothing is more permanent than change.”

Peter Steinbrueck, prime minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, resumed the path of the Design Zentrum in his greeting: “The Essen institution has developed from the initial ‘Exhibition of elegant industrial products’ to an international communication and qualification centre. World cultural heritage and red dot – which one is more decorating for the other?” Wolfgang Reiniger, Lord Mayor of the town of Essen, also confirmed that the Design Zentrum has made a quantum leap in its development since its relocation.

In contrast, the head of the Design Zentrum is focusing more onto the future than the past: “In future, we will further increase our involvement abroad. We are more and more seeking out far-off shores.”

In fact, the Design Zentrum is already well on its way. The red dot design award is regarded as one of the largest and most renowned international design competitions. Zec himself is president elect of the world umbrella organisation of designers, “ICSID” (International Council of Societies of Industrial Design), and as an institution operating on an international scale the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen has its own representatives in the Asian economic area. In addition to that, there is a lively co-operation with other design promotion institutions in European Union projects. Therefore, the Design Zentrum received numerous congratulations from design personalities from all around the world.

Thus, the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen does not have to worry about the future even in economically bad times. Rather to the contrary, it is already working on expanding its activities. Zec stated: “A new design centre is currently developed by order and for account of the Belgium town of Genk. Furthermore, we have similar plans for Singapore and the USA.”

The chairman of the board of the Design Zentrum, Markus Ferstera, was proud of the work of the institution and the significance of the red dot design award competition, which is now held for the 50th time. “Products which have won our awards often set new, international standards“, said Ferstera.

The varied musical supporting programme of the evening, which included performances by the marimba phone player and winner of the “Jugend musiziert” competition, Johannes Witt, as well as the “Audio Tre” percussion ensemble from Amsterdam, was personally arranged by Michael Kaufmann, the director of the Philharmonic.

Jubilee book

The authors and journalists Claudia Wanninger and Frank A. Reinhardt used the occasion of the 50th anniversary as an opportunity to dive deeper into the history of the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen. Their research resulted in the book “Die rote Linie – Auf der Suche nach Spitzenleistungen im Design”(“The red line – searching for top achievements in design“), which has only recently been published by avedition. For insiders as well as for all those who are interested in what a design centre actually does, the book offers fascinating insights.

Find out more about the book on these pages.