Professor Dr. Peter Zec on the design awareness of Asian companies

Asia’s economy is booming – in 2010 the economic output of the Asian continent (excluding Japan) will increase by 7.3 per cent according to estimates of the IWF. Thus a large part of the overall global economic growth will again take place in Asia this year. In its third special issue, md magazine, the internationally leading magazine for furniture and interior design, focuses on some of the Asian countries that have worked their way up to important rankings in our global economy with regards to industrial and interior design and comments on the relationship between Europe and Asia. In an interview with md, design and Asia expert Professor Dr. Peter Zec talked about the design awareness of Asian companies.

Professor Zec, you have introduced the concept of the design centre successfully to Asia. What inspired you to extend and apply activities originally planned for use in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) or Germany as a whole even in this modified form to the Asian cultural scene?
We have always thought and worked within an international context. The jury for our competition consists for the most part of international design experts, and in recent years the number of jurors from Asia has risen sharply. As long ago as 1992 we were invited to stage a red dot design award exhibition in Singapore. Since then we have steadily built up and intensified our contacts in the Asian economic zone. Our Asian commitment was promoted initially by the NRW Economics Minister, and our task was to publicise that State of Federal Germany as a design location. If we recall that more than 10,000 people from Asia alone visit the red dot design museum in Essen, it seems fair to say that we have not been entirely unsuccessful.

Was and is it your aim to inform Asian companies about the considerable commercial opportunities that lie in the intelligent applica tion of design? By this we not only mean opportunities for their products in their own countries but also on world markets.
Many Asian companies want to improve the quality of their products and achieve European or more specifically German standards. Design is playing an increasingly important role in this. Admittedly, it is very frustrating for many Asians to be obliged to comply with western standards be fore they can be internationally successful. For this reason, they regularly plead for a symbiosis of western design with Asian tradition, but this approach has not so far shown any signs of success, particularly where technical prod ucts are concerned. There is clearly no point in applying traditional Asiatic patterns to our refrigerators or washing machines. The leading Asian companies are well aware of this; they have learned from their competitors in Europe and the USA.

Are you also interested in being able to show us in Germany and/ or in Europe products from Asia made to comparable or even higher design standards, and demonstrating to European manufacturers how seriously competition from products of Asian origin has to be taken?
Yes, this is indeed one of our objectives. Asian culture is just as manysided as ours in Europe, with major differences there too in the various countries’ level of development and performance. Japan’s position in Asia can be compared with Germany’s in Europe. Both are leading industrial nations with global product presence. In addition to these products’ technical features, design probably plays the biggest part in their international success. Japanese design is highly rated in Asia. The Koreans could perhaps be regarded as occupying the same position in Asia as the Italians in Europe. Their design work shows evidence of much greater readiness to experiment. The Taiwanese are strongly influenced by the USA, but the quality of German design is being adopted increasingly there as a model, so that products from Taiwan now represent increasingly severe competition for manufacturers from other parts of the world. China, last but not least, is difficult for us to comprehend since for us it represents an entirely new size dimension and is a country with many contradictions we have trouble in understanding. On the one hand we complain about the product piracy practised by many Chinese companies, but on the other hand an increasing number of them are capable of applying international design standards. Before long, Chinese companies will be challenging Western competitors in the design area. Our task is to make people and companies here aware of the challenge that awaits us in Asia in this area too.

Do you support the view that the activities of design centres here and in Asia are speeding up the process of design internationalisation, since it is everyone’s aim to succeed on all market with every possible product?
I believe that we overestimate the work of the design centres in this respect. In Germany, the “iF” activities and our own projects represent genuine exceptions. What is accelerating design internationalisation is not the work of the design centres but the particular significance that our design competitions have acquired internationally. We have succeeded in making two design competitions easily the most important in the world – an unparalleled situation that is much admired in Asia. A short time ago the Chinese introduced the Red Star Design Award, a competition with the explicit aim of becoming in due course as successful internationally as the red dot design award. This flatters us, but also means that we must be aware of the situation that could arise in the future.

Could the opposite possibly happen, and direct comparisons reveal distinctions that result in a positive competition climate?
Vilim Vasata, the former chief executive of BBDO, once said: There can be no quality without assessment on equal terms.” This is precisely what companies expect from international competitions. Direct comparison is essential in order to establish one’s position and one’s rating. This is why companies enter for our competition. With over 12,000 entries from more than 60 countries, the red dot design award is the largest competition of its kind today, and an instrument with which we promote a situation of international competition in design.

In your experience, how do Asian companies see themselves? Do they respect European products and manufacturers or are they convinced that they are in fact better? Does a prestigious design award not in fact strengthen this positive view of themselves?
As I have already mentioned, many Asian manufacturers have difficulty in matching Western design standards. But they also know that so far there has been no alternative. This is why they are so interested in obtaining awards in reputable design competitions. All in all, one can say that most Asian businesses admire the leading companies from the Western world – and are therefore all the more gratified when their products are successful on the market against them.

What do you think is the reason for the increased number of good, and therefore award-winning, products from Asia?
A forward-looking mood is present everywhere in Asia. Education is one of the most highly valued assets, and one on which large sums of money are spent. For many young Asians, to study design is right at the top of their wish list. Those who are fortunate in this respect are therefore highly motivated. The same applies to company managers. They are prepared to learn and to work hard for their success. This is also one of the reasons why Asian products are doing increasingly well in international competitions.

What role do design awards from Germany play for Asian companies, designers and consumers?
Products from German companies still stand for top quality in all Asian countries. We can be proud of this – we have succeeded in becoming a model that Asia strives to equal. This is one of the reasons why success in a German design competition is always a special achievement. Although we promote ours as an international competition, we are perceived in Asia in particular as a German design competition of major international significance. In view of this, red dot awards are given very strong publicity in Asia. More and more companies draw attention to their award on TV and in the daily newspapers.

How do you expect knowledge transfer in the design and product development areas between Europe and Asia to look in a few years’ time?
If we are fortunate we shall be able to maintain our function as a model for Asian companies, and continue to sell a large volume of advisory services from Europe. More and more designers and design studios will open offices in Asia. On the other hand, an increasing number of Asian companies will relocate part of their design departments to Europe in order to absorb impulses and suggestions from here. For us, as design promoters, this means giving our activities an even more international slant. We have been operating a red dot design museum in Singapore since 2005, and will be opening further museums or design institutes at various points in Asia. We have already received a number of offers in this connection. In short, we look forward to an exciting future, with the aim of participating at least to some small extent in the growth potential of the Asian economic zone.

The interview was conducted by Ulrich Büttner.

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