WirtschaftsWoche: Prof. Dr. Peter Zec Is One of the 25 Most Creative Brains in Industry

“Who are the most creative brains in industry?” The German business magazine “WirtschaftsWoche” asked itself this question and chanced a selection. The editorial office selected 25 “pioneers of change”, among others Professor Dr. Peter Zec, initiator of the red dot design award and President of the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design, Icsid.

Creativity and innovation number among the most important prerequisites of economic success. Unconventional thinkers and visionaries bring about successful changes in enterprises, create new markets and make the impossible possible. This requires a lot of courage and intellectual flexibility: to think in new directions, not to conform to the general opinion but have ideas which others would denominate as “crazy” – this is what makes up creative people.

Professor Dr. Peter Zec is one of them. The WirtschaftsWoche elected him one of the “20 creative unconventional thinkers changing the appearance of their companies and creating completely new markets”. Both criteria apply to the initiator of the internationally renowned red dot design award.

Zec is disputatious; his ideas are exceptional, unconventional and new. He has the heart to take risks and does not shrink from leaving well-worn paths and taking new ways to put these ideas into action. The inspiring speaker is able to carry his audience away and passionately commits himself to establish design as growth incentive not only in Germany but worldwide. His success proves him to be right.

Zec studied media science, psychology and fine arts, and since 1991 he has been the head of the internationally renowned Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen. During these years he has acquired profound knowledge of design history and the economic relevance of design; he has published books and compendia about the subject of design; he has accepted invitations to lecture all over the world. Zec gains the recognition of the design world as a passionate and competent advocate of design. Due to the many international activities of the German design promotion institution little by little a compact network develops consisting of designers, design experts, companies in sectors relevant to design and design lobbyists; it forms the basis of his activities as design promoter.

In 1993 he accepts a professorship for economic communication at the University of Applied Science for Technology and Economics in Berlin. Since May 2001 he is managing partner of the red dot GmbH & Co. KG. On grounds of the success of the red dot design award which he initiated and which meanwhile counts among the most successful design competitions of the world, Zec is of the opinion that design may contribute to a significant appreciation and greater success on the international market if it is included as a relevant basis into corporate strategy. It turns out that he has hit the mark to which not least successful companies such as Apple, Nokia, Adidas or LG bear testimony.

Zec finds welcome imitators: After the red dot design award has established as one of the biggest design awards in the past years also in the Asian countries Zec together with Ken Koo, present manager of red dot Singapore, succeeds to call into being the red dot award: design concept. For the second time the winners of design concepts which are characterised by a particularly great creative and innovative potential and high design quality will be honoured during the ceremonious award show in November.

The International Council of Societies of Industrial Design, Icsid, also finds Zec’s qualities and ideas convincing. Thus, in autumn 2005 he is elected president of the Icsid. During all the years of his career he has preserved an impartial sight on the world of design; and he considers design to be a complex phenomenon: “Beside the economic aspects design also has important socio-cultural aspects which should be promoted to a greater extent. Design education is a significant part of it. Particularly in the newly industrialising countries in design education emphasis is mainly put on knowledge transfer and the adaptation of already existing ideas and forms of design. It must be the objective, however, to cultivate creative, independent-thinking and courageous young designers who are able to find innovative design solutions for their own culture area thus improving the quality of life in their countries”. This is what Zec claimed in his inaugural address of his presidency. 

At the beginning of October the board of directors of both the world design umbrella associations Icsid (council of industrial designers) and Icograda (council of graphic designers) announced the nomination of Professor Dr. Peter Zec as new president of the corporate international design alliance, IDA. In the future Zec thus is in charge of the highest office of the designer community. Who is now going to think that it stops here may well believe that Zec is definitely working on his next creative idea.