Design expert Professor Dr. Peter Zec speaks at the 2006 China International Industrial Design Summit

At the 2006 China International Industrial Design Summit, which was held in Wuxi in eastern China between 6 and 8 November, famous international design experts from all over the world – including Professor Dr. Peter Zec, president of ICSID (International Council of Societies of Industrial Design) and founder of the red dot design award – were invited to speak on topics such as design, economy and design promotion.

Design promotion is a topic particularly close to design and economy expert Professor Dr. Zec’s heart, not least in view of the fact that he is head of Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen, which has been involved in promoting international design for some 50 years. He addressed the summit on the subject of “Promoting design at national and international level”, in which he discussed the challenges of advancing design in the current climate of globalisation.

In his lecture, Professor Dr. Zec said that one of the goals of design promotion should always be to increase the international competitiveness of national products and companies. One way to achieve this would be to ensure design agencies and companies were informed about new technologies etc.; another way would be to give them the chance to have their products assessed by an independent, international panel. “The red dot design award is an unmissable opportunity to have one’s work assessed alongside and compared with other people’s creations from all over the world. The panel judging the red dot design award is made up of design luminaries from all over the world, so as to minimise bias in favour of any one culture or society. The red dot panel members guarantee objectivity and fairness. A red dot award signifies an outstanding design achievement, and the red dot label is a great way to communicate this,” Zec added. 

Today, design can be promoted through trade fair presentations, conferences, seminars, workshops, product presentations and management consultancy. “It is nevertheless necessary to distinguish between the different levels of applicability. This is because there are significant differences in the stages of development of individual regions and countries. It is first important to create an awareness of the significance of design among the relevant local people and organisations. The next step is to build design into the sociocultural and economic development work,” Zec continued. Depending on the national requirements, institutional design promotion can take place either via a non-profit-making organisation with state support or an independent, profit-oriented company.

The 2006 China International Industrial Design Summit was organised in the context of the 2006 China Industrial Design Week and China Wuxi International Industrial Design Expo (5-9 November). The Chinese design competition China Red Star Design Award was also judged during this week, with Professor Dr. Zec once again on the international expert panel.