Seoul Design Center and Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen Envisage Close Cooperation

On the occasion of the Seoul Design Week 2007, the Seoul Design Center and the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen announced a close cooperation to promote the exchange between Korean and German designers and design-oriented companies. The first common project has been the “Korean-German Cooperation Forum on Design 2007“. Other events will be a joint design conference, taking place in June 2008 in the red dot design museum in Essen, as well as a particular exchange programme for designers of both countries in the years to come. The city of Seoul views this cooperation as another important step towards further strengthening the creative energies of its design industry, in order to be worthy of its newly awarded title of 'World Design Capital 2010’. The integration of design in the economic development of the city has thereby become one of the primary concerns of the city's mayor, Oh Se-hoon. In order to discuss this vision of Seoul as an international city of design, the city organised the Seoul Design Conference 2007, which took place on the 20th December.

Seoul Design Conference 2007 - Professor Dr. Zec as Design Expert in Seoul

Renowned international design experts, including Professor Dr. Zec, the initiator of the red dot design award and Icsid Senator were invited, together with the three most important design organisations: the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid), the International Council of Graphic Design Association (Icograda) and the International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers (IFI), under the motto, "Design, a new engine that creates Seoul“, to debate the role of design as driving force for Seoul's sustainable development.

Design and economics expert Professor Dr. Zec, who belongs to the founders of the World Design Capital project, held the conference keynote speech. In his address, which was titled, "Designing the Urban Age“, Zec illustrated the extent to which design can help improve the quality of life in the cities of the 21st century. With his thesis, "Quality is not a thing but an event “, he advocated concentrating on the four qualities of urban architecture and public design. Alongside the quality of "use“, according to Zec's thesis, the qualities of "function“,  "seduction“ and "responsibility“ play a decisive role in the economic growth and social development of a city. The four qualities mentioned are just as critical to the quality of life and economic success of residents and tourists as for companies and organisations. Political decision makers must therefore attempt to strike a balance in the future between the so-called "4 Qs“.

Zec is certain that, "Against the background of continuing globalisation, the quality of life in a city will play a key role in the minds of its citizens and business as well as those of the city leaders and urban decision makers. Thereby, the World Design Capital project, which Zec co-founded, is intended to encourage the use of design, in order to advance the social, economic and cultural development of global cities.

The new challenge facing cities is to differentiate themselves from one another, in that they develop an authentic and identity-giving urban environment and use design in order to convey the special quality of life the city provides. Zec summarised, "Never before has it been so exciting to see how product culture and lifestyle of the urban era influence one another. Design has become the driving force and message conveying the quality of life in this urban age."