“Good Design for Good Business” – Managing director of Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Ljubljana

Under the title “Good Design for Good Business” the managing director of the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen, Vito Oražem, explained the great importance of design for internationally successful companies at the “Bio 21” (biennial of industrial design) in Ljubljana on 20 October 2008. His discussion focused above all on two essential questions: why does design have such great importance in globalised markets? And how can companies improve their business by investing in design?

Due to the globalisation of markets and the fact that anyone has access to the same products and services anywhere in the world, the offer for consumers is enormous and the competition between individual companies for the highest possible market share has become increasingly tougher. In this context the significance of good design also increases continually: while in the past the aim was to develop the best technical innovations, today companies have to focus on exclusive design in order to distinguish themselves from their immediate competitors and fulfil the needs of their respective target group. Therefore the demands on good design have constantly increased not only in the segment of high-priced products. In future, companies which aim to be lastingly successful in the market will have to be even more innovative and offer outstanding design in order to attract potential customers as well as retain them.

The lecture “Good Design for Good Business” was part of the European Union-funded ADMIRE Project (Award for Design Management Innovating and Reinforcing Enterprises), which also annually awards the “Design Management Europe Award”. 18 partners from 12 nations, among them the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen, collaborated in this project to strengthen successful design management and thus the innovative ability and competitiveness of European companies and organisations. To date, ADMIRE is the European Union’s largest funding programme for design.