red dot exhibition in China inspires international audience

red dot presented the worldwide best design achievements in an exclusive exhibition at one of the currently most dynamic business locations from 24 October to 1 November 2009. At the “Beijing Design Week”, which this year was held for the first time parallel to the Icograda World Design Congress in Beijing, red dot presented a “best of selection” of award-winning products and works from all three competition disciplines, the red dot award: product design, the red dot award: communication design, and the red dot award: design concept. The exhibition at the Beijing World Art Museum, which is located in the China Millennium Monument and one of the most spectacular and important exhibition and event venues in China, was a complete success: numerous inspired visitors informed themselves about the top achievements and trends in the international design industry. 

At the opening of the “Beijing Design Week” Professor Dr. Peter Zec, design expert and initiator of the red dot design award, gave a lecture on the topic “Return on Ideas. Better by Design”, in which he emphasised the significance of design as a driver for economic growth. The studies of the red dot institute for advanced design studies, which are based on the results of the red dot design award, impressively show that design creates value in the long term and that it pays off to invest in design – particularly in times of economic uncertainty. “The fact that the winning products and works of the red dot award have been used to represent international design standards at the Icograda World Design Congress in China and have thus become role models for design work all around the world once again confirms the quality of our design competition,” says Zec.

Since the 1990s, red dot has successfully pursued the goal of continually developing and intensifying contacts with the Asian region. A variety of red dot projects such as the special exhibition “red dot meets creative asia” in Shenzhen and the contract signed a the beginning of the year between red dot and the Beijing Industrial Centre (BIDC) are part of the strategy to advance design promotion as an economic success factor in China and to promote communication between international, designoriented companies and the Chinese industry. The Beijing Industrial Design Centre as well as the China Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) and the Beijing Gehua Cultural Development Group were co-organisers of the Icograda World Design Congress and the simultaneously held “Beijing Design Week”.