China Design Conference Paid Off Big.

Thank you Bruce for your presentation as well, you really summed up the excitement of the conference for me. I wanted to ask as well, given the huge amount of activity and aggressive efforts of all parties to participate in transforming design in China, what do you think is the way that Western companies should engage going forward? From the conference it seems that we are approaching a level playing field for design in the next few years; how should the Western companies calibrate their approach?

It sounds obvious that Chineses are interested by design. It is the way the Japaneses have followed to take near 100% of the market shares in the photographic industry, in the motorbike industry and in the hifi-video one. The most interesting point is not industrial design by itself, but the economical model which uses aesthetical design and other factors to build a prosperous economy. Capitalism, socialism, communism are ideologies from the past.
The emerging system can be called: "Dynamism" in which the main element is the energy ressource.
I simply hope, it doesn't become an ideology!..
Best Regards to all,
Georges de Wailly

I attended the event as well and greatly enjoyed it. While considering the conferences events on the long journey home, I too was struck by the amazing amount of open discussion. Only in retrospect had I believed I would be met by my Chinese counter parts with reserve and distance. The exchange of ideas was exhilarating and profound. My preconceived notions of China were smashed and I was left with questions that I didn't even know existed. The people of China are grappling with the same problems we are only at a speed we can’t imagine. Consumerism is marching squarely through their culture at a pace that has never been experienced by any other country. We spoke about Design and Industry and a little about government, but at the end of the day we really spoke about the people of China and how they might adapt to designing, manufacturing and consuming a future that is being created as you read this posting.

Great reporting on the China Conference. Patrick Whitney and team are providing important insights into the China Design world.
By the way Pat is the director of The Institute of Design -IIT. and we are proud of his efforts.
Bob Blaich, ID Board of overseers