“ DINZ CEO on the Seoul Foundation International Advisory Board for Seoul World Design Capital 2010”

In my capacity as CEO for the Designers Institute of New Zealand, I have recently returned from Seoul. I was there as part of an international advisory board to Seoul Foundation who are responsible for Seoul as the World Design Capital 2010.

Seoul is actively building awareness that it is a design focussed city. The vision is to promote Seoul to the world as a competitive city, create a more wealth driven economy through design, and demonstrate and integrate the benefits of design in the public sector evolving the cities culture.

As you move around the city you see this huge ambition is actually being realised...not bad considering they have a big job influencing a population of 10 million people. There is also a $98US million design centre, the Dongdaemun, being built designed by world famous female architect Zaha Hadid.

Seoul as a World Design Capital 2010 is the vision of the Mayor of Seoul, Mr Oh Se-hoon and is supported by the International Design Council of Societies for Industrial Design ICSID (of which the Designers Institute of New Zealand is a member).
We were invited to have lunch with this charismatic Mayor and heard first hand that that there was no lip service being paid. He is passionate about championing design.

Every two years ICSID, from submissions, selects a city to be a World Design Capital trying to promote the awareness of good design as an economic, social and cultural benefit to communities.

Korea has had enormous economic expansion over the last 20 or so years and largely through the government realising where the growth advantages were. The Korean government has encouraged and valued multinational companies such as Samsung, IG and KIA who use design led innovation.

We, on the visiting advisory board, had the privilege to tour Samsung and meet Senior Vice President Yoon, Geehong. Samsung employs 700 designers...phenomenal scale of commitment compared to NZ manufacturers where only a handful of companies may at most have 10 to 20 designers in a studio.
Listening to Mr Yoon it was clear that Samsung understands the power of the design message.

Our New Zealand companies have yet to break the pattern of the traditional cycle and understand what could add value to make companies a differentiated and profit rendering business. If a multinational company like Samsung has understood the power of the design then it is time New Zealand companies did – New Zealand companies are smaller in scale, less cumbersome and can be nimble on their our feet to take a leadership role in innovation - yet New Zealand companies still don’t get it. Are they not watching the world leap ahead and asking why? Sustainable design has global potential!

Now this leads onto another ramble within my trip to Seoul – why can’t Auckland also become a world design city at some point in the future.
What a way to get behind a cities growth.
What an opportunity for any potential Super City Mayor to show leadership.
What an opportunity for Government to promote New Zealand to the world as a design destination.

Such a forward reaching project would require collaboration with not only central and local Government and but with all organisations with a vested interest...organisations like the Designers Institute of New Zealand for one, the architects and the professional engineering organisations, artists and all kinds of entrepreneurial types... and of course visionary businesses who would make huge gains through tourism and global markets opening up to them.

New Zealand already has a growing international reputation for great design and innovation. Our Government should be hearing that message and supporting New Zealand SME's to become more design led...there are many other countries where their government has seen this amazingly obvious opportunity and reaped the rewards through increased exports and tourism.

By the government joining forces, no matter the ‘project’,   we would be able to advance design understanding, and champion ‘thought leadership’.
This ultimately creates the right environment for us all to pursue design excellence and create profile and profitability for our country.

Meaty words....but a vision we as a design community, a city and a nation can live up to...

Cathy Veninga FDINZ
Cheif Executive Officer

International Avisory Committee

Marc Newson - President of Marc Newson Ltd   Australia
Helena Hyvonen - Rector of University of Art & Design    Helsinki
Paola Antonelli - Senior Curator of MoMA Design   USA
Michael Thomson - Director of Design Connect   UK
Mark Breitenberg - Provost California College of Arts    USA
Giuliano Molineri - Superintndent of the WDC Torino 2008   Italy
Kazuo Tanaka - President of GK Design Group   Japan
Milton Tan - Fellow & Executive Director of Design Singapore Council   Singapore
Shashi Caan - President of Shashi Caan Collective     USA
Adrienne Viljoen - Manager of SABS Design Institute    South Africa
Enrique Avogadro - General Director of Creative Industries & Foreign Trade   Argentina
Cathy Veninga - CEO of Designers Institute of NZ   New Zealand
Joice Joppert - President of Associacao Objeto Brasil     Brazil
Cai Jun - Department Head of Industrial Design, Beijing Tsinghua University   China

Posted on: October 6, 2009