This is a great thread, for a few reasons:
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It has a high intellectual tone that I haven’t enjoyed on these boards in a while. Nice writing style David.
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Other than a couple low shots the conversation seems to be genuine.
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This is a fascinating topic that I’ve been observing first hand for the last 25 years. I’ve been involved in product development in China since 1996 and have watched Shenzhen grow from a fishing village into the workshop of the world. A very fast evolution with many growing pains.
I’ll throw out my opinion in an abridged post.
I’ve been waiting for the “essence” of China to be translated into product designs for a while. I’ve worked with a lot of Chinese designers over the years and I think there are a few key reasons you won’t see this happen in the near future:
a) Design education is weak - China is graduating an incredible number of designers from universities every year, but quantity does not equal quality. My observation is that graduates are being groomed for becoming Pro-E jockeys as versus free-thinkers. This is of course a generalization, but it’s based on what I see at the companies that I deal with in South China.
b) The majority of design job opportunities in China are with companies making products for export. A US corporation or local trading company comes to China with their style guide (or someone else’s “reference design”) and asks a factory to give them 10 designs to review. This process is restrictive for the design staff and breeds “knock-off thinking” instead of “design thinking”. If more Chinese companies opened their business models and began developing “open line” designs instead of only being involved with contract manufacturing then designers may have the opportunity to stretch their wings and fly. Recently I noticed that IKEA is opening a product development center in Shanghai to help their sourcing efforts. I’m not sure if this will include design or if it’s strictly project management. This could be an opportunity for Chinese designers to develop localized products for China. I’ve shopped at several IKEAs in China and their mix is different than in the US.
c) For a designer to “reach back” and utilize some of the ethereal cultural elements in their contemporary designs is a challenge on many different planes, the biggest being the fact they’re ethereal. It’s a real challenge to reference Taoism in design. I guess the best example of this type of principle is Muji. I can feel the minimalism of traditional Japanese values when I walk in the store and look at the shelves full of simply designed products. The materials, forms, colors, function and packaging all embodies their brand message. But it’s difficult for me to give another example!!
d) As China becomes more capitalistic and exposed to western culture through media and the internet the buying population seems to be less interested in “buying Chinese”. The huge market that exists in China wants to buy Levis or Apple or Nike. The high cost of genuine products forces the working class to buy knock offs - which are readily available in most supermarkets. This is a simple supply and demand relationship. I’m shocked by the number of Chinese ladies carrying Louis Vuitton handbags to the grocery store!! Obviously this trend is difficult to reverse without some government intervention. I’ve witnessed a crack-down on stores that sell bootleg DVDs, but that’s about it. There’s a new wave of Chinese-owned sporting good stores appearing in urban areas. They seem to provide their customers a “Nike-like experience”. They’re well merchandised and offer nicely designed goods. Hopefully they won’t become as saturated as the cell phone stores and kill each other!! The market may drive future demand for “Chinese inspired” design, but sometimes you need to ask yourself “if I build it will they come”?
I could go on-and-on with this topic. I’ve had this same conversation a hundred times over a few Tsingtaos in Shenzhen.
David - are you a practicing designer in China / US or an academic? I’d love to understand the background of your observations.