in content lists or on the content page.
The world is becoming flat (& hot & hungry), as famously suggested by Tom Friedman. His central theme is that production of goods and certain services will be redistributed globally, e.g. a soft-ware provider in India can and does compete effectively with its western competitor. In this sense the world is now flat. When these new actors add Design – their own, not a copy of western design – we will see a Paradigm Shift.
The same people, who earlier brought us fire-works, gunpowder, silk, chess and compasses, will not only supply physical goods and services, but also complement our western notions of emotional content and thereby participate in design driven innovation.
Human centric thinking, of which Design is the most direct expression, is bound to become heavily influenced by the 2/3 of humankind now usefully entering “our western” world. The rich cultures of, say, China and India, will inspire important innovations. It is perhaps an unfair comparison, but look at two simultaneous and important financial innovations: loan securitization and micro-loans. Micro-loans are certainly based on human-centric thinking, and they work. Where did micro-loans evolve?
During the whole era of modern industrial design, the west dominated technical innovation, was the growth engine, and had the political power. All latter eras of technology innovations happened during this, essentially North Atlantic, dominance. And so did industrial design come to be totally dominated by the industrialized world.
We are presently at the mid-point of the ITC -era, and we see emerging market actors influencing the latter parts of ITC -development; the maturing of the technology and the deepening of its socio-economic impact. (For an understanding of this development phase, compare with the electrical motor or the combustion engine, drivers of earlier technology eras.)
The emerging markets are now the high-growth areas in the world economy. They will take their rightful place in its development. Their design is still heavily influenced by western thinking, but their designers will contribute their own rich heritage to the development of design. This, alone, will open new opportunities for design led innovation. Enough said on this topic!
Sitra and the Tapio Wirkkala-Rut Bryk Foundation organises Helsinki Design Lab 08 on June 23.-25. to discuss, network and find new ideas to take home. We have an outstanding group of design -thinkers here, and we hope networking will be stimulating and fruitful, not only during, but afterwards as well. We will do our best to stay in touch after the initial days here in Finland. We wish you welcome to a successful meeting!
Krister Ahlström
The writer is a senior industrialist and a design activist