DESIGN> magazine (edition 14, 2009)

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D I G I T A L B R A N D

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CONTENTS

> PREFACE

7 > The Creative Economy

9 > Editors foreword

10 > Design awards and competitions calendar

12 > The Creative Economy: Winnie the Pooh dons a cape and tights

18 > Cultural and creative industries on the political agenda taking the economy to the next stage

24 > The power of industrial design in Africa

32 > The Arterial Network Winter School 2009: Designing a network for creative industries in Africa

38 > Shoot your game in Africa

12 > CREATIVE ECONOMY

36 > TECHNOLOGY

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42 > The economics of design promotion

47 > Potentials design seminar: Towards a social design mindset

55 > Green dynamics in Dubai

62 > Don of Architecture

CONTENTS

42 > DESIGN PROMOTION 55 > ARCHITECTURE

106 > The intersection of people and places

114 > Hitting the right notes in tough times

120 > Have your cake and eat it too

152 > Boogie Wonderland

166 > Why should designers blog?

104 > COMMUNICATION DESIGN

169 > New boost for Nollywood

172 > No access to non-humans

178 > African puppets take the world by storm

152 > POPULAR CULTURE 169 > PRODUCTION DESIGN

96 > Reviving the lost art of blacksmithing in modern furniture production

102 > Handles Inc. goes green

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86 > Define your products according to your markets requirements

90 > The Infusion Lounge: Building a brand through interior design

84 > INTERIOR DESIGN

124 > Is it simple? Is it clear? Is it beautiful?

128 > Annual reporting breaks the traditional mould and gets creative

134 > Competitions as a form of branding

140 > Ideas That Matter 10: European winners announced

146 > I see the book as a living organism

104 > COMMUNICATION DESIGN 133 > PAPER & PACKAGING

186 > I am an artworker

194 > CEDARTE: managing a creative industry in Mozambique

199 > Mined over matter

204 > Dystopia

208 > The queen of felt

186 > ART & CRAFT

70 > Modern technology and design help preserve ancient manuscripts

75 > African footprints in Arabian sand: Atlantis, The Palm Jumeira

214 > The South African Fashion Week legacy

220 > Jewellery of distinction the African way

224 > The layered identity of Karim Mekhtigian

231 > Collaborating for brand value and longevity

CONTENTS

214 > FASHION 224 > INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

240 > Thinking about a new design order

242 > An activist for grassroots design education

248 > Expensive and elitist art and design education in Kenya

250 > A first for Africa: Design Grade 10

252 > The brand gap and zag

254 > A typographers guide to the galaxy

258 > Never use white type on a black background and 50 other ridiculous design rules

234 > IP 238 > EDUCATION

264 > The essence of a woman

268 > Italy on display

271 > A passion for elegant furniture

274 > Easy wallpaper effects are quick and convenient

276 > Lighting up The White House

278 > Estate feature: Serengeti Golf & Wildlife Estate

250 > BOOK REVIEWS 263 > DESIGN IN LIVING

236 > Competition law the grand design

238 > EDUCATION

PUBLISHER & CEO >

Cameron Bramley

[email protected]

EDITOR >

Jacques Lange

[email protected]

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS >

Jennie Fourie, Bev Hermanson &

Sun Stassen

CONTRIBUTORS >

Alexis Apostolidis, Stratos Bacalis,

Tasos Calantzis, Ghada Ibrahim,

Melanie Harteveld Becker,

Roelf Mulder, Lilac Osanjo,

Chantal Ramcharan, Nicky Rehbock,

Sidhika Sooklal, Anri Theron,

Rasmus Wiinstedt Tscherning,

Ria van Zyl & Estelle Walmsley.

SALES DIRECTOR >

Jaime-Lee van Sittert

CREDITSfo

rmat

ion

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT >

Michelle Swart

ADMINISTRATION & ACCOUNTS >

Lana McLachlan

CREATIVE DIRECTOR >

Jacques Lange

LAYOUT & DESIGN >

Bluprint Design

COVER DESIGN & PHOTOGRAPHY >

Anri Theron

PUBLISHED BY >

Design Information

Tel: +27(0) 82 882 8124

Fax: +27 (0) 86 678 8448

www.designmagazine.co.za

DESIGN > is produced by Design Information. All material is strictly copyright, with all rights reserved. No material may be reproduced in part or whole without the express

permission of the publisher. No responsibility will be accepted for unsolicited material.

The publisher accepts no liability of whatsoever nature arising out of or in connection

with the contents of this publication. The publisher does not give any warranty as to the

completeness or accuracy of its contents. The views and opinions expressed in DESIGN > are not necessarily those of the publisher, its endorsers, sponsors or contributors.

2009 Design Information.

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oes the creative economy flourish more in a recession? Having

felt the recession, I would imagine it is the highest creative

time for most businesses. If the word re-designing means

change, then re-designing of marketing strategies, advertising,

human resources and of course budgets, is happening universally in

this time of change.

DESIGN > magazine in its essence has no negative connotations

whatsoever, as it pays homage to all design. Design in itself is a

positive moving-forward process. Even if the design is not appealing,

the inexperienced designer is simply progressing to better design. In

a recession, even such a designer becomes more creative.

DESIGN > magazine is gaining significant momentum, driving strategic

alliances, developing new landing pages and launching niche titles.

I am pleased to announce that DESIGN > in technology has gone live

and, in my mind, I anticipate that it will surpass everyones expectations.

Last but not least, we will be launching DESIGN > in Education at the

beginning of next year.

Enjoy the read, encourage your colleagues to subscribe, too, and

most of all be creative at all times.

Cameron Bramley

DESIGN > CEO and publisher

THE CREATIVE ECONOMY

PREFACE >

D

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T his edition of DESIGN > magazine started out with humble aims of looking at the role that design plays in the broad concept of the Creative Economy. It unintentionally ended up becoming the largest edition published yet. The reason for this bumper edition is that the concept of the Creative Economy is vast. It encompasses many fields of practice and the editorial team became immersed in the theme. They soon found themselves exploring diverse avenues and angles on the topic. In the blink of an eye we had covered a range of disciplines and topics not originally intended. These range from music, cinematography, and puppetry to craft, textiles and ceramics to mention just a few.

The dynamic development of this edition of DESIGN > signifies the multi-disciplinary nature of the design fields, as well as their dynamic and unpredictable developments. Design as a discipline is never static. It is in constant flux and is redefined con-tinuously. The result? A worthwhile and insightful issue of DESIGN > covering 52 articles and 334 pages.

Design is not just a tool that beneficiates commercial brand value it entails much more. Its more about an attitude anchored on innovative thinking; it is a service provider sector of problem-solving solutions; and a sector that stimulates new ways at looking at the world, how we think, how we view it, and how we respond to its challenges. More than 50 industry experts provided perspectives on these subjects. Yes, this issue is a demanding read, but then again, a little reading might not go amiss in our industry.

I wish you an insightful and entertaining journey through the Creative Economy.

Jacques Lange

DESIGN > Editor

EDITORS FOREWORD

PREFACE > 9

A W A R D S

Discipline August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 December 2009

Architecture, Interior Design & Built

Environment

01 > 15th PG Bison student of the year (South Africa)

01 > Andreu World International Design Competition (International)

02 > Brick-stainable: Registration deadline (International)

03 > Think Outside the Parking Box (International)

01 > 13th JAD International Design Competition (International)

02 > eVolo 2010 Skyscraper Competition (International)

Communication Design, Advertising, Animation

& New Media

01 > Prints New Visual Artists Competition (International)

02 > Pixel Awards: Fourth Annual Call for Entries

03 > Taiwan International Poster Design Award 2009 (International)

01 > HOW International Design Awards (International)

02 > American Design Awards (Grace Period / Extension)

03 > Print magazines New Visual Artists Competition

01 > SPTID: San Pellegrino Terme Identity (International)

01 > HOW Poster Design Awards (International)

Industrial Design

01 > Andreu World InternationalDesign Competition (International)

02 > Furniture Design Award 2010 (International)

01 > DNA +: Water and Wind (International)

31 > Guangzhou Design Week 2009 (International)

01 > PDP Award: Andrea Pininfarina (International)

01 > Largus European Design Competition for Students (International)

01 > Australian International Design Awards (International)

31 > Jump the Gap Competition (International)

Multidisciplinary01 > iF awards: M Technology

Award (International)

01 > International Design Awards (International)

02 > Spark Design & Architecture Awards (International)

Research & Journalism01 > Rome Prize 2010

(International)

Sustainability01 > Incheon International

Design Award 2009: (International)

ENTRY DEADLINES FOR AWARDS AND COMPETITIONS

Discipline August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 December 2009

Architecture, Interior Design & Built

Environment

01 > 15th PG Bison student of the year (South Africa)

01 > Andreu World International Design Competition (International)

02 > Brick-stainable: Registration deadline (International)

03 > Think Outside the Parking Box (International)

01 > 13th JAD International Design Competition (International)

02 > eVolo 2010 Skyscraper Competition (International)

Communication Design, Advertising, Animation

& New Media

01 > Prints New Visual Artists Competition (International)

02 > Pixel Awards: Fourth Annual Call for Entries

03 > Taiwan International Poster Design Award 2009 (International)

01 > HOW International Design Awards (International)

02 > American Design Awards (Grace Period / Extension)

03 > Print magazines New Visual Artists Competition

01 > SPTID: San Pellegrino Terme Identity (International)

01 > HOW Poster Design Awards (International)

Industrial Design

01 > Andreu World InternationalDesign Competition (International)

02 > Furniture Design Award 2010 (International)

01 > DNA +: Water and Wind (International)

31 > Guangzhou Design Week 2009 (International)

01 > PDP Award: Andrea Pininfarina (International)

01 > Largus European Design Competition for Students (International)

01 > Australian International Design Awards (International)

31 > Jump the Gap Competition (International)

Multidisciplinary01 > iF awards: M Technology

Award (International)

01 > International Design Awards (International)

02 > Spark Design & Architecture Awards (International)

Research & Journalism01 > Rome Prize 2010

(International)

Sustainability01 > Incheon International

Design Award 2009: (International)

ENTRY DEADLINES FOR AWARDS AND COMPETITIONS

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THE CREATIVE ECONOMY >Winnie the Pooh dons a cape and tights

By Jennie Fourie

T here are many clichd similarities between the creatives of this world and the lovable little bear that A.A. Milne created in 1926. Poohs main concern is to make his friends happy; with his head full of fluff, he is gifted with an uncommon, clear-eyed wisdom; he is an inventor of sorts, responsible for the famous game Poohsticks and he always wears an old red T-shirt. He often creates little tunes, or hums, about almost anything at all.

But now Pooh has donned a cape and tights in true Superman fashion in an attempt to save the world. In these bleak economic times, the concept Creative Economy has become somewhat of a lifesaver. People and industries are disenchanted with mainstream economic endeavours that have created the mess in which we find ourselves and are looking elsewhere for viable economic models that could restore a semblance of order to life as we know it.

But first things first: What is the creative economy? A plausible definition, commonly used in the USA and

one that was frequently cited by presenters at the international conference on the Creative Economy held in Glasgow, Scotland in November last year, refers to the creative economy as a collective term for industries that have their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent, and have a potential for wealth and job creation through the generation of ideas, products and/or services.

In the early years of the new millennium, Prof. Roger Martin, dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, already said that the design economy had emerged as the successor to the information economy, which in turn succeeded the manufacturing and service economies. So, thoughts about the creative economy have been around for

almost ten years.

The Creative Economy Report 2008 spanning a whopping 357 pages was the first study to present the United Nations perspective on this emerging topic. It was an initiative of the partnership between the

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The creative economy in action. Photographs by Mary Alexander, Jeffrey Barbee, Rodger Bosch, Hannelie Coetzee, Chris Kirchhoff, and Graeme Williams courtesy of MediaClubSouthAfrica.com.


United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the United Nations Development Programmes (UNDPs) Special Unit for South-South Cooperation.

According to this report the term creative economy appeared in 2001 in John Howkinss book about the relationship between creativity and economics. The report states: For Howkins, creativity is not new and neither is economics, but what is new is the nature and the extent of the relationship between them and how they combine to create extraordinary value and wealth. Howkinss use of the term creative economy is broad, covering 15 creative industries extending from arts to the wider fields of science and technology. According to his estimates, in the year 2000, the creative economy was worth $2.2 trillion worldwide, and it was growing at 5% annually. For Howkins, there are two kinds of creativity: the kind that relates to peoples fulfilment as individuals and the kind that generates a product. The first one is a universal characteristic of humanity and is found in all societies and cultures. The second is stronger in industrial societies, which put a higher value on novelty, on science and technological innova-tion, and on intellectual property rights (IPRs).

The creative industries lie at the core of the creative economy. UNCTADs definition of the creative industries states that they are the cycles of creation, production and distribution of goods and services that use crea-tivity and intellectual capital as primary inputs. They also constitute a set of knowledge-based activities, focused on, but not limited to arts, potentially gener-ating revenues from trade and intellectual property rights. Furthermore, the creative industries comprise tangible products and intangible intellectual or artistic services with creative content, economic value and market objective and are at the cross-road among the artisan, services and industrial sectors, as well as constituting a new dynamic sector in world trade.

This is quite a mouthful for any Pooh-Bear-wannabe, but it is reassuring in the sense that it offers legitimacy to that which creatives through millennia have known: What they do can make a difference to the world.

Is it worth it?

The figures cited by Howkins indicate that the creative economy has become a force to be reckoned with. The Creative Economy Report shows that revenue derived from the creative industries is on the up and up. In the five years from 2000 to 2005 trade in creative goods and services increased at an average annual rate of 8.7%. World exports of creative products were valued at $424.4 billion in 2005 as compared to $227.5 billion in 1996, according to preliminary UNCTAD figures. Creative services, in particular, enjoyed rapid export growth 8.8% annually between 1996 and 2005.

Research conducted in the Netherlands in 2004 came up with interesting figures on the importance of Dutch design. The research study found that Dutch designers contributed 2.6 billion to the countrys gross national product (GNP) almost half a billion more than the contribution of the petroleum industry and on a par with the air transport industry. The research findings also showed that for every 10 earned in the Netherlands, 7 cents was earned by Dutch design.

And in South Africa?

According to Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) estimates, South Africas craft sub-sector alone contributes about R2 billion or 0.14% to South Africas gross domestic product (GDP) annually, providing jobs and income for around 38 000 people through at least 7 000 small enterprises. According to an Elle Decoration statement, released when the winners of the South African leg of the 2007 Elle Decoration International Design Awards (EDIDA) were announced, crafts could contribute R5 billion to the countrys GDP and 20 000 more jobs by 2015 if supported by more targeted interventions.

Ravi Naidoo, managing director of Interactive Africa and founder of the Design Indaba, is a great believer in the fact that the creative industries can make a significant difference to the South African economy.

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Three years ago, in 2006 already, he told Bizcommunity that design and creative-based businesses are out-performing their peers and offer huge potential for creating jobs, generating wealth and growing local and export markets. Naidoo believes that design is about problem solving. In South Africa creative industries have the potential to be instrumental in addressing development challenges by creating jobs through cultural production. Globally creative industries have been identified as a high growth sector. South Africa has the opportunity to harness its creative diversity to create its own competitive advantage and to in-crease the capacity of its creative economy.

Naidoos brainchild, the Design Indaba, is proof that if the creative industries and design in particular are marketed in the right way, the skys the limit. The Design Indaba has been presented since 1995 and has been committed to a vision that creativity will fuel an economic revolution in South Africa.

The Design Indaba website states: By attracting the worlds brightest talent, Design Indaba has become a respected institution on the creative landscape and one of the few global events that celebrates all the creative sectors graphic design, advertising, film, music, fashion design, industrial design, architecture, craft, visual art, new media, publishing, broadcasting and the performing arts sector. Besides the flagship conference and expo, Design Indaba has grown into a multi-tiered experience that incorporates an extensive range of elements such as events, publications, edu-cation, training, business, development and community initiatives. The Design Indaba Conference was awarded the EIBTM award for Best Conference in the World in 2005 and won Best Live Event at the Loerie Awards 2007.

But first there shall be policy

Does the names Edna dos Santos-Duisenberg and Simon Ellis mean anything to you? Well, they should, because these two people have been instrumental in policy-making around the creative economy. Dos Santos-Duisenberg is the chief of the Creative Economy

Programme of UNCTAD. She presented a paper in Spain in March this year titled The challenges of assessing the creative economy: Towards informed policy-making. The main thrust of her presentation was that there was no one-size-fits-all recipe when it comes to creating a policy for the creative economy. She advocated that flexible and strategic choices should be made by national governments and that there was a need to reconcile national policy-making for the creative economy with ongoing multi-lateral processes. In this way the creative industries could offer new venues for countries to leapfrog into high-growth areas of the world economy.

Another proponent for establishing a policy frame-work for the Creative Economy is Simon Ellis, Chief of Section: Science & Technology, Culture & Communica-tion Section, UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). As early as 2005, he played a key role in formulating the Jodhpur Initiatives, strategies that arose at an UNCTAD-organised symposium held in Nagaur, India. The sympo-sium focused on the role of cultural industries in develop-ment, with particular emphasis on the importance of local artistic and cultural activity as a means towards economic empowerment and poverty alleviation.

But what does all this policy-making mean to the designer in his studio, the crafter in a rural village in KwaZulu-Natal, the architect on the building site, the set designer in the theatre? How will policies assist these Pooh bears, who are trying on their red and blue capes for size? The answer is simple. As soon as governments realise that the creative economy is a force to be reckoned with and they should start paying attention if the United Nations is getting excited formal frameworks can be put into place that will make life easier for those populating the creative industries. Its as simple as that.

The creative economy and the developing world

The developing world is the new kid on the block when it comes to the creative economy. Or rather, the creative industries have always played an active role


in the generating income and providing a livelihood for people in the developing world it was just not given a formal tag.

UNCTAD has enlarged the focus of its policy-oriented analysis, emphasising four key objectives in its approach to the creative economy the developing world. The first is to reconcile national cultural objectives with technological and international trade policies; sec-ondly, to deal with the asymmetries inhibiting the growth of creative industries in developing countries; thirdly, to reinforce the so-called creative nexus between invest-ment, technology, entrepreneurship and trade; and, lastly, to identify innovative policy responses for en-hancing the creative economy for development gains.

The link between design and innovation

Design and its role in the creative economy is hot news. At the World Economic Forums Summit on the Global Agenda held in Dubai in November last year, a design manifesto was developed that stated, inter alia that: Now, at a time of crisis and unprecedented change in every area of our lives economic, political, environmental, societal and in science and technology design is more valuable than ever. Along with well-being, sustainability and learning, innovation was cited as the biggest challenges, as well as opportunities for design. The discussion on innovation centred on the fact that designers are continuing to develop and deliver inno-vative new products at a turbulent time when consumer attitudes are changing dramatically, thereby creating new and exciting entrepreneurial opportunities in the current crisis. They are increasingly using their expertise to innovate in new areas such as the creation of new business models and adoption of a strategic and systemic role in both the public and private sectors.

The World Economic Forums Competitive Report 2008-2009 also placed innovation as the 12th pillar for competitiveness. The report states that in order to be competitive, firms must design and develop cutting-edge products and processes to maintain a

competitive edge. This requires an environment that is conducive to innovative activity, supported by both the public and the private sectors. In particular, this means sufficient investment in research and develop-ment especially by the private sector, the presence of high-quality scientific research institutions, extensive collaboration in research between universities and industry, and the protection of intellectual property.

The creative economy is alive and well and living in South Africa

Creative industries are thriving in South Africa. This country has never been in a better position to let its creative industries go forth and generate income towards the GDP and to alleviate poverty amongst its people.

Dr Nikolaus Eberl, author of the bestselling book BrandOvation: How Germany won the World Cup of Nation Branding, and the sequel The Heros Journey: Building a Nation of World Champions, wrote in July that South Africa 2010 is set to beat Germanys brand score. He wrote: Following the FIFA Confederations Cup, a visitor satisfaction survey commissioned by Cape Town Tourism revealed that out of 323 international visitors canvassed only one said he would not recom-mend South Africa as a holiday destination. The answer maybe came from 3.68% of respondents, resulting into an aggregate brand advocacy score of 96% for destination South Africa. In terms of destination branding, this is the highest brand advocacy score achieved by a FIFA World Cup host yet, beating the benchmark set by Germany in 2006 by almost eight percentage points.

With less that 300 days to kick-off, now is the time for the creative industries to move into top gear to make their mark on the world in 2010. From designers, to crafters, to entertainers, to brand strategists the stage is set for a creative revolution. Or, as Winnie the Pooh, who has a soft spot for honey the currency of his world loves to say: Now would you aim me at the Bees, please. CREATIVE ECONOMY

Tivoli Park by Ulrik Jantzen

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G overnments in Europe have started to realise the importance of the cultural and creative industries. Cultural and creative industries have gone from nice-to-have to need-to-have and

cultural policies have increasingly become an instrument

for driving growth and creating jobs.

Looking at the Danish perspective, The Royal Danish

Ballet and local theatres still need public subsidies but

the cultural and creative sectors are now seen as busi-

nesses in their own right. They also now deal with issues

such as trade disputes, international intellectual property

rights enforcement, media ownership, and more.

In 2006 the European Commission published a study

titled The Economy of Culture in Europe which shows

that the cultural and creative industries drive economic

growth and job creation jobs that are difficult to out-

source to foreign markets. Although the data need to be

updated and statistics may be difficult to compare from

one country to another, it clearly shows the importance

of the sector. Following are some of the findings of

the study:

Importance of cultural and creative industries in Europe

Turnover: The sector had a turnover of more than 654

billion in 2003. The turnover of the car manufacturing

industry was 271 billion in 2001 and the turnover gen-

erated by ICT manufacturers was 541 billion in 2003

(EU-15 figures).

Value added to GDP: The sector contributed to 2.6% of

EU GDP in 2003. In the same year real estate activities

contributed 2.1% to EU GDP. The food, beverage and

tobacco manufacturing sector accounted for 1.9% of

contribution to EU GDP. The textile industry accounted

for 0.5% of contribution to EU GDP. The chemicals,

rubber and plastic products industry accounted for

2.3% of contribution to EU GDP.

Contribution of EU growth: The overall growth of the

sectors value add was 19.7% in 1999-2003. The sectors

growth in 1999-2003 was 12.3% higher than the growth

of the general economy.

Employment: In 2004 5.8 million people worked in the

sector, equivalent to 3.1% of total employed population

in EU. Whereas total employment in the EU decreased

in 2002-2004, employment in the sector increased by

+1.85%. A total of 46.8% of workers in this sector have

at least a university degree (compared to 25.7% in total

employment). The share of independents is more than

twice that of the total employment (28.8% against 14.1%).

The sector records 17% of temporary workers (13.3% in

total employment). The share of part-time workers is

higher (one worker out of four, against 17.6% in total

employment).

Source: The Economy of Culture in Europe, European

Commission, 2006.

Provide an experience and earn more

The term experience economy was coined by the

American thinkers, Joseph Pine II and James Gilmore,

in a article published in Harvard Business Review in

1998. They developed the concept further in another

article titled: Welcome to the Experience Economy

Work is theater & every business a stage, which was

published in 1999.

In this article, Pine and Gilmore, founders of the manage-

ment consulting firm Strategic Horizons, preview the

likely characteristics of the experience economy and

the kinds of changes it will force companies to make.

First there was agriculture, then manufactured goods,

and eventually services. Each change represented a step

up in economic value a way for producers to distinguish

their products from increasingly undifferentiated com-

petitive offerings. Now, as services are in their turn

becoming commoditised, companies are looking for

the next higher value in an economic offering. Leading-

edge companies are finding that it lies in staging

experiences. An experience occurs when a company

uses services as the stage and goods as props for

engaging individuals in a way that creates a memorable

event. And while experiences have always been at

the heart of the entertainment business, any company

stages an experience when it engages customers in a

personal, memorable way. Source: Harvard Business

Online, 2009

It is not easy to precisely define the experience economy,

as there are now many perceptions, angles and perspec-

tives relating to the term. Consequently, there has

been various political initiatives and the business sector

has approached it with some scepticism. The approach

to the experience economy will necessarily vary, depend-

ing on standpoint and intention.

Scandinavias leading concert hall, VEGA by Jacob Dinesen


formation

There is great potential for providing experiences where

the combination of culture and business opens up for

a whole new economy. A company can set itself apart

from its competition by offering customers a unique

and staged experience: Is the legendary restaurant El

Bulli (Best Restaurant in the World, 2006 and 2007

Restaurant Magazine) north of Barcelona offering a meal or a unique, themed experience involving all senses?

The fact that over half a million people try to book one

of the only 8 000 available seats, points to the fact that

there is more to it than great cooking of celebrated chef,

Fernando Adri Acosta, who has often been hailed as the

Salvador Dali of the kitchen. This approach creates a

new economy where Function + Quality + Experience

= Market Value.

The experience economy helps cultural businesses,

institutions, cities and regions, as well as traditional

businesses to integrate culture and business, in order

to create new products and develop existing ones.

Experience Economy in a value chain perspective

What is experience economy?

Governments have recognised the potential of the

cultural and creative industries, but are struggling to

find the right policy mix and strategy. Some examples

include:

Light tower strategy, as in the Guggenheim Bilbao in Bilbao.

Specialisation strategy, trying to create the next creative cluster such as Hollywood.

Neighbourhood strategy, as the Chaoyang business district in Beijing.

Entrepreneur strategy, focusing on the many small and medium-sized companies in the sector.

Knowledge strategy, all levels of education, from music in schools to life-long learning which might

explain Swedens success in the music business.

Event strategy, attracting the next MTV Award or creating cultural festivals.

Framework strategy, supporting the cultural and

creative sector with the business-oriented policies.

organisational driver >

marketing > add-on services > Design > Pure experience >

Experience used to create dynamics in the organisation.

Experience used to improve marketing

and sales.

Experience is an additional or supplemental

product.

Design shapes the products, content

and function and is part of the

experience.

The product is an experience in

itself.

Examples: Art/business collabora-tion, team-building

and promoting innovation.

Examples: Advertising, interactive

campaigns and games.

Examples: Customer clubs

and communities.

Examples: Fashion and design.

Examples: Travel, cultural events,

music and movies.

Increasing value and importance for core business.

Source: Ramboll Management Consulting, 2006.

In Denmark, there have been three waves of policy

initiatives in the area. The first in 2000 with the report

Denmarks creative potential that concluded that the

need for creative competencies in the business sector

are an important element for growth. The next initiative

was published in 2003 with the launch of Denmark in

the culture and experience economy, urging policy

makers to promote the synergy between the culture

and business sectors and realise the potential in the

culture and experience economy.

In 2007 a political agreement involving both the govern-

ment and opposition parties in the parliament, launched

two new initiatives. The first was establishing a Center

for Culture & Experience Economy to support collabora-

tion between the business and cultural sectors and

innovation through experience-based business

development. The second initiative was creating four

sector-specific experience zones, grouping together

stakeholders on all levels in the four areas of gaming,

music, fashion and food.

The following year, the Ministry of Economics and

Business Affairs published the study Growth Through

Experiences (available at www.ebst.dk/publikationer/

innovation/Growth_through_Experiences/index.htm),

presenting a number of projects where the cultural

sector and the traditional business sectors collaborate

and together develop new experiences in products and

services. The cultural sector contributes with creative

competencies and sees its own business competen-

cies strengthened in the process. The report analyses

the methods and presents cases of experience-based

business development creating commercial results

for the companies.

Some 67 million has been set aside for the Center for

Culture & Experience Economy and 5,4 million for the

experience zones. Both the Ministry of Culture and

the Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs provide

the funding which shows the cross-sectoral nature of

the field.

The Centre for Culture & Experience Economy will

promote and support collaboration between the business

and cultural sectors. The aim is to make businesses

more competitive internationally through experience-

based business development or innovation driven by

the creative competencies in the cultural and creative

industries. For designers, architects and many others

their work is business.

About the Center for Culture and Experience Economy

The Center for Culture and Experience Economy (CCEE)

is a public independent institution, established in 2008

by the Danish Ministry of Economics and Business

Affairs and The Ministry of Culture.

The CCEEs aim is to promote growth through better

cooperation between businesses and the cultural and

creative sectors and to strengthen the business com-

petencies of actors in the cultural sector.

The CCEE will gather and generate new knowledge

about experience-based business development involving

both the business and cultural sectors. CCEEs vision

is to advance the potential of culture and experience

in businesses, and improve conditions for growth in

as a whole.


The CCEEs target groups are broadly businesses and

organisations that can benefit from integrating and

using creative competencies and elements of experience

in products and services, as well as players in the

cultural life who wish to engage in cooperation with

businesses.

CCEEs work includes the following five main tasks:

Project support: Initiating and supporting projects

which strengthen cooperation and exchange of

competencies between the cultural/creative sector

and businesses.

Promotion: Promoting the culture and experience

economy and strengthening the cooperation between

the institutions and stakeholders in this sector.

Knowledge: Gathering and generating knowledge,

including from abroad, as well as promoting this

knowledge to the public, to the cultural life and

organisations.

Guidance: Giving guidance for businesses who wish

to work with experience-based business develop-

ment and creative competencies, and for players in

the cultural arena who wish to engage in interaction

with businesses.

Assessment: Assessing consequences and perspec-

tives regarding culture and experience economy

and focusing on commercial opportunities for

businesses using experiences.

For more information, contact the CCEE at Tel: +45

4674 0290 or E-mail [email protected]

About the author

Rasmus Wiinstedt Tscherning is managing director of

Center for Culture & Experience Economy. He has 15

years of broad international experience in areas such

as the cultural and creative industries, media, and

European Union public affairs. He has substantial

expertise in strategic consultancy and business

development. He has been official speaker for the

European Commission on issues related to media

and culture for over ten years and is lecturer for the

university-level course Creative Industries: Business,

Innovation, Politics & Culture. He is board member

of the Danish Cultural Institute and Scandinavias

leading concert hall, VEGA. CREATIVE ECONOMY

One gets the feeling that the world may be warm-ing to a dose of earthy, rich, African flavour. From London to Dubai to Singapore, African designers are being noticed, but at first glance the euphoria doesnt seem to have extended to industrial design on the continent.

To understand why, its worth understanding when no design at all may suffice as well as understanding the value of style. Its worth re-examining those old chest-nuts; form and function, as well as the knotty question of solving problems; and its worth looking at the novel idea of achieving leadership through design.

No design, thanks

Many designers will tell you with a straight face that design is the most important factor for any business, which is obviously just not true. Design evangelists may be aghast at such a statement but it is possible that design is just not a real requirement for some companies. For example, a company may simply have much more pressing operational problems than design. For design to be effective, quality and cost must be under control, engineering, inventory and supply chain must be efficient and marketing and sales must be in working order. Design may also be considered fundamental to a companys functioning but it may simply not be the priority yet.

A company could be functioning effectively but be working in an utterly commoditised area. Should the manufacturer of the yellow triangles that cleaning staff

around the world use to warn of slippery floors be looking for a design edge? Theres no doubt that the most moribund industry (coffins anyone?) can be attacked with design. Indeed these are often the juiciest targets for an ambitious company daring to redefine an industry, much like OXO did with its Good Grips line of kitchen utensils. The question is just whether this is a sure-fire requirement for every dull, worthy market.

On the far end of the spectrum, highly sophisticated companies working in high technology areas could also see design as a less than strategic tool. Design thinker Steve Portigal has noted the irony of Flextronics, the $18bn global ODM, being voted one of the Wired 40 based on its design ambitions. In fact Flextronics caused a little seismic event amongst designers a few years ago when then CEO, Michael Marks announced to the world that design had become a commodity and was no longer a strategic advantage. This was shortly after the acquisition of Frog, the celebrated boutique shop and was duly followed by the shedding of Frog. Only time will tell how prophetic Marks words turn out to be.

There are also cases where some other advantage; massive scale, superior reach, hyper vertical integration and so on, confers an advantage that design simply cant match. However, these advantages boil down to cost.

And cost is where the discussion winds up. For without design the reliable tools of quality and efficiency strive to lower the price without any hope of raising it sustain-ability. So there may be exceptions but for most companies another tool is required; one that can break the zero-sum game of cost-driven competition.

formation

Style

The most familiar image of design is one of a creator of

style. In fact, despite the many other meaningful

things that design can do, it could be argued that

infusing products with designer style is the core

competence of design. So we enter a discussion about

beauty and the value of beauty.

Cultures value style differently, which matters in under-

standing when design can be successfully exported

across borders. When cultures meet, the results can

be surprisingly beautiful, such as Capetonian Willard

Musarurwas collaboration with New York-based Steven

Burks on the Tatu range of wire furniture for Artechnica.

Similarly, Gaboronian Peter Mabeos collaboration with Patty Johnson from Toronto has produced a range of furniture that has been described as stunning in its simplicity.

Commercially, these products have great value for their ability to woo customers but to artists, designers and all aesthetes, creating beauty is in itself valuable.

In the world of designers, few are able to marry the high art of original, iconic style with the depth of technical and commercial abilities needed to succeed with complex consumer products. As successful as Michael Graves has been working together with Target design-ing coat hooks and wall clocks, his range of consumer

electronics was a failure. Even Yves Behar of Fuseproject,


Gaboronian Peter Mabeos collaboration with Patty Johnson from Toronto has produced a range of beautifully simple furniture such as the Simple Bench and Chair.

formation

who has an apparently technically competent portfolio,

commented in a revealing interview that the $100 laptop

project was much more difficult for his studio than

their regular work designing slick lifestyle products.

There is a downside to designer style. If style is the

only reason for using design, the gain can turn out to

be short term. Style is easy to copy (just ask Alessi)

and in many cases requires constant revision as trends

move on.

Attractive or distinctive style does offer a business a

significant advantage over competitors whose style

is less so. It places the company near the head of the

pack and can sometimes stop commoditisation and

purely cost-driven competition.

Function

If only designing successful new products was always as

easy as making the new one work better than anything

before it. Every product manager knows that its not

but not all designers do. Their training is in making

things look and work better. What designers would

call incremental functional improvement is one part

of creating successful design, but its not enough to

ensure success. Thats why adding blades to razors

has been such a game of diminishing returns.

Clearly there are good reasons to make something

that works better than any competitor. This is the

beginning of innovation. But that still doesnt take us

out of five-blade razor territory. The improvement

must be much bigger than that. As Doug Hall of

American inventor fame repeatedly points out, a big

reason why many products fail is the ordinary

persons resistance to change. This means that a new

Willard Musarurwa collaborated with New York designer Stephen Burks to create the Tatu range of wire furniture.

Gaboronian Peter Mabeos collaboration with Patty Johnson from Toronto has produced a range of beautifully simple furniture such as the Maun Windsor chair.

formation


X7 2.jpg Henk & I have collaborated with Zodiac on a range of award-winning pool cleaners.

The Arivi paraffin stove, designed by Readymade, is safe and efficient.

San Francisco-based Project H collaborated with South African Grant Gibbs to redesign his Hippo Roller.

Malawian William Kamkwamba built his family a windmill out of scrap to power two lightbulbs and a radio when he was 14 years old.

SECTION > 29

design has to be an extraordinary improvement over

previous designs before someone is persuaded to

give it a try.

For example, the South African Arivi Paraffin Stove is

designed to be completely safe in use by extinguishing

its flame when knocked over and also producing very

low emissions. The stove goes further though; saving

users up to 32% of their fuel bill compared with older

stove types.

This type of design-minded improvement over existing

devices is well in evidence across the African continent,

notably in Henk & Is long running series of award-

winning pool cleaners for Zodiac.

Solving problems

Using design to improve the way things look and work

may be an old-fashioned notion but it has served industry

well for the whole of the last century and these remain

some of the things that designers do best.

In this century, however, more is being asked of design;

it is being asked to meet the growing need for creative

problem-solving in all spheres of life. This was antici-

pated in the previous century by the Bauhaus, the

Eamses and Bucky Fuller; but happily formal design

training is not a prerequisite to apply design to prob-

lems. Malawian William Kamkwamba built his family

a windmill out of scrap to power two light bulbs and

a radio when he was 14 years old. His moving story

was brought to world attention when he spoke at TED

Global, the famous innovation conference. Another

formation

Amy Smith from Massachusetts Institute of Technology runs design projects to benefit Africans, including this wheelchair.

TED fellow, Amy Smith from Massachusetts Institute of

Technology runs design projects ranging from stoves

to wheelchairs in a mission to use design to save millions

of lives. It seems that using design to improve the lives

of Africans is attractive to many others such as San

Francisco-based Project H who have collaborated

with South African Grant Gibbs to redesign his Hippo

Water Roller to be more cost effective.

Luckily, it turns out that this kind of design thinking is

well suited to solving all sorts of problems that dont

involve products. Organisations, both commercial and

non-commercial, looking for a steadier advantage have

turned, amongst other things, to design. For example, the

Praekelt Foundation worked with National Geographic,

Nokia Siemens Networks, iTeach, Frog Design and

MTN to create Project Masiluleke, a mobile phone system

that fights HIV/AIDS.

formation

This type of organisation has had to start to figure out how

to think ahead of the field instead of merely reacting

to change, especially with human behaviour. Its probably

true that designs main advantage over other types of

problem solving is its ability to understand peoples

needs and meet them in practical and desirable ways. To

do this, designers observe real people in real situations.

As humans, our actions betray needs that are simply too

obvious to mention, sometimes pointing out unexplored

day-to-day problem areas. This is where astute designers

are able make life much richer.

Thats not to say that design could supplant other types

of problem solving, just that design could be thought

of as a permanent, legitimate organisational function.

This has changed designs day-to-day role from thinking

about individual products to also thinking about

systems.

All of which makes for a distinct advantage. However

this does not yet add up to leadership in a field. For

that, design needs to be a strategic tool.

Leadership

In many cases a link can be found between how effec-

tively design is used in an organisation and the overall

success of that organisation.

A short list of global organisations who are undisputed

leaders could include Nike, Apple, Proctor & Gamble,

Nokia, Toyota and Samsung. In each case, success

can be attributed to other factors but the influence of

design has been integral.

These are companies who aim to be the absolute

leaders in their industries; unique and far ahead of

their competitors. They have discovered that the

tactical ability of solving business problems with design

creates successes that can be knitted together with

an internal culture of innovation to create a strategic

tool. For these leaders, design has become integrated

into the business as a C-level function.

In organisations like these, one finds a system of

design thinking. A robust design process produces

individual ideas which are carefully considered to

meet latent user needs and therefore ahead of current

thinking. These form part of well-designed systems

which solve problems. Finally, design thinking is applied

by individuals across the organisation, transforming

the organisation.

It is this last layer of design thinking that contains the

true advantage. Design is not an activity that is owned

by designers. It is merely a profitable use of creativity. It

can be learnt and applied by anyone in any organisation.

This is part of its power. Used correctly, design thinking

can give any person in the organisation a new ability

to create dramatically increased value.

And this is perhaps where indigenous African examples

are least in evidence. When Nokia decided to expand

aggressively in Africa, it used design in all of the ways

discussed so far to crack open a massive market for its

phones and outstrip the growth of its competitors. The

process clearly works on this continent.

Design has the ability to create products, services and

experiences that have never existed before. When


SECTION > 31

people all over the organisation are thinking in this

way, the true originality of their ideas cannot be pre-

dicted. Competitors can only follow because the organi-

sation is continuously disrupting the field.

Design is not the only way of disrupting the field but

design has a great ability to be used in collaboration

with other areas of expertise. Thats why it works so

well with branding, advertising, engineering and

architecture and other fields; to the point that it

sometimes becomes indistinguishable from them.

That is perhaps the point. Design may be described

and used in many ways but all it really is, is creating

something with deliberate intent. That is the ability

to conceive something new and valuable like so many

African designers are doing in so many fields. Perhaps

we are witnessing the rise of designers who will bring

the richness of the African soul to a grateful world,

creating style, improving things, solving problems

and along the way becoming leaders. CREATIVE ECONOMY

T he Arterial Network is network of individual artists, companies, administrators, NGOs, donors and other civil society members engaged in developing and promoting the African creative sector (music, theatre, craft, design, film, literature, visual arts, dance, and more). It was launched on Goiree Island in Senegal in March 2007 when representatives from 14 African countries gathered to determine what should and could be done to ensure Africas place within the global creative economy.

One of the recent activities the Arterial Network was the 2009 Winter School that was hosted at the Charterfield Guest House, Kalk Bay, Cape Town. Delegates form 17 African countries attended the Winter School in June. African countries represented were Zambia, Mozam-bique, Uganda, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Morocco, Mali, Kenya, Namibia, Cameroon, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burkina Faso and Senegal.

The primary purpose of the 2009 Winter School was to extend the network for African creative industries by building capacity, providing information, facilitating contacts between activists from different countries and working towards building in-country networks that would feed into regional networks and ultimately a Pan African network of artists and creative industries networks. These will then become the voice of civil society to work with governments, multi-lateral agencies and international bodies to achieve the vision of a vibrant, sustainable African creative sector.

The Arterial Network engaged in a process of design leadership when they planned the 2009 Winter School. Since design leadership is a proactive process that leads from a vision into a process of communication to attain the needs, accomplish changes and seeking of creative solutions to a given scenario. Design leader-ship describes future needs and chooses a certain direction to get to that described future. Thus, the vision of the Arterial Network to design a suitable and func-tional network for creative industries in Africa, complies with a design leadership process.

The actual design of the Network involved the setting up of a first-class plan and a programme was followed where facilitators introduced the participants to appli-cable theoretical information such as existing plans, policies and recommendations for the creative industries on the African continent. Participants were further intro-duced to new methods of creative industry management,

formation

TOP: Back row, LTR are Emad Mabrouk (Egypt), Josh Nyapimbi (Zimbabwe), Maggie Otieno (Kenya), Deji Etiwe (Nigeria) and Mike van Graan (head of the Arterial Network Secretariat). Middle row: Igo Diarra (Mali), Melanie Harteveld Becker (Namibia), Bandile Gumbi (South Africa), Abdon Yezi (Zambia), Khadija El Bennaoui (Morocco), Peter Musa (Cameroon), Yarame Ndiaye (Senagal), Yvette Hardie (South Africa), Patrick Mudekereza (DRC), David Kwao-Sarbah (Ghana), Rasina Winfred Rasina (Botswana). Front row: Melanie Cournot (Arterial Network), Abel Dabula (Mozambique), Anita Seruwagi (Uganda), Margerie Vacle (Arterial Network) and Oumarou Sanfo (Burkina Faso).

ABOVE: Down to business in Kalk Bay.


including lobbying skills, creative cultural entrepreneur-ship, the use of new technologies in order to promote networks and so on.

The plan also engaged the input of all the participants in order to establish suitable guidelines of how this network will be implemented. Since design manage-ment and design leadership depend on each other, design management needs design leadership to know where to go and design leadership needs design man-agement to know how to go there, the 2009 Winter School facilitators and participants engaged in a process of design management while designing a suitable network for African creative industries.

One of the topics discussed and brain-stormed in the was the question around what makes a good network.

The outcome was that a well-designed network will look at: representation of the right people, rather in-clusive than exclusive, in order to reach a number of people; focused purpose or vision; effective commu-nication internal as well as external; collaboration and support to its members; involving a process of research to determine the need before the network is started; visibility via actual events and activities; establishing partnerships with other networks; maintaining and mobilising resources continuously; sharing of knowl-edge and experiences; respect for democracy and accountability; achieving financial and infrastructural sustainability; commitment and passion to achieve the vision; relevance and appropriateness of campaigns; management of an efficient headquarter; strong indus-trial and commercial awareness and leadership to execute the vision.

DESIGN > interviewed Mike van Graan (South Africa), head of the Secretariat of the Arterial Network.

D > What did the Arterial Network achieve to date?

MvG > The Arterial Network founding conference identified a range of challenges and projects were initiated and funds raised to address these. Thus far, we have run in-service training courses for arts jour-nalists to improve critical engagement with the arts, produced a monthly newsletter distributed to an increas-ing database on the continent and around the world, launched a comprehensive website on the arts of Africa that serves as a directory on the arts in each country, conducted research into the economic impact of the arts in Africa, initiated work towards the establishment of a trans-national African Fund for Arts and Culture and hosted a winter school for delegates from 17 countries in order to build arts advocacy groups on the continent.

D > How were the candidates selected for this Winter School and what role were they supposed to play?

MvG > Delegates were recruited through existing net-works and through applications that were sought via our newsletter. We received more than 90 applications

TOP: Participants in the Winter School playing the entrepreneurship board game.

ABOVE: The Winter School group on a visit to the BaxterTheatre in Cape Town.

formation

and selected 17 in this first round. We have funding for similar workshops over the next two years and hope to cover at least 37 countries, the intention being that we will ultimately have 25 to 30 active in-country net-works affiliated to regional and continental networks. Delegates shared experiences from their particular countries but essentially were there to engage around how to build networks in their countries after the Winter School.

D > How did you plan the programme of the Winter School and can you elaborate on the design of the plan?

MvG > The programme was designed to do four things:

1. Provide theoretical input for delegates so that they were introduced to key documents such as the Bel-grade Recommendation on the Status of the Artist, the Nairobi Plan of Action on the Cultural Industries and the UNESCO Convention on the Promotion and Protection of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, all of which provide a great basis for lobbying our governments who are signatories to these documents.

2. Provide delegates with hard skills such as the use of the Internet for marketing purposes, cultural entrepre-neurship insights, lobbying skills, and more.

3. Allow delegates to work together on particular projects so that they practiced for the real world, as it were.

4. Facilitate networking so that people who did not know each other would establish relationships that would enhance networking after the Winter School.

Then, of course, there was also time for delegates to experience various tourist and cultural elements of the host city, Cape Town.

D > Would you agree that the Arterial Network Winter School was a process involving design management that resulted in the development of a suitable network for creative industries in Africa?

MvG > Essentially, the Winter School was a response to a need identified for sustainable civil society voices, partners and networks on the continent and the Winter School was designed both in content and as part of a broader strategy to address this need. Its early days, but I believe that this has been a significant intervention towards the development of a sustain-able network for the African creative sector.

D > What are the most significant outcomes of the Winter School?

MvG > Eighteen people from 17 countries now have a better understanding of the Arterial Network and have expressed a commitment to helping to develop the network in their countries in pursuit of the broader vision i.e. a sustainable and vibrant African creative sector. Then, there was also the networking and the provision of databases from each country that have now been added to our database and website to in-crease the amount of information about the arts on the continent and to facilitate increased networking. One of the key outcomes is a strong recommendation that the Arterial Network formalises itself as a legal entity and that it sustains its growing brand through a range of in-country, regional and continental activi-ties. And, there is the basis for a plan as to how to proceed with this.

D > Were the objectives of the Winter School met and how do you envisage the outcome of the Winter School will benefit creative industries in Africa?

MvG > Based on the evaluations done by participants at the end of the Winter School, we believe the objec-tives for those ten days were largely met. The ultimate aim of the Winter School to build networks this will only be tested in a years time. I have no doubt, though, that numerous other initiatives will take off such as cultural entrepreneurship training using the cultural entrepreneurship board game that was used at the Winter School.

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Be a Technology Top 100 Winner.

Call for 2009 Entries

www.tt100.co.za

South Africas Prestigious Top Awards for the

Management of Technology, Innovation and People in a

Systems Environment.


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South Africas Prestigious Top Awards for the

Management of Technology, Innovation and People in a

Systems Environment.


in south and southern africa, like elsewhere on the globe, computer and video games are a popular pastime and provide young and old with their cyber fix along with a good dollop of escapism. So, whether you like them or not, approve of them or not, they are firmly entrenched in our computer-generated landscape and are more likely than not here to stay.

ver since the development in the early sixties of Spacewar!,

credited as the fi rst ever computer game in the world, the

scene was set for what was to become an addiction to

some and a source of huge concern to others. The industry

responded to the demand and the proliferation of computer

and video games that followed was astounding.

For many computer games have long been a source of con-

troversy. Concerns relate particularly to the violence that

has become commonly associated with video gaming in

SHOOT YOUR GAME IN AFRICA

By Estelle Walmsley

38 > TECHNOLOGY

E

Africa the video game. Images by Rapid Reality/Africast Global Media.

formation

formation

40 > TECHNOLOGY

general. The debate centres around the influence of

objectionable content on the social development of

minors, with organisations such as the American Psycho-

logical Association concluding that video game violence

increases childrens aggression. Industry groups have

responded by emphasising the responsibility of parents

in governing their childrens activities, while attempts in

the United States to control the sale of objectionable

games have generally been found unconstitutional.

Video game addiction is another cultural aspect of gaming

to draw criticism as it can have a negative influence

on health and on social relations. Alongside the social

and health problems associated with computer game

addiction have grown similar worries about the effect

of computer games on education.

In the light of these concerns, the emergence of a new

generation of games in South and southern Africa is

heartening. Aimed at educating and enlightening,

they make a welcome change from the earlier seek-and-

destroy focus of many games.

Researchers at the Meraka Institute of the Council for

Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have released

South Africas first computer spelling game in all 11

official South African languages. The game, OpenSpell,

can be adapted for additional languages and is the

inspiration of visiting American researcher and linguist,

Dr Madelaine Plauch, who has been working in the

human language technologies (HLT) research group.

Version V1.00 of OpenSpell is available for down-

loading and comprises two parts: a simple interactive

computer-based activity that can be set at three levels

(easy, medium and hard) and an editor that allows a

tutor to edit the keyboard and record sounds. Anyone

can use the software to customise it to a language or OpenSpell, South Africas first computer spelling

game in all 11 official languages.

Safari Photo Africa: Wild Earth.

A demonstration of BugzVilla, an iPhone game developed by Leti Games.

SECTION > 41

dialect, Plauch explains. Feedback to learners is in

the form of fun rewards or penalties.

And then theres the grandson of a Ghanaian king and

a 19-year-old programmer in Atlanta who both agree

on one thing: The Western world doesnt understand

Africa. Their solution is to make a video game about

the continent, providing an opportunity to delve into a

land of 13th century African civilisation and mythology,

crossing the virtual Sahara on a camel, journeying to

Timbuktu and fighting as a Zulu warrior against the

lion equivalent of a werewolf. This game promises to

provide an African experience like no other.

Another game with the same destination in mind is

Safari Photo Africa: Wild Earth. Youll be sent on a

mission to take photos of herds of wildlife in their native

habitat. Animal lovers and young gamers alike can find

something to enjoy in this game.For those still

contemplating the ultimate African game, Joshua

Dallmans insightful analysis of the game industry in

South Africa, following a six-month game-designing

stint, will prove useful. He was particularly impressed

with the wide use of cell phones in the country describing

it as the mass market game platform of choice.

However, while the cell phone networks and coverage

in South Africa rival those of the best in the world, he

found Internet access by contrast extremely limited.

Internet is slow, rare, and expensive. He summed it up

as: not a good combination for game developers looking

to the internet as the future of the industry. For a full

analysis, visit his blog at highlighted at the end of

this article.

The iPhone platforms portability appealed to the

Ghanaian-based company Leti Games. The company

which was launched in early 2009 has already produced

a prototype iPhone game called BugzVilla in which the

player must tap the screen to crush insects, earning

points and completing levels. The game offers many

clever and innovative features. Shaking the iPhone

releases more bugs, red ants bite the players finger and

clever bugs run away when players make an error.

While partners Eyram Tawia of Ghana and Wesley Kiriinya

of Kenya are happy with their product and plan more,

the two African game developers also wish to see more

game and software developers on the continent. We

would like to help grow this industry in Africa, establish

support in the universities and eventually even have

Masters Degrees in Game Design offered all over the

continent.

If training and development in the industry is encouraged

and opportunities created, the game industry can only

grow from strength to strength. DOWNLOAD OpenSpell ATwww.meraka.org.za/openspell.htm

> VIEW SAFARI PHOTO AFRICA: WILD EARTH ATwww.wildearthgame.com

> VISIT JOSHUA DALLMANs BLOG ATwww.gamasutra.com/blogs/JoshuaDallman/20090321/953/Game_Design_in_South_Africa.php

> VIEW THE DEMO VIDEO OF BugzVilla AThttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyAu_t5FTHE

formation

THE ECONOMICS

OF DESIGN PROMOTION

nowledge and creativity are becoming power-ful drivers of economic growth in a globalised world. This fact was not only expounded in

the United Nations Creative Economy Report 2008, but has been the topic for academic debate in the past few years.

Prof. Roger Martin, dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto has stated that the design economy had emerged as the successor to the information economy, which in turn succeeded the manufacturing and service economies. Martin affirms that real value is now created from using the designers foremost competitive weapon his imagination to devise solutions to problems.

In a global economy, elegant design has become a critical competitive advantage. This was emphasised by South African designer Brian Steinhobel when he presented his range of taps designed for the South African company Cobra at a recent forum event. He spent 14 years trying to convince this 50-odd-year-old company that eloquent and purposeful design could turn the companys fortunes around especially with a huge influx of taps coming from China in the recent past. Cobra eventually bowed to Steinhobels wooing, resulting in a range of industrial-designed taps that has been marketed with the designers name as its competitive edge. Through

design Cobra has made a significant imprint on the South African plumbing supply market.

But back to the academic debate and more specifi-cally the debate about the role of design promotion as a vehicle for economic growth. Prof. John Heskett, professor in the School of Design, Hong Kong Polytech-nic University, focuses his research at present on how design creates economic value and what should be con-tained in governmental and corporate design policies to drive economic growth. Other areas of his teaching and consultancy include the relationship between design and innovation, the problems of successfully changing the nature of markets and the problems of design in global markets. Heskett postulates that pro-moting technology and design has become a means of gaining economic advantage by enhancing national competitiveness.

For the past 40 years, the SABS Design Institute has promoted the benefits of good design to stimulate economical and technological development, with the aim of creating prosperity for all South Africans.

The Institutes initiatives focus on education, industry support, marketing South African design and support-ing the development of southern Africa, within the wider context of the African continent.

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How design promotion translates into economic gain

The UNs Creative Economy Report 2008 states that the creative industries of which design is most defi-nitely part have profound implications for trade and development in developing countries. Together with technology, the creative industries open up a huge potential to create wealth and employment possibilities that are in line with wider trends in the global economy. However, carefully formulated policy strategies are needed for developing countries to realise this poten-tial. Governments should take strategic action at local, national and regional levels and cooperate with other countries internationally.

The SABS Design Institutes design promotion activities rest on four pillars all four of them aimed at creating wealth and wellbeing through design. The first pillar is that of promoting leadership amongst young designers. Design leadership is imperative for momentum to grow the industry.

Through the SABS Design Institutes education initia-tives young designers are groomed into leadership roles through the Design Achievers programme. Back in 1987, the Design Achievers Award was born of the

belief that opportunities should be created for young designers to define the future and to prove that South Africa is a country with great creative potential. Design Achievers is a unique award scheme insofar as it not only recognises design talent, but also seeks out and awards leadership in design and entrepreneurial poten-tial. The Institute believes that the design leaders of tomorrow will be instrumental in promoting and stim-ulating our countrys design, innovation and technology industries.

Design promotion for development

The second leg of the Design Institutes design pro-motion activities centres on design for development. Projects include the Prototype initiative, where fledgling designers are pointed in the right direction through consultations with industrial designers, intellectual property consultants and fund managers, Idea to Product seminars and participating in international Interdesign

LTR: David Blyth speaking at the Africa Day 2008 conference; Presentation at the Design Summit 2008; Adrienne Viljoen and Prof. Carlos Carlos Hinrichsen at the 2008 SABS Design Excellence Awards exhibition; and guests viewing the 2005 Prototype exhibition at South African Reserve Bank.

workshops. These projects have positioned the SABS Design Institute as a champion for design-for-devel-opment initiatives.

The Icsid Interdesign workshop on Sustainable Rural Transport was organised by the Design Institute in 2005. Together with local communities in the Rusten-burg area of the North-West Province, professional designers from South Africa and abroad focussed on existing rural transport problems and looked at ways in which appropriate technology and good design could be harnessed to provide solutions for sustainable rural transport for developing communities.

A number of the design concepts created during the workshop were developed into prototypes. Rural com-munities tested the prototypes for functionality and social acceptability and the successful prototypes will be handed over to the Department of Transport in August.

This project was visionary. When Trevor Manuel, Minister of Planning in the Presidency, released the Medium Term

Strategic Framework for 2009 to 2014, in July this year, one of the objectives stated in the framework was to improve mobility and access of rural communities both of which are critical for enhanced socio-economic activity and, broadly, a better quality of life.

The UNs Creative Economy Report 2008 demonstrates that the creative industries are a potential source of real development gains for countries in the developing world. The report states, however, that such gains can-not be achieved in a vacuum. They require carefully formulated policy strategies that recognise the com-plexities of the interaction between economic, cultural, technological and social dimensions of the develop-ment process and that are implemented on a multi-agency basis.

Design promotion for economic growth

A popular misconception is that all developing countries experience the same problems. This is just not true. That is why a uniform package of policy measures that will fit all circumstances on a one-size-fits-all basis would just not work. The Creative Economy Report, however, offers overall features of policy strategies that are likely to apply in most developing-country situations.

LTR: Prototype exhibition at the South African Reserve Bank in 2006; Participants of the Interdesign 2005 interact with the local community; Presentation of prototypes developed during the Interdesign 2005; and the 2006 Design for Development exhibition.

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These include the need for strengthening the infrastruc-ture that supports the creative economy; the desirability of capacity-building to ensure that countries can con-tinue to oversee the development of their creative economies on a sustainable basis; and the critical role of finance and investment in areas where the govern-ment can play an important facilitating role. Then there are also the desirability of adopting measures to expand the exports of creative products and to foster import replacement, especially with respect to audiovisuals; the need for appropriate copyright legislation and the

administrative infrastructure to provide effective en-forcement; and the importance of protecting the funda-mental artistic and cultural resources on which the creative economy depends.

As stated above, expanding export of creative products should be high on the policy-making strategies of devel-oping countries. For the past 40 years, the SABS Design Institute has worked tirelessly to award South African-designed products and thus marketing them to the world and enhancing their export potential.

LTR: SABS Design Excellence Awards exhibitions in 2007 and 2008.

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By evaluating and awarding South African designed products, the Design Institute deems that the bar will be lifted and that South Africa can become a major player in product design globally.

In his book The Rise of the Creative Class, Canadian writer Richard Florida argues that human creativity is the ultimate economic resource. The ability to come up with new ideas and better ways of doing things ultimately raise productivity and thus, in turn, living standards.

The SABS Design Excellence Awards scheme aims to do just that awarding product designers who have come up with new ideas and better ways of doing things. Design and creativity are drivers of the eco-nomy, not just through the stimulation of new ideas and innovation, but also in their potential to generate wealth and create jobs. The creative industries are, generally, knowledge intensive, involving highly skilled workers; labour intensive, creating more than

the average number of jobs; and made up of small and medium enterprises, the drivers of economic growth.

Design promotion for regional growth

The Design Institute has been the driving force behind the Network of Africa Designers (NAD), established in 1999. The vision for this initiative has been to network with stakeholders involved with design in Africa to foster design for the sustainable development of the continent.

By organising regular African Design Days and including design students from all over the continent in the Design Achievers workshops, the Design Institute has been spreading the word that design will make a difference in the way the world perceives the African continent.

Through regular NAD events, professional designers from South Africa have been forging ties with like-minded professionals from other African countries and to see what was happening design-wise on the rest of the continent.

The creative economy seems here to stay, as it has sustainability as its cornerstone. This bodes well for the design industry, as for the rest of the creative indus-tries. Time will tell whether the creative economy will deliver on its promises. In the meantime, the Design Institute will continue promoting South African design for the benefit of all sections of the community. DESIGN PROMOTION

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POTENTIALS DESIGN SEMINAR: toWarDs a social Design minDset

By Melanie Harteveld Becker

T he Pambili Association was founded in 2005 to introduce the concept of social design in certain Namibian communities. Since then the asso-ciation has been involved in design and craft training and marketing. Pambili follows the approach of educat-ing and empowering young designers, craft designers, producers, students and professionals so that they become aware, involved and active in social design issues. The focal points are on fashion, jewellery and interior design activities and product development.

One of the activities Pambili engaged in the previous five years was the introduction of the Potentials design seminar in Namibia. The first Potentials was hosted in February 2006 at the Omba Gallery in Windhoek where some 30 participants engaged in a design training seminar and exhibition that included nine case studies presented by professional designers and design cases from Namibia, Indonesia, Finland, Lapland and Colombia. The theme of the first Potentials seminar simply focussed on design potentials in developing communities.

The second Potentials seminar was hosted in June 2007 at Studio 77, Windhoek, and the cross-cutting theme selected was social design. This seminar introduced the concept of action station through which the participants were rotated through six action stations each introducing a certain approach towards social design. Potentials 2 resulted in a publication, Design your Action. The exhibition included six case studies that were presented by professional designers and included design cases from Namibia, Brazil, Finland and Chile.

Day 1 of the Potentials 3 workshop.

The third Potentials workshop was hosted in June 2009 at Studio77, as well as the Pambili studios, Windhoek. The workshop brought together students, entrepreneurs and other professionals from the craft and design fields and the cross-cutting theme of this workshop was

Documents

DESIGN> magazine (edition 14, 2009)