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VIENNA DESIGN WEEK 2011A small band of designers in South Africa is trying to boost their country's manufacturing economy, and they believe they have just the ticket: promoting industrial design. South Africa's Industrial Designer's Society has been observing the Asian "tiger" economies, particularly South Korea, in order to see what role ID has played in that country's economic success.
South Korea has ID programs at some 156 colleges and universities, producing 3,400 ID grads in any given year. In contrast South Africa has only 25 industrial designers in the entire country, and IDS chairperson Bernard Smith feels they are worse off for it.
"Abroad, industrial designers are generally paid well and work in an enabling environment where they are given sufficient access to research and development resources. The result is continuous innovation, which is the lifeblood of companies," [Smith] comments.The newly formed association's mission is to consolidate the industrial design profession and promote the benefits of industrial design to all stakeholders as a competitive, value-adding resource in South Africa.
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