globalisation

Some things to reflect on leading up to Topic 03: Globalisation:

— how globalisaton is changing the playing field
— the reality of economic, political and social disruption
— China: an undeniable force
— educating designers: how designers define the design profession
— new challenges, new opportunities

Globalisation is causing enormous economic, political and social disruption. The promises of faster and easier travel, better telecommunications and technologies that translate, connect, share and bring each of us closer — at least digitally — are moving entire industries across borders, opening up new markets, boosting certain sectors and opening an even wider divide between the haves and have nots. Whether consciously or not, designers play a primary role in this change and are also greatly affected by it as a profession. The attributes of tomorrow's markets, products and services are being determined today by social developments in distant lands and it is incumbent on designers, and particularly design organisations and entities, to better understand the implications of this. 

Countries like China and India are becoming not only sophisticated manufacturers but important world markets for goods. Where once it might have been enough to develop relations with key factories or develop partnerships to set up manufacturing plants to sell competitively to the rest of the planet, today any brand not selling to these markets is missing out on key growth sectors. But if we meet this growing market demand and produce as much for China and India as we do for North America and Europe, aren't we are going to be drowning in 'stuff'? Designers play a pivotal role in this evolution, mainly to assert their position as defenders of the interests of the end-user and to divert a situation which will have disastrous impacts on the planet. This includes making actual sustainable decisions — including making less— and finding solutions that take into consideration issues like accessibility, equality and improvement of quality of life. Are we equipping designers with the tools to cope with the full implications of globalisation?

This is an overview of Topic 03: Globalisation: Positioning Design to Face the Changing Global Economy, for the ico-D Regional Meeting Europe, which will take place on 20-21 June 2019. For more information on this meeting, click here.