Design Week drew my attention to the opportunity for the British design industry to penetrate China, a population of more than 1.3 billion, contrasting hugely in culture to the West. China is the country seen as the 'workshop of the world'. There are organisations, such as 'Made in China', established by Phillip Dodd the former ICA director. He wishes to establish cultural commercial bridges, advocating the importance of first gaining an understanding of China's culture before trying to 'do business'. He believes the Chinese have long-term vision, whereas us Brits have a far more short term approach. China itself has begun working towards designing itself, they will only need British design if we understand their needs. The world famous events such as the 2008 olympics in Beijing and the 2010 expo in Shanghai will give Chinese companies international exposure, providing British design agencies huge chances to build links.
Although we as design students have some way to go until we become established ourselves, this article gave me food for thought; I find it contextualises my existing knowledge of British design to consider what is happening on a larger scale.
I also liked the summarising statement of the article, something I will personally strive to adher to.. "If a man takes no thought about what is distant, he will find sorrow near at hand".
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