In Guangzhou, CBi inspired the design industry to use design research in China
CBi’s leading role in the ongoing renaissance of Chinese design was recognized when it took part in a series of high-profile events in Guangzhou City in southern China's Guangdong Province recently.
The 2009 Guangzhou Design Week, one of China's largest and most anticipated annual gatherings of international design professionals, was the first stop on CBi's itinerary in December.
CBi was invited by organizers to deliver a keynote speech as well as judge the event's prestigious design awards.
The speech outlined the importance that a clearly thought out and executed design process plays in the success of products and services. CBi’s impressive performance in the face of the economic downturn over the past year was given as an example of how companies are increasingly recognizing this, and how CBi is at the forefront of the new appreciation of design in China.
CBi’s speech, and its emphasis on the “Innovation and Design Process”, generated a great deal of discussion and interest among the 300 delegates from across the globe, as well as requests from media organizations, conference organizers and educational institutions for future cooperation.
As an expert in recognizing outstanding design, CBi was also asked to judge the event’s design awards, helping to whittle 500 entries down to a winning 50 across such diverse categories as home appliances, interior design and manufacturing.
CBi was then honored with the opportunity to speak to an audience of over 50 students and academics at the renowned Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, a recognized center of excellence in the training of designers in southern China.
The speech sparked a lively Q&A session with students, who had clearly been inspired by CBi’s appraisal of China’s design industry, with many students keen to learn more about CBi’s methods, and even how they could gain a chance to work with the company in the future.
The faculty lecturers were also impressed by the talk, with one praising it for being presented in a "straightforward and easy-to-understand way, which made it very beneficial". A representative from another leading design academy, the South China University of Technology, shared these sentiments, and invited CBi to give a speech at his institution at the earliest convenience.
Finally, CBi met with the Yangcheng Evening News, one of the world’s largest papers by circulation. Topics covered in the two-hour long interview included the reasons behind CBi’s continued growth, the current state of China’s design industry and how the sector’s trends are likely to develop through the next year and beyond.