Visual Aid: The Gwangju Design Center Gives Small Business Product Design a Boost

Written By Karly Pierre, Interview interpretation by Cho Nam-hee

Photos courtesy of the Gwangju Design Center

Where business goes, design surely follows.

In today’s competitive markets, consumers place a higher value on products that express a lifestyle over functionality. Design has become an integral part of a business plan and a critical part of that business’s success.

In 2006, the Gwangju Design Center opened with the vision of providing the resources for such success to businesses in the southwestern provinces of South Korea.

“We started with the goal of supporting companies through industrial design,” said Jang Sang-gun, president of Gwangju Design Center. “Now we are expanding that goal to enable us to provide services in a variety of design fields such as urban design. We want to develop designs that not only provide a service, but also are socially conscious.”

The central government, along with the provincial offices of South Jeolla, South Chungcheong, North Chungcheong and Jeju fund the bulk of the Gwangju Design Center budget. The Center connects small to mid-sized businesses with innovative design companies and independent designers and facilitates the product design from beginning to end.

“The Design Center takes care of the entire process,” said Kim Gyeong Seon, director of the future strategies department. “Any problems or challenges along the way are solved through the Center. Although the Center is relatively small compared to other design centers, we have helped many companies in the area develop products that can be successfully exported. Their sales increased significantly due to their collaboration with us.”

The Center has helped develop packaging for local health and beauty products, such as Aqua Sol, branding for the Asia Content and Entertainment Fair, product design for toy company Kidro, and public spaces such as the World Cup Stadium.

Most businesses collaborating with the Center will encounter a similar design process. After an initial consultation to create a product strategy, businesses and designers engage in the much longer planning phase, when they shuffle ideas back and forth. Then a product sample is made, and once approved, the final product is ready to be manufactured.

The Center also acts as an educational resource for the community. It houses a design library stocked with a variety of books, as well as a computer lab with technical design programs to help young designers and small business owners realize their vision. There are also a number of conference rooms and a kids’ zone to spark a curiosity in design at a young age.

“We have a unique membership program for young people and students,” explained Kim. “This program gives design students the opportunity to get hands-on experience with people in the industry. We had projects with universities from the U.K. and Finland. It was an Eastern-Western integrated collaboration. This program gives students in the area an opportunity to know renowned designers from around the world.”

Jang said that the Center, which has worked with almost 700 companies, has received a positive response from the community. Jang, who graduated from Chosun University with a degree in architecture, also noted that the presence of the Center has helped to decrease the “brain drain” in the southern provinces that would result when talented, young local designers left the area for Seoul.

“In the past, 90 percent of the students graduating in design were going to Seoul,” said Jang. “Now around half of the students are staying because this is a place that can use their talents.”

The Center hosts a number of international design events, including the Gwangju Design Biennale and the Asian Design Forum, where industry innovators can connect and present new ideas. The 2nd annual Asian Design Forum, held Oct. 18-19, featured presentations by Lin Shin-Bou, CEO of Taiwan Design Center, as well as Yoshie Ota and Tsutomu Okada, directors and curators for Spiral/Wacoal Art Center in Tokyo. Forum attendees participated in panel discussions about a variety of design issues and a workshop on vulnerable areas in landscaping.

When the Center celebrates its 10th anniversary in April 2016, it will not only recognize the Center’s past achievements, but also future partnerships, which are expected to bring culturally-focused organizations to the forefront.

“Culture, art and industry are the necessities of human life,” said Jang. “So many things correlate with design. Nowadays it is all integrated together in order to sustain human life in a community.