欧洲设计师
在中国 文 / PDC设计服务合作伙伴 Olga Sismanidou
Olga Sismanidou 是Designlobby设计集团的设计顾问， 该集团总部位于德国柏林，拥有60多家来自德国、意大利、希 腊等的设计公司的共300多名设计师，主要负责在亚洲地区推广 包括来自这些国家在内的欧洲设计，服务亚洲地区需要高品质设 计的客户；同时在欧洲和世界其他地区不断寻找优秀的设计师资 源。所涉及的设计领域包括了产品设计、平面设计、建筑设计、 室内设计、网页应用设计、品牌、艺术与设计管理、包装设计、 摄影、趋势预测、项目管理等。Designlobby.Asia与广交会产 品设计与贸易促进中心(PDC)建立了全面的战略伙伴关系，以便 更好地为中国的生产企业与国外设计师的合作扫除语言和文化差 异带来的障碍，更好地服务中国市场。
7年前，我作为一家欧洲进口公 司的艺术总监和设计师第一次来到中 国；现在，我大部分时间是在中国生 活。根据我为中国企业进行设计工作 的6年经验，我有一些东西与大家分 享。 在过去，中国企业关心得比较多 的是如何降低生产成本，现在有些企 业还是抱有这种观念。市场更新换代 的速度非常快，尤其是来自经济危机、 生产和运营成本增加、人民币升值以 及来自其他国家的竞争等等压力，使 得这些企业对提升产品附加值的意识 越来越强。设计、创新、科技、品质、 品牌和沟通，这些都是能实现提升附 加值的方法，并且这些方法都需要企 业投入时间、金钱和精力。企业必须 要分析自己到底是谁，明白怎么定性 自己的核心价值和特点。尤其重要的 是要知道自己需要和不需要哪些客户， 而不是所有的客户都不管好坏全盘接 收。要了解谁是真正的竞争对手，自 己的产品和别人的差别在哪里。 对设计师来说，这些都是非常值 得重视的，这会让他们对生产企业有 一个清晰的概念以便于做精准的市场 调研，同时这也是实现创意的第一步。 设计师必须要了解目标市场的设计文 化，包括客户的目的与习惯、消费者 不断变化的需求以及未来发展趋势等。 这不是随便一个人就能轻易做到的， 不过这对于设计师来说，他们有自己 的方法和资源去找到这些资讯。坦白
Olga Sismanidou和她的合伙人
说，现在的消费者遭受了太多的信息 和价格轰炸，在过去7年间，他们在 挑选产品时花在单个产品上的时间从 平均大概12秒减少到了5秒。因此， 不管是从产品、摊位还是从标识、图 像中所体现出来的信息必须要够突出、 清晰和吸引眼球，要跟公司的形象保 持一致，并且要让人印象深刻。 以我自己的经验来看，中国企业 与设计师的合作有两种常见的方式。
一种是只买产品的设计，也有可能会 把产品的推广提案一起买下来。另一 种是双方进行全面的合作，在产品设 计、陈列室和摊位设计、样品展示和 形象顾问等方面达成协议，合作范围 覆盖了与公司形象相关的各个方面。 如果公司想建立一个品牌，必须要有 一支专业的创意团队，包括产品设计 师、室内设计师、品牌沟通设计师、 摄影师、造型师、平面设计师以及广
O l g a S i s m a n idou设计作品
告公司协助等等。这在今天异常激烈 的市场竞争中是非常必要的，特别是 对那些打算做国内市场的公司，这对 很多中国企业来说也是一个新事物。 话虽如此，但这也并不意味着只有花 费大量的金钱才能实现。通过精挑细 选并组成一个小型但高效的创作团队 同样也是可以实现的。对于那些不想 建立品牌的公司，比如他们的客户本 身就是大品牌的出口公司，他们也必 须要为客户提供一些价值主张，以便 客户做出自己的设计，生产独特新颖 的产品，拥有可持续的品质，并提供 与之相符的价格和优质的服务。买家 会忠于有好的设计、好的产品、好的 价格和好的服务的公司。 从1991年开始，我们一直与合作 伙伴Fotis Stamatopoulos进行合作， 涉及的设计领域包括：时装、家纺、 室内、家具、陶瓷、合成树脂、灯具 及其展示、设计活动、季节性装饰品、 设计展览、造型设计等等，我们同时 也在一直努力开拓新的设计领域。对 我们来说，在中国为生产企业做设计 是一个巨大的挑战。创造一件能让世 界上很多人使用并喜欢的产品是一份 很大的责任，但同时也是会有回报的。 我们的设计走的是艺术和情感路线， 所设计的产品背后都蕴含着一段故事， 牵动着人们的情感并在脑海中形成深 刻的印象；通过设计，我们希望给人
们带来快乐。我们把传统的创作方式、 图纸和照片等与计算机渲染相结合， 今天的设计已经突破了规则和界限， 设计灵感也是无处不在：大自然、建 筑、时尚、音乐、艺术以及其他不同 的文化。21世纪是一个设计爆发的纪 元。 中西方的思维方式差别很大。西 方人的思维是直线型的、分析型的， 直接明了地切入要点；而中国人的思 维则是曲线的、整体的和隐喻的。西 方人强调个体和细节，中国人则注重 集体和整体结构。举个例子，西方的 设计师希望每件事情都有条不紊，并 且希望在整个设计项目的过程中能了 解到每一个细节；而中国注重协调和 灵活性的客户在遇到设计过程中可能 会出现的问题时，会选择避免干扰设 计师，直接依照设计师的方法去解决 问题。尽管如此，这些差异还是可以 通过互相学习、理解和互相尊重来克 服的，而且我觉得这两种思维方式都 是很好的。通过这些合作，中西方两 个世界会变得更加紧密，除了双方的 知识、经验和能力得到交流以外，还 有他们的文化价值观念，这些都成为 了中西方传统文化交融后所产生的全 新文化的一部分。 如今，依托广交会这个平台，PDC 广邀海外设计师与中国企业进行合作， 给设计师们提供了在世界第一出口大
国创作和工作的机会，也给中国的生 产企业带来了大量的创意人才，以发 掘中国创新的无限潜力。我们深信我 们的设计师团队能够提供中国企业所 需要的可持续的创新设计，以便在竞 争日益激烈的国际市场中为最终消费 者提供更好的产品和服务。
DESIGNLOBBY 设 计 师E v a n g e l o s K a r a p e t sas设计作品
Design in Chinese Market by Olga Sismanidou
Olga Sismanidou is a Design Consultant for Designlobby, a group of European designers, based in Berlin. She is also the cofounder of Miracles/visual experiments, a creative company that operates in several design fields. Designlobby was formed by Vassilios Bartzokas, former CEO of Carteco Design Centre, a company that under his management was awarded as one of the 10 best companies in Europe for the Customer Focus Award at the European Business Awards. Designlobby is a creative cluster representing 60 design companies and studios and more than 300 designers and creatives from different disciplines such as Product Design, Branding and Communication, Graphic and Packaging Design, Architecture and Interior Design, Lighting and Landscape Design, Motion and Sound Design, Photography, Fashion Design, Trend forecasting, etc. Furthermore, it sources creative talents from Europe and the rest of the world. Its aim is to bring together some of the best creatives of Europe to Chinese corporations, individuals and super brands who understand the value of good design, high quality and innovation and want to stand out in a highly competitive market. The designers are highly skilled professionals with international awards, clients all over the world and true passion and devotion towards their projects. They have a wide knowledge of the international market, the latest trends and the consumer needs. Every client is unique for Designlobby. First we understand the specific needs of each one of them, so we can recommend the right creative designer with the innate ability to deliver innovative and first rate results beyond their expectations. We can also provide them with a total solution ranging from product design to branding and communication. Designlobby has established a strategic partnership with PDC in order to understand and communicate with the Chinese enterprises in the best possible way and to provide better services.
I first came to China 7 years ago as an Art Director and Designer of a European import company. Now I practically live in China and after 6 years of designing for Chinese enterprises I am still working with my first 2 customers. So I can say some things from personal experience. In the past the Chinese enterprises focused mainly on low production cost, and some still do. But the market is a fast changing landscape. Now, because of the financial crisis, the rising of production and operation costs, also of the RMB appreciation and the competition from other countries, they realize more and more the need to add value to their products. They can achieve this through Design, Innovation, Technology, Quality, Branding and Communication. These are the sectors to invest time, money and energy. They must analyze who they are, define their core values and their characteristics. Who are the customers they want, but also do not want, also very important, not a little bit of all for all. Define who their competitors are. What differentiates their company and their products from others'. All this information is vital to the designer, so he/she has a clear picture of the company in order to make an accurate market research, which is the first step of the creative procedure. Designers must research the design culture of the market：the customer targets, the habits and the fast changing needs of the consumers and the forthcoming trends. This is not an easy task to be done by anyone, but designers have their ways and their
D E S I G N L O B B Y设 计 师C O N S T A N T I N O S H o u r s o g l o u设 计 作 品 ， 获2 0 12德国红点奖
sources to find all this information. Consumers are literally bombed with too much information and offers. The time they spend to spot and identify an item has dropped down in the last 7 years from 12 to 5 seconds. So the message, whether this is a product, or a booth, a logo or an image, must stand out, to be eye-catching and clear, to be consistent to the image of the company and to be strong enough to be remembered. From my experience there are 2 ways the Chinese enterprises cooperate with the designers. One way is to buy only the products designs and maybe a promotion proposition for these products. The other way is to have an overall cooperation, to make an agreement which includes products designs, show-room and booth designs and display, as well as visual consulting, which is everything that has to do with the image of the company. The companies that want to build a brand name must have a team of creative professionals to achieve that, Product Designers, Interior Designers, Brand and Communication Designers, Photographers and Stylists, Graphic Designers and Advertising
Companies. This is necessary in today's very competitive market and especially for the companies that want to do the domestic market, which is the new thing for Chinese enterprises. It doesn't mean you have to spend a fortune to achieve that. They can select carefully and form a small but effective team of creatives to support this. The companies that do not want to build a brand name, which is the case for many export companies, because their customers are the brand names, still they must have a value proposition for their customers, to create their own designs, unique and innovative products, to have sustainable quality, the price to be in accordance with all that, and to provide good service. The buyers will be loyal to a company that has good design, good products, good prices and good service. We have been working with my partner Fotis Stamatopoulos since 1991 in a lot of different kinds of design fields, fashion, textiles, interiors, furniture, ceramics, polyresin, lights and light shows, events, seasonal decorations, display, styling and we constantly explore new fields of design. Working
in China for mass production companies was a big challenge for us. To create products that will be used and enjoyed by so many people all over the world is a big responsibility and at the same time very rewarding. Our approach to design is artistic and emotional. We design products that have a story to tell, trigger emotions, and create images in people's minds. We w a n t t o m a k e p e o p l e h a p p y through our designs. We mix the old-fashioned ways of creating, drawings and pictures with computer renderings. There are no barriers, no rules in today's design and inspiration comes from everywhere：nature, architecture, fashion, music, art, different cultures. The 21 st century is a Design Boom Era. Of course there is a very different way of thinking between the Western and Chinese people. Western thinking is linear, analytical and straight to the point, Chinese thinking is curved and holistic and metaphoric. Westerners emphasize on the individual and the details, Chinese on the groups and the overall structure. For example, Western designers want everything to be in order and to be informed in detail
during the project, while the Chinese customer who believes in harmony and discretion will avoid disturbing the designer about several issues that might occur and choose to give the solutions himself. These are differences that can be overcome by mutual learning, understanding and respect. To my opinion these two different ways of thinking are c o m p l i m e n t a r y. T h r o u g h t h e s e collaborations, two different worlds come closer and exchange except their knowledge, experience and skills, also their culture values, being part of the creation of a brand new culture that incorporates both Eastern and Western traditions.
N o w, t h r o u g h P D C , C a n t o n F a i r invites overseas designers to cooperate with Chinese enterprises, giving to the designers the opportunity to create and work in the No.1 export country in the world and to the Chinese enterprises the creative brains to exploit the power of innovation China has. We strongly believe our designers can provide the sustainable and innovative design the Chinese enterprises need for today's very competitive international market and for the very demanding final consumers.
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