GUANGZHOU

GUANGZHOU

As PRD's central city, one of China s most prosperous regions, Guangzhou ranks 3rd  in terms of overall economic strength throughout the country. It will hold the 16th Asia Games in 2010.

Guangzhou Design Week (ww w.gzdesignweek.com) is since 2006 an annual international event for promoting innovation and design taking place in Guangzhou. It is hosted by Guangzhou Municipal People's Government and organised by the Economic & Trade Commission of the municipality. In 2007, Guangzhou Design Week was the ever first & only design event in China, jointly endorsed & promoted worldwide by the top three design organizations in the world, International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID), International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers (IFI); International Council of Graphic Design Associations (ICOGRADA). This year's Festival will be held from 4-8 December 2009 in Guangzhou. There are four key event components: the International Design Expo, the Design Tour, the Designweek Award and the Win by Design Forum, all covering a diverse selection of design fields, including industrial design, branding and communication design, cityscape and architecture design, interior design and fashion design.

In graphic design, many independent professional designers in Guangzhou and Shenzhen are leading the trend of Chinese design. Generally speaking, industrial design in Guangdong has been promoted through economic development. In the field of interior decoration, the “Newsdays” in Guangzhou Academy of Fine Art (GAFA) has national fame.

In terms of education the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Art, the Fine Arts Department of South China Normal University Fine Arts Institute and the School of Engineering and School of Design and Communication (Sun Yat-Sen University) were identified.

There is no big development of independent design in Guangzhou, but some individuals have developed local design in various directions. For example, Wang Xu Design Studio in graphic design, Ma Ke (who received a Prins Claus Award in 2008) in fashion design, and the College of Design in Guangzhou Academy of Fine Art which has an industrial design department. In terms of exhibitions and events “Get it louder” (organized by Ou Ning) drew global attention. Local media such as the “City Pictorial” magazine is unique and held “I-Mart” (see subchapter on media).

The opportunities today in Guangzhou are there. These might not be directly related to the market but more to the development of design education. It is not very plausible for European design and designers to directly land in Guangdong or the Pearl River Delta and establish relations with local enterprises. It is suggested that designers should pay attention to Guangzhou's market but that their sights should stay with design related exchanges and promotions.