Design function need not follow manufacturing east

Product and industrial designers are being warned that the impact China has had on manufacturing in the UK will also start to affect their own sector.

Graeme Paterson, MD at award winning designer Brightworks believes the trend for manufacturers to move to the Far East could be followed by design.

Brightworks is a leading UK product design and development consultancy and works across a number of design sectors, including medical, industrial and telecomms products.

The consultancy, winner of the Industrial Product Design of the Year award in a national competition organised by the British plastics industry last year, has seen many of its clients move production to China in recent years.

Paterson now believes this trend could also extend into the design sector.

"UK designers have often felt that, whilst core manufacturing has moved into China, the Chinese would not match the creative abilities of our designers, but that is no longer the case", said Paterson.

"China is currently training tens of thousands of designers and it is only a matter of time before lower costs attract more stages of the product development process to the Far East".

Paterson, who is also a visiting lecturer on the University of the West of England's creative product design course, is keen to stress that the future isn't all gloom.

"I don't want to paint a completely gloomy picture about design's future in the UK and I think our opportunities are to either expand to provide a design service on a global level or to work in specialist and niche markets".

"Within these specialist areas the need to keep designers and manufacturing near to the client, to reduce risk and ease communications, will be more important than minimising the cost of development".

The PDM Conference debate on design next month will give Paterson an opportunity to air his views on the future of UK design and the need to create more commercially aware design graduates.

"I am keen to see graduates with far greater vocational experience, able to balance the academic world of 'pure' design with the ability to quickly integrate into the work environment".

"Achieving this balance will enable design agencies to continue competing effectively in specialist areas against new markets such as China and possibly even India in the future".

Graeme Paterson is one of a group of leading design figures who will form the specialist panel during the design debate being held at the PDM Conference on Wednesday 27th September.

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