UK design companies target the Chinese market

An Industrial Design Consultancy (IDC) product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Jul 18, 2007

The China Design Taskforce has been set up by the UKTI with the sole purpose of helping the most talented British design consultancies win business in China.

Industrial Design Consultancy (IDC) has been selected by the Department of Trade and Investment (UKTI) as one of the 12-strong team of leading British designers to capitalise on a GBP 3 billion emerging market in China.

The China Design Taskforce has been set up by the UKTI with the sole purpose of helping the most talented British design consultancies win business in China.

The UKTI has identified a host of opportunities emerging as Chinese companies begin to move beyond contract manufacturing and look to build brands with global appeal.

It argues that such companies will be spending more time and money on creative design, marketing and branding, particularly considering the potential for increased exposure with the upcoming Olympics in Beijing.

Datchet-based IDC has decades of experience under its belt, starting out as a small agency in 1972.

Nowadays, IDC has grown to a 21-strong business working for small, medium and large organisations in numerous commercial and industrial sectors.

Recent projects have included designing the first ever portable medical heart monitor for consumers, through to creating drug delivery devices and developing state of the art solar energy systems for the future.

Having also worked with Chinese companies before, IDC is well-placed to pitch for a slice of China's booming design market, combining localised knowledge with technical and design experience.

Unusually, the consultancy boasts creative designers, skilled engineers and Project Managers, as well as a substantial model and prototype workshop, under one roof - a major reason for their success in being selected.

Stephen Knowles, Managing Director of IDC was delighted: "This is a very exciting time for us".

"Whilst we continue to value our UK clients, our capabilities have been recognised abroad too".

"We're well-versed in working both for Asian clients and for UK-based companies, seeing products right through from design to manufacture".

"With the impact of globalisation and concerns about sustainability, IDC is well placed to help manufacturers develop products which meet the challenges of the modern world".

"For us, this is a natural progression".

The UKTI will not be wasting any time in providing a platform for its taskforce members to communicate and showcase their homegrown talent and experience.

A number of events have already been set up.

It will host seminars in China about the strength of UK design and share intelligence with the British design community through direct training and marketing activities.

Conferences have also been organised in Shanghai, Beijing, Wuxi and Guangzhou from as early as October 2007.

Each UK taskforce member has broken into the Chinese market.

Together the designers cover a strong range of disciplines such as retail, communications, transport, industrial design and design management.