Shenzhen design fair to open on Nov 30

Shenzhen's industrial design has reached world class level, says Peter Kuchnicki, president of the Spark Design Awards, the world's first participatory design competition.

"I have seen world-class designs in the city, and the general level is improving very fast," Kuchnicki said on Nov 28 at a news conference for the first China International Industrial Design Fair in Shenzhen.

The fair will run from Nov 30 to Dec 3, showcasing about 5,000 works from 25 countries and regions in the world.

Of 176 exhibitors, 107 are from overseas, such as the United States, Italy, France and Germany. The number of visitors is expected to be about 150,000.

Renowned industrial designers such as Karim Rashid from the US, and Stefano Giovannoni from Italy will also participate in the fair.

Kuchnicki said that the fair will be a good platform for worldwide designers to meet Chinese ones and to nurture business opportunities.

"The fair is already a success by attracting so many world designers," he said.

Shenzhen is a major design hub in China and was appointed as a UNESCO City of Design in November 2008.

The city has more than 6,000 organizations in industrial design, hiring more than 100,000 employees. The total output is 3.1 billion yuan ($509 million) in 2012, an increase of 25.8 percent year-on-year.

Chen Biao, deputy mayor of Shenzhen, said that the city has spared no efforts to cultivate innovation and develop the design industry.

"We will focus more on the international exchange of industrial design, and build the sector into a modern, high-end and international one," Chen said.

Feng Changhong, secretary-general with the Shenzhen Industrial Design Profession Association, said that the association will make the fair an annual event.

"More overseas participation will be one major highlight of the fair," she said. "We hope that the event will help to educate local companies about the value of industrial design and bring new business to both local and international enterprises."

The fair is jointly held by the Shenzhen government, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Shenzhen Industrial Design Profession Association, the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design, the China Industrial Design Association and the Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society.