What does it mean for Shanghai?, the high-profile conference opens today: "Design City"
Today, the annual World Design Capital Conference was held again on the bank of the Huangpu River. More than a hundred leading international and domestic companies participated in the exhibition. The total exhibition area of the main exhibition was nearly 20,000 square meters. The exhibition time was nearly doubled compared with the previous one, striving to During the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day festivals, a “design feast” is provided to the public.
Design, this concept is both real and imaginary. This exhibition does not seem to be able to present concrete industrial value like the just-concluded industrial expo, nor is it as intensively displaying cutting-edge technology as the popular World Artificial Intelligence Conference in the summer. What is the purpose of holding an exhibition with a high-standard configuration and the theme of "design"?
The theme of this conference - "Design without boundaries, create all things", gives a clear answer: use invisible design to empower all things. Use design to occupy the high-end links of the value chain and lead the way to high-quality development. From this perspective, the World Design Capital Conference is not only the same as the Industrial Expo, Artificial Intelligence Conference, etc., but also closely related.
Good design can not only make products more beautiful and practical, but also improve product quality and competitiveness by introducing new design concepts and elements, increase the industrial added value of products, get rid of the vicious cycle of traditional "low-price competition", and promote the industry Achieve real upgrades and innovations.
The leveraging effect of design is often subtle. Take small ballpoint pen nibs as an example. Our country has relied on overseas production all year round. Nearly 90% of pen nib balls are imported. It was not until recent years that companies such as Chenguang increased their research and development efforts and conquered the mass production of ballpoint pen nib balls. Problems have been solved, independent innovation in industrial design has been achieved, and raw material costs have been reduced accordingly.
A company can benefit greatly from good design, and a city can continue to improve because of good design. In 2010, Shanghai was awarded the title of "Design City" by the United Nations. Since then, Shanghai's creative design industry has embarked on a rapid growth path. As of 2022, the total output of Shanghai's creative design industry will be 1.64 trillion yuan, accounting for the proportion of Shanghai's GDP. Around 13%. On this basis, Shanghai is also moving towards higher goals. In 2022, it released the "Several Opinions on Building Shanghai into a World-class "Design City"", which clarified that the total industrial output will be 2 trillion yuan by 2025, and that the total industrial output will be 2 trillion yuan by 2030. The overall goal is to build a world-class “design capital”.
The "Opinions" also clearly stated that industrial design and digital design should integrate the requirements of engineering, aesthetics, and economic principles, strengthen the application of scientific and technological achievements, information technology, and green design, build the core competitiveness of the industry, and promote supply-side reform. Especially in the three leading industries and the six key industries, it is necessary to strengthen the leadership and empowerment of design, and strengthen the design innovation capabilities and system integration capabilities of key core links - the far-reaching significance of design to the economy and society can be seen.
At the press conference of the 2023 World Design Capital Conference, Ruan Li, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Economic and Information Technology Commission, said: “Shanghai design must not only be brave enough to accelerate the pace of innovation, but also dynamically grasp the development trends of science and technology and industry. Make the first move and take the initiative to seize the layout.” To a certain extent, only by firmly grasping the “design” aspect can Shanghai be more proactive in investing in the new round of industrial revolution and attract more people. Like-minded people gather in this charming city.
