Writings on Design, from Asia

Design Droplets welcome’s our newest writer Liam Mugavin. Liam is an Australian Industrial Design graduate currently residing in Japan. Below Liam outlines his initial thoughts on Design in Asia. I hope you enjoy his posts and insights on Design in Asia. ~ Raph Goldsworthy, Editor.

Australia’s geographic and economic proximity to the rest of the world sometimes places us in an ambiguous position in many industries, especially in industrial design. We tend to associate mostly with American and Western European countries due to having similar consumer culture and language. Although South East Asia is at our doorstep, I believe our relationship at times is weak due to a lack of understanding of this region. Asia obviously plays a predominant role in the design world; however it is often overlooked by Australian designers. Sure, we’re aware of Asia’s engineering, technology and manufacturing capabilities and most Australian products are manufactured in Asia. However, there is far greater depth to the industry that we aren’t so aware of. Take for example Japan’s deeply rooted culture of craftsmanship, the design research taking place in Singapore, Seoul’s recent activity as the World Design Capital 2010 and the principles of Zen aesthetics evolved through Buddhism that many Asian designers observe.

Historically much of Asia had been detached from the rest of the world, looking inwardly by fostering traditions over globalisation and external influence. In the late nineteenth century however, this started to change and even reverse. Asian countries went though a period of learning and emulating the specific strengths of foreign countries particularly from America. Some Asian countries are still following this mindset whilst others have surpassed the countries they learned from and are now leading in many fields. This period of Americanisation saw the birth of the consumer electronic industry in Asia, which at the time saw Japan develop into the biggest economy in the world.

Over the last few decades there has been a swing of dominance in product development towards Asia. Britain was once at the forefront of innovation during the industrial revolution. Post-war America took the lead through factory-line mass production. Japan’s endeavours towards technological research and development paid dividends and saw the rest of the world following them. However, the field evened out as Japan’s bubble burst. While each country has its strengths, as we come to an end of the latest economic crisis, it appears China will emerge at the forefront of product development. The swing of influence into our region of the world provides great opportunity for Australia, however better awareness is needed.

For me, writing about design in Asia is not just about sharing my views, experiences and news from Asia, but it’s a learning process. After being here in Japan for one year, I’m still fresh and have much to uncover about the intricacies of design culture in Japan and Asia. Despite how widely Asian design is published, the ethos behind product design remains generally unknown in Australia. Furthermore, when observed from the outside things that are taken for granted in their local context are often misinterpreted. By writing for Design Droplets I’m going to endeavour to share my experiences in Asia and shed a bit of light on things to inform myself as well as you. I have a bunch of topics in mind that I’ll be writing on, but if anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear from you.