I'nesia needs special design authorities, says expert

Yoshinobu Tanaka, a design expert with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), said on Thursday that the much-needed authorities should be in the form of a design promotion committee and a national design centre.

Both offices would play a key role in advising the government on design, synchronising design-related programmes in scattered agencies and implementing government design policies.

“The most basic thing to do would be to nurture an interest in design in Indonesia,” he said during a design seminar hosted by the Trade Ministry and JICA.

Tanaka discussed how Japan began underlining the importance of design in its export products by kicking off a product selection process called “Good Design” and establishing a special export promotion committee for its handicrafts in 1957.

The country also launched a series of design campaigns with the establishment of the Japan Design House and actively took part in international exhibitions to build a positive image for Japan’s product designs. It then set up seven regional design committees nationwide.

As Japan aimed to boost exports, in 1969 the Japanese government established the Japan Industry Design Promotion Organisation to carry out design selection, communicate with overseas design networks and manage exhibitions – all of which helped Japanese export products gain prominence globally.

Indonesia still lags behind its Asian peers, namely Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, India, Taiwan and South Korea, in setting up such authorities to develop designs for their key export products.

The now defunct national design centre, which was incorporated with the Industry Ministry, halted its operations for unknown reasons. The Trade Ministry’s export product development director, Sulistyawati, acknowledged that the creation of great designs was essential to boosting the competitive edge of Indonesian products overseas, thereby giving them added value.

“Excellent design is one of the drivers to win the competition in the global market. We are committed to enhancing our competitiveness to the level required by our buyers as well as to diversify our products,” she said during the seminar.

Despite this awareness, the distribution of product designs is still difficult, notably among small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The ministry has launched a set of special programmes to facilitate SMEs that manufacture goods for export, including the establishment of a designer database and providing a design facilitation service as well as a designer dispatch service.