Anne Zhang

    zhangy49@gmail.com

    TOP international and domestic designers will gather in Shenzhen this week to share experiences and creative ideas as well as build connections during the 5th China (Shenzhen) International Industrial Design Festival (CIIDF).

    The festival started with a tour by international designers to art venues in Shenzhen and Hong Kong at the weekend and will conclude Sunday. An opening ceremony will be held today in Longgang District.

    Crossover & Symbiosis

    Titled “Crossover and Symbiosis,” this year’s CIIDF encourages designers to break boundaries between industries, organizations and countries and try to create designs that meet diverse demands.

    Industrial design has been applied to many aspects of people’s lives including urban planning, social security and public infrastructure, which requires designers from different cultural and professional backgrounds to work together and cope with a changing market, said Feng Changhong, director general of the Shenzhen Industrial Design Profession Association.

    The festival includes several major activities such as an international industrial design summit forum, an exhibition of Bao’an District’s achievements in industrial design, networking events for Chinese and foreign design companies, the 2012 Hong Kong Business of Design Week and a HiUED user experience annual meeting.

    Cooperative

    partner — Copenhagen

    In the past, Shenzhen has cooperated with Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Finland and Sweden to hold the CIIDF. During this year’s festival, Copenhagen will be the cooperative partner.

    Scandinavian design is among the best in the world. It is known for its succinct and elegant style. Danish design in particular is known for its simplicity and practicality and the country’s designers have excelled in many design areas including architecture, furniture, silverware and china.

    By establishing a strategic collaboration with Copenhagen, Shenzhen has drawn many top international designers to attend the festival, the festival organizers said.

    Global design leaders

    The festival features top designers and brands from both China and abroad.

    More than 50 designers from Denmark, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Norway, the United States, South Korea and Singapore are invited to give speeches and participate in a networking event and an industrial design seminar.

    Among them are Ralph Wiegman, president of the organizing committee of the German IF Design Award; Rune Domsten, chairman of a Danish electronics industry council DI-ITEK and vice president technology at Prevas A/S Co.; and Mikkel B. Rasmussen, chief strategic director of a Danish creative company ReD Associates.

    In addition, more than 600 domestic manufacturers and design agencies, nearly 100 top brands from home and abroad, and more than 3,000 professional designers will take part in the festival. The participants are from a variety of sectors, including IT, communications, electronics, finance, Internet technology and medicine. During the design festival, more than 60 Chinese designers will conduct panel discussions with international designers.

    Initiated in 2008, the CIIDF is co-organized by the National Industrial Design Innovation Alliance, the Bao’an District Government and the Shenzhen Industrial Design Profession Association.