Anna Zhao

    anna.whizh@yahoo.com

    FOREIGN designers seeking cooperation with Shenzhen partners will have a bunch of opportunities in the upcoming years, but more work should be invested in team building to create an export market, said Michael Young, a British designer who has had years of experience working with Chinese companies.

    Young, the owner of a well-established Hong Kong-based design brand, recently set up a company in Guangdong to manufacture stainless steel parts for U.S. companies. A recent faucet design he brought to the fair caught the attention of visitors at the Third China (Shenzhen) Industrial Design Fair for its elegant design and metallic finish. The faucet was one of the products his company has made with a Guangdong manufacturer.

    Young thinks that now is a good time for foreign designers to cooperate with local companies.

    “China has signed a memorandum of understanding with Britain in the innovation industry as a result of Chinese President Xi’s visit last month, so there will be an influx of international designs coming to China in the next two to three years,” he said.

    As a foreign designer who has cooperated with Guangdong companies for a long time, Young said that the biggest challenge to the partnership is team building in cross-cultural situations.

    “It takes a lot of experience to find the correct way to work together (with Guangdong companies) due to cultural differences. You have to understand the psychological differences between Chinese and English,” he said.

    He attributed his successful relationships with his Chinese partners to building trust. “The most important part is how we unite to build teamwork, set up marketing and distribution,” he said. “Design in Europe is everything, but it’s not here in China.”

    Young, who attended the city’s design fair for the third year, said he was very much amazed by how much Shenzhen’s design have evolved compared with several years ago.

    “Many manufacturers now have beautiful products and are building their own brands, which is giving designers powerful advantages with their innovation. This is an exciting moment for Chinese designers,” Young said.