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Their opinion
François Loos
Ministerial Delegate of Industry
Observeur 06 catalogue foreword
Consumers, like companies, want a supply of goods and services that is as diverse as possible, in every sector. Furthermore, they have rising expectations for products, regarding quality, aesthetics, comfort and innovation of use. In this context, the performance of our economic fabric, in terms of industrial creation and design, is an important factor of competitiveness that has the potential to boost the domestic and international sales of companies, thereby creating jobs.
Of course, design and industrial creation encompass the notion of aesthetics. However, first and foremost, they represent a prospective approach to products, and thus to markets. Design is therefore a powerful factor in the creation of value. It can influence, or even create technical innovations and enable companies to find new markets.
I am certain that our companies, and especially our small- and medium-size businesses, must optimize all the key factors of competitiveness that enable them to sell more and hire more. Promoting good practices in industrial creation is part of this policy.
The Observeur du Design is an important element in this policy to promote design. The selection of successes that it brings together constitutes one of the most important tools for raising the awareness of French companies and promoting French design abroad. It showcases the talent and capabilities of our designers, many of whom already enjoy international recognition.
It also honors the efforts of innovation made by many of our companies, of all sizes and from all sectors, and highlights the inventiveness and plurality of French industry. I note with pleasure the diversity of the products in this year's selection, and the strong presence of small- and medium-size companies.
However, this success must not mask the efforts yet to be made to ensure a more regular and broad utilization of design by French companies. Thus, I am counting on the example set by this Observeur du Design, and on the action of the Agency for the Promotion of Industrial Creation, alongside other French organizations encouraging and highlighting design, to continue this effort to raise awareness, with the support of my ministry.
Pierre Vigier
Joint head of the innovation policy development unit at the European commission
Observeur 06 prize awards ceremony
Design is a valuable tool for sharpening the competitive edge of a company. It is also a challenge shared by all the Member States of the European Union. These are the two reasons to which I owe the honor of presiding over the jury of the prestigious Observeur du Design 2005 Award.
It has become a leitmotif to assert that innovation and added value must be improved in European production, if we are to sharpen our competitive edge and maintain the European standard of living. As usual, the key question is how to go from words to action. Part of the concrete response that Europe wants to encourage is for companies to use design as a marketing development tool, not only as a way of meeting users' needs better, but also as an instrument of industrial protection.
By adopting the Communication (October 12, 2005) "More research and innovation - Investing for growth and employment", the European Commission devised an action plan to help companies intensify the creativity, inventiveness and technological content of their products and services. This is no small task.
The European Innovation Scoreboard 2005 shows that French companies undervalue the importance of design. Indeed, unlike other European companies, French firms make nowhere near enough effort to bring significant changes to the aesthetic appearance of their products. Furthermore, in terms of Community registration of new designs, France ranks at 15, a third below the average of its European Union partners.
Beyond the European issues at stake, stimulating the use of design and its integration into corporate innovation strategies thus represents a specific need of French companies, within the context of the Lisbon strategy.
I would like to stress the fact that the economic impact of taking action in this field is far from negligible. This is why the latest European report on competitiveness suggests that the lead that the United States has over Europe in terms of growth in competitiveness is not just a question of technological innovation. Better use of integrated management of the product, the brand and the service; and an improved perception of the customer's needs, seem to be key elements in transforming technological innovation into a lasting competitive advantage. Design can give customers a better perception of the usefulness of an innovation. Therefore, design serves as a revealing element that accelerates market access for innovations and situates the product or service higher up on the value scale. The high number of stars the Jury has awarded in the luxury industry demonstrates the success of such a strategy.
Within this context, the intensity of the debate within the Jury once more proved how much this economic dimension and its interconnection with the other issues of design were at the heart of the discussion. The "stars" not only reward a product or a service, but also an approach that features the essential characteristic of identifying the capacity for integration and analysis.
This is why the list of winners, which is far from heterogeneous, can be considered as a manifestation of this ability for design to be integrated as such across sectors and fields. It is a brilliant demonstration of the capability to successfully reconcile the constraints of merchandising with the joyful image, environmental protection with consumer products, luxury with austerity, tradition with modernity, high-tech with ease-of-use, the aesthetic with the practical, the concepts of small businesses with the constraints of industrial-scale production, individual needs with public services and new materials with cost constraints.
This year, certain sectors remain underrepresented. Of course, this reveals the high standards of the Jury. Unfortunately, it also confirms the statistics, which indicate that in France, design is still underexploited in many fields.
In contrast, I find it especially heartening and significant that the sporting equipment sector, and, perhaps less surprisingly, the electronics and software sectors, won many stars. These are sectors in which the customers are young, and in which intense international competition means that constantly increasing innovation is crucial to success. Indeed, in these sectors, these companies can really only maximize commercial profits through the use of design. Little by little, a similar approach is being taken in products for professional use and in the conception of services, including public services and urban equipment. Here too, the list of winners reveals this trend, in sectors that are sure to generate the jobs of the future for the French economy.
Finally, the jury would like to assert that design should help in reaching these two objectives: identifying consumers' needs better and meeting these needs at prices that are affordable by all. The award granted to an economy car, which is much more than a passing glance at this principle, thus constitutes a welcome reminder that design can contribute to bringing an industrial society into harmony with social needs.
I have no doubt that future Observeurs du Design will confirm the relevance of these multiple functions of design, which is not only a tool for competitiveness, but also an unexpected witness to the values of a society.
Nicole Fontaine
Ministerial Delegate of Industry
Observeur 03 prize awards ceremony
"The exhibition that
I have just visited, with great pleasure,
highlights an essential issue for the future
of both French and European industry: creativity,
the source of its competitivity. It forms
part of one of the aims of the “Cité
des Sciences et de l’Industrie”,
which is to help our fellow citizens to proceed
directly to the intelligence of today’s
world in order to adapt to that of tomorrow.
I believe that this need lies at the heart
of the designers’ approach. This is
why they rightly form part of a centre dedicated
to science and industry.
(...)
For the past four years, “Observeur
du Design” has been a determining element
in the promotion of French design, both to
companies and individuals, both on French
and international markets.
Each successive exhibition, particularly
in respect of its “stars”, reveals
companies that have perfectly understood that
design, a key factor in terms of identity
and differentiation, plays a major role in
their development, particularly abroad. Design
transcends borders and in terms of increasing
world-wide application, a source of both concern
and hope, it is able to communicate to the
entire world, over and above individual cultural
differences.
A number of these companies are dedicated
to sectors in which design has played a role
for many years: fashion, decoration, furniture,
luxury products, sport, transport and leisure.
Other sectors, such as multimedia industries,
are beginning to have a strong presence. The
services and systems sectors also have a place
here.
However, what appears to me to be of greater
significance is the presence of new creations,
such as professional alarms, a range of coating
knives developed with an ergonomic approach
and machine tools.
I consider that this focus brought to bear
on objects of professional life, in spheres
that are still little concerned by design
or that sometimes reject it as overly-expensive
or inappropriate, is particularly important
and opens a broad spectrum of action to designers.
The selection presented to you also emphasises
objects destined for handicapped or fragile
persons. This is a strong symbol. I believe
it is important that no population is excluded
from design for economic or social reasons
and that every individual can participate
in daily life by using aesthetic and ergonomic
objects, sometimes playful, such as this armchair
that enables handicapped people to enter water
unassisted.
All these objects presented harmoniously
together in this exhibition bear witness to
the proof that design concerns all stages
and activities of our life and contributes
to attributing meaning and coherence to them.
It is in this way that the “Observeur
du Design” exhibition presents meaningful
creations. It illustrates the talents harboured
by our country in this domain.
Finally, I am pleased to note the increasing
number of SMMEs among the selected companies.
They should serve as an example to those companies,
still too numerous, whose innovative approach
does not yet include design. A recent survey
conducted by my ministry effectively reveals
that only one third of SMEs have regular recourse
to design.
I am convinced that the selection presented
in the “Cité des Sciences et
de l’Industrie” will also contribute
to broadening the image of design in the eyes
of the general public.
I would like to conclude by addressing my
sincere congratulations to the company/designer
teams that contribute to the dissemination
of French creation, design and innovation.
Products conveying culture, identity and meaning
are essential differentiating factors on globalised
markets and, likewise, factors of social cohesion."
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