Designers compromise creativity to meet targets<\/p>\n
By Stevie Emilia<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): In their work, designers depend mostly on
\ncreativity. But in facing the future's competition, many of them,
\nlike it or not, must compromise with the demand from producers
\nand the market, leaving cultural aspects behind.<\/p>\n
According to art designer Rini Chairin Hayati, a speaker at
\nlast week's Asia Pacific Design Conference '98, many designers
\ncan no longer enjoy the freedom to express their creativity.<\/p>\n
Designers working for manufacturers, for instance, have to bow
\nto certain restrictions while creating designs, such as limited
\nproduction time, limited budget, affordable product prices and
\nother constraints.<\/p>\n
\"Those designers have to sacrifice cultural values in their
\ndesigns to meet the target,\" Rini told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
\"But designers working for manufacturers are different from
\ncraft designers, who can still include cultural values in their
\nwork,\" she added.<\/p>\n
The conference, held at the Jakarta Design Center, was titled
\nDesign and Regional Society in the 21st Century. It was organized
\nby the Indonesia Design Center in cooperation with the Japan
\nDesign Foundation, and was opened by Minister of Cooperatives and
\nSmall Enterprises Adi Sasono.<\/p>\n
Rini, who is in charge of an art program and craft division at
\nStudio D23, a multidivision design studio in Bandung, West Java,
\njoined a project conducted by the National Fund for Export
\nDevelopment in 1979 along with some designers from the Bandung
\nInstitute of Technology.<\/p>\n
The project, which mainly used the skills of local
\ncraftspeople in Tasikmalaya, West Java, was intended to develop
\nprototypes of goods to be exported abroad. Bamboo, which is known
\nas a multipurpose plant, was among the material selected for
\ndevelopment.<\/p>\n
\"In its development, a new kind of bamboo craft was introduced
\nafter taking into deliberation several considerations compared
\nwith traditional products, such as health and safety factors,
\nsuitability to urban living style, limited production time and
\nuniformity of quality,\" Rini said.<\/p>\n
The new bamboo crafts, ranging from household utensils to
\ndecorations, were then sold to urban people instead of just being
\nused by the Tasikmalaya people.<\/p>\n
The team of designers then tried to export the products to
\nJapan but failed because the company which was to sell their
\nproducts there, went bankrupt seven years ago.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, another opportunity presented itself and for the
\npast six months, they have started exporting to Japan again.<\/p>\n
\"The difference between our former exports to Japan is this
\ntime, we send a very small quantity of baskets,\" said Rini. Now,
\nthe team has its own agent in Japan to arrange orders for them.<\/p>\n
But Rini and her team are not yet satisfied with the result.<\/p>\n
Bamboo craft, she said, was just like any other craft, subject
\nto a life cycle.<\/p>\n
She said that when a product is first introduced to the
\nmarket, it is relatively unknown but gradually, the market
\nrecognizes it and sales increase.<\/p>\n
But after some time, the market becomes saturated and the
\nsales slow down, she said.<\/p>\n
And at that time, she said, a substitute craft, something new
\nand more appealing to consumers, should be introduced to the
\nmarket.<\/p>\n
\"Just like in the fashion world, we also have trends in
\nhandicrafts. The occurrence of these fashion trends implies that
\nfrom time to time, we have to develop and launch new products,\"
\nRini said.<\/p>\n
And designers, she said, must work harder in the future,
\nthinking of how to keep up the spirit to create new products
\nwhich have strong appeal to consumers. At the same time, the new
\nproducts should be of good quality and strong cultural values.<\/p>\n
\"This is not a simple problem, it is a multidisciplinary
\nproblem that must be solved by a network of experts,\" Rini said.<\/p>\n
But compromising their creativity with market demands is not
\nthe designers' only problem. At present, designers are also posed
\nwith another crucial problem: legal protection of their works.<\/p>\n
\"How far does the law protects the designer? After so much
\ndifficulty creating something new, someone with better financial
\nsupport can flood the market with the same product at much
\ncheaper prices,\" Rini said.<\/p>\n
She said that if no legal protection was given to designers'
\nworks, it was feared that soon designers would not be interested
\nin creating new products.<\/p>\n
Minister Adi Sasono recognized the designers' problem, saying
\nthat it begins with a lack of understanding on the important role
\nof design.<\/p>\n
Some small and medium companies, he said, have felt the need
\nfor designs but cannot afford to pay designers. Instead, they
\npreferred to copy other countries products, which then made
\nmultinational companies pursue them for violating copyrights, he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
\"These problems should be handled right away. Designers should
\nanticipate matters by cooperating with industrialists, who do not
\nhave traders' mentality, and lawyers, to prepare legal protection
\nfor Indonesian designers,\" Adi said in his opening speech.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/designers-compromise-creativity-to-meet-targets-1447893297",
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