(photographed by Liu Xiangyang)

On the morning of September 28th, the press conference of the first Hebei International Industrial Design Week was held in the press conference hall of Xiong'an Citizen Service Center. Liu Baoling, deputy secretary of the Party Working Committee of Xiong'an New Area and executive deputy director of the Management Committee, Hao Lixiao, deputy director of the Industry and Information Technology Bureau of Hebei Province, and Shirley Feng , director of Hebei Industrial Design Innovation Center, attended the press conference. The press conference was hosted by Comrade Liu Baoling. The participants also included about 50 media reporters.

(photographed by Liu Xiangyang)

At the press conference, Director Liu Baoling first briefed the media reporters on the situation of the first Hebei International Industrial Design Week. He said, “The main venue of this design week is located in Xiong’an New Area, which provides a good platform for learning and exchange to develop a high-end design industry, establish a global inovation highland and construct a future city for Xiong’an New Area, and also provide a good opportunity for Hebei Province and Xiong'an New Area to expand exchanges and cooperation with domestic and foreign. The provincial government of Hebei Province attaches great importance to it and carefully deploys to establish the Design Week Organizing Committee, with Chen Gang, the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, the Deputy Governor, the Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Xiong'an Area, the Director of the Management Committee as the director, and the Governor Li Qian as the Deputy Director of the Design Week Organizing Committee. To strengthen the work of the main venues, the Administrative Committee of Xiong'an New Area established the Executive Committee of the Design Week, and Comrade Chen Gang personally served as the director. Recently, the Design Week Organizing Committee and the Executive Committee held several scheduling meetings to study and improve the implementation plan and deployment. Focusing on work, we earnestly do all the preparatory work, and ensure that all activities are carried out in an orderly manner. All relevant departments and units have been responsible and closely cooperated to finish collaborative work effectively, thus to provide a strong guarantee for the successful holding of this design week. "

(photographed by Liu Xiangyang)

Subsequently, Deputy Director Hao Lixiao introduced the design background and the significance of the design week. “Industrial design is the starting point of the innovation chain and the source of the value chain, which comes from manufacturing and serves to manufacturing, playing an important role in promoting the quality improvement and transformation of the manufacturing industry. In recent years, the Party Central Committee and the State Council have attached great importance to the development of industrial design. Industrial design has been written into the National Eleventh Five-Year, Twelfth Five-Year, and Thirteenth Five-Year Plan. "Made in China 2025" also regards "improving innovative design capabilities" as one of the strategic tasks and priorities of planning. Especially in the context of the current socialism with Chinese characteristics entering a new era, the deepening of supply-side structural reforms, and the rapid development of modern technologies such as the Internet and smart manufacturing, the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China clearly stated that the main contradictions in our society have been transformed into contradictions between the people’s growing needs for a better life and the development of unbalanced development. The individualized demand of people for the quality of life and the higher requirements of the market for the variety and quality of products make the vigorous development of industrial design have more distinct characteristics of the times.

On the eve of the party's 19th National Congress, the provincial government of Hebei Province raised the banner and vigorously developed industrial design as an important breakthrough for the industrial transformation and upgrading of the province, and issued a number of “Measures to Support Industrial Design Development”. Not less than 500 million special funds were arranged to focus on expanding service supply, stimulating market demand, creating industrial design brand activities, and opening up a new engine for industrial design development. The accuracy and intensity of the policy support have caused great shocks in the design community. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has given a high evaluation of “the best in the country”. Liaowang Institute and "Financial and Economic Weekly" compare Hebei's industrial design to an "Enlightenment" vividly, and the large screen of New York's Times Square also broadcasts a promotional video "China's Hebei: Designing and Building a City of the Future" to the world. It expresses the determination and confidence of Hebei to make “Created by Hebei” through industrial design.

Now, nine supporting methods and operational procedures of "Several Policy Measures" have been implemented, and a relatively complete policy system has been formed. The Hebei Industrial Design Innovation Center with high standards has been put into operation, and the Qinhuangdao Sino-Swiss Design Port has been opened, attracting and gathering a number of design companies settled in Hebei development; 10,000 entrepreneurs industrial design training and a series of design docking activities are in full swing throughout the province, initially creating a number of typical industrial design applications, expanding industrial design needs rapidly. With a point-to-point approach, the province's industrial design development has fully set sail, and Hebei is using design innovation to reshape the new pattern of industrial development.

Hebei International Industrial Design Week is a high-end brand activity created by our province to promote industrial design exchange and cooperation. The first session will be held in Xiong'an in mid-October. This is a major measure for the province to seize the coordinated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the planning and construction of Xiong'an New District, and the preparation of the 2022 Winter Olympics, and it is also a grand event for the industrial design industry, with the following four significance:

The first is to promote the industrial design of Hebei to be in line with the world. Industrial Design Week is first and foremost a professional communication platform. Industrial design is the integration of technology and art. It has the characteristics of cross-border, cross-regional and even globalization. Under the background of economic globalization, the development of industrial design service industry must be integrated into the big pattern of world industrial design development. The Industrial Design Week is to let the domestic and international design circles better understand Hebei and settle in Hebei development. At the same time, Hebei manufacturing companies and design companies can better understand the latest developments in industrial design at home and abroad and enhance the level of innovative design. The G-Summit Global Design Science Innovation Summit at this year's Industrial Design Week will bring together the latest design concepts and business models from top designers, cutting-edge scientists and innovative business leaders who have a world-renowned reputation in the design field. 

At the G-Summit Global Design Science Innovation Summit this Industrial Design week, a number of world-renowned top designers, cutting-edge scientists and innovative business leaders in the field of design will bring the latest design concepts and business models and discuss the symbiotic development of future design, science and city.

The second is to help the province's industrial transformation, upgrading and innovation. Industrial Design Week is also a docking and fusion platform for design and manufacturing. The process of industrialization is a process of continuous refinement of social division of labor and continuous development of high-end industries. Industrial design has both functions of innovation and service. It is an important means to lead industrial development and promote the transfer of manufacturing to both ends of the smile curve. The Industrial Design Innovation Achievement Exhibition, Finnish Design Day, and Japan's “One Village One Product” Design Sharing Conference held by the Industrial Design Week will allow our provincial enterprises and industry management departments to have face-to-face dialogues with design masters from home and abroad, experience the impact of design on the future of manufacturing in a close-up, enlighten design thinking, examine the strategic position of industrial design in business operations from a global and new perspective, and reconstruct the manufacturing innovation chain, value chain and supply chain to create new competitive advantage.

The third is to speed up the export of industrial products of our province. Industrial Design Week is also a platform for external cooperation. Design is a business, a carrier of industrial culture and industrial spirit, and promotes the integration of science, technology and culture in the world. In order to export our province's industrial products, we should not only improve the product quality through industrial design, and establish the image of Hebei products as "historical, intelligent and excellent", but also need to use design companies to design and produce more marketable products that are integrated into local culture and meet local needs, so as to enhance the influence of "Designed by Hebei" and "Made in Hebei". More than 30 design companies and masters from more than 30 countries and regions will come to Hebei during this industrial design week to show and release their latest design products. In addition, we will organize a design innovation tour, and invite design institutions and companies from home and abroad to visit the solid foundation of our province's manufacturing industry, so as to create more cooperation opportunities for our province's design companies and manufacturing enterprises, undertake more design projects and product manufacturing, open up channels for foreign cooperation, and help Hebei products go global.

The fourth is to accelerate the development of Xiong'an industrial design service industry. Xiong'an is a national millennium and future city. It will absorb and gather resources of innovative elements, develop high-end industries including industrial design services, and build a global innovation highland. The main venue of Hebei International Industrial Design Week is located in Xiong'an, which is to expand the open cooperation between Xiong'an and advanced industrial design countries and regions at home and abroad, build a platform for industrial design and exchange, and absorb and gather industrial design innovation resources to create the new industrial design highland of "global design released by Xiong'an". 

In the future, Xiong'an will also organize key activities and development carriers such as industrial design innovation competition, industrial design research institute, industrial design eco-city, etc. to support the accelerated development of Xiong'an industrial design. Xiongan's institutional mechanism and policy innovation will certainly create a good environment for the development of industrial design.

(photographed by Liu Xiangyang)

Subsequently, Director Shirley Feng introduced the preparations for the main venue activities in Xiongan. "this design week is to create a centennnial design week with ideals, because it is held in Xiongan, the city of the future of the Millennium Plan, with far-reaching significance. In addition, there are two aspects of industrial design in Xiongan. On the one hand, it can implant humanized design into Xiongan's planning and construction with the power of design, so that Xiong'an can have more temperature and foresight; On the other hand, it can also introduce high-tech and high-end industries, which is of great significance.

Leaders at all levels in Hebei Province have attached great importance to this design week. They carefully guided, planned, and coordinated. They have established Hebei International Industrial Design Week Organizing Committee composed of the provincial government, the Xiong'an New Area Management Committee, Publicity Department of the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial Industry and Information Technology Department, Provincial Public Security Department, Provincial Department of Finance, Provincial Department of Commerce, Provincial Health and Family Planning Commission, Provincial Food and Drug Administration, Provincial Safety Production Supervision Bureau, Shijiazhuang Customs, Provincial Reception Office, Provincial Foreign Affairs Office, Provincial Emergency Office, Hebei Airport Management Group, and Hebei Industrial Design Innovation Center. The office of the Organizing Committee is located in the office of Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology. Everyone worked together to complete all tasks of the design week.

The provincial leaders attach great importance to it, give strong support and careful guidance, and provide a strong backing for the smooth progress of all work; member units have joined forces to actively support the work of various sectors; the organizers have fulfilled their duties, exerted resource advantages, and actively implemented various specific work. ”

(photographed by Liu Xiangyang)

The next part is answer-and-question.

 CCTV: I would like to ask Director Hao, how do we consider promoting the transformation and upgrading of related industries through industrial design?

Thank you for your question. Actually, everyone knows that industrial design is an important tool to promote the industrial level, enhance product competitiveness, and increase the added value of products. In fact, there are many successful experiences we can learn in promoting industrial transformation and upgrading from some developed countries such as the UK, Germany, and Japan.

What people in Hebei are more concerned about is that  we are a large industrial province with a very complete range of industrial categories. The total industrial industrial volume has ranked sixth in China for 13 consecutive years. However, as we all know, our industrial structure is biased, especially some of our industries are on the low level, and the added value of some products is not high. From an enterprise's perspective, it may be more focused on some scale expansion, including some technical performance research and development. However, it is not enough to pay attention to innovative design, including relatively weak service capabilities. Therefore, the status quo is that we have more intermediate products, fewer terminal products, and more basic raw materials.

So, since last year, we have promoted the industrial transformation and upgrading, including the holding of this International Industrial Design week.  In fact, one of the basic motivations is to promote industrial transformation and upgrading. So when we introduced it just now, we also mentioned that we have made a lot of targeted arrangements and some docking exchange activities. The main purpose is to promote the industry and our excellent design organization designers combination to stimulate new innovations.

Here, for example, during the Finnish Design Day event, we also arranged docking of the design organization with our enterprise, especially the design innovation tour we arranged during the event week, which designed five lines of design journey: Xiong'an New Area, Shijiazhuang, Xingtai, Langfang and Qinhuangdao. Each design tour is arranged to inspect the local characteristic industries. At the same time, there will also be design lecture halls, docking communication activities, including consultations to the enterprise and other forms of activities, so that our industry and design more closely integrated. 

In addition, we specially mentioned the sharing meeting of Japan’s “One Village, One Product”. We hope to learn from the the successful experience of Japan in this design, and guide our design forces to provide support for the development of characteristic industries in rural areas.

(photographed by Liu Xiangyang)

Hebei Daily: This activity is positioned as  international, high-end and professional. How is it planned and implemented?

That's a particularly good question. This activity is positioned as international, high-end and professional. I want to interpret it from two aspects, one is form and the other is content.

First of all, from the form, we are 1+N. From the beginning, we want to build design week as an centennial design week with ideal. Throughout the world, what's done very well is Milan Design Week. Milan Design Week is a 1+N way, including London's design week, so we learned their most advanced way in the beginning, because they have been operating for decades, so the form is 1+N. At the same time, in terms of content, there are a large number of top design masters, including Finland's ambassador to China, and BAT will participate in the exhibition. We will integrate technological Internet, innovation and wisdom with industrial transformation and upgrading, including implanting some advanced international ideas and forces in this process. For example, design masters share ideas in the process of our Design sleepless Station Design. So, from higher-ups gathered to form to the communication, all of these fully embodies the high-end, the degree of internationalization and specialization, I think these three aspects can be seen.

Beijing Business Daily: What kind of considerations do we choose Finland as the guest country? Can you tell us some activities about the host country?

Design ability is the embodiment of a nation's soft power. Finland is known to be a small country with a population of more than 5 million. But in the design world, it is a design power and a typical representative of the Nordic style. In Finland, it should be said that design is integrated into everyone's daily life, is a way of life, with a number of influential design masters in the world. The Finnish Museum is also one of the world's earliest museums in the world of design. Founded in 1873, its capital Helsinki was also recognized as the world's design capital in 2012, Therefore, its design categories are diversified, which is a country we should learn from.

Another background is that on April 26 this year, when our innovation center was formally launched for operation, the curator of the Finnish Design Museum was invited to attend the launch ceremony to meet with our secretary Chen gang in Xiong'an. At present, we are also actively communicating with each other, and we may sign a contract for the cooperation project of Sino-Finnish Design Museum during the design week. Therefore, we choose Finland as the main guest country. In fact, with these foundations, we also hope that in the future, the Sino-Finnish Design Museum will be based in Hebei, serve the whole country and radiate the world in the future, becoming a new landmark for Hebei design and even Chinese design.

The choice of Finland as the guest country has drawn great attention from Finnish politicians. We have invited its ambassador to attend. At the same time, many international top design companies and design masters from Finland were invited to participate in the event, some of which, such as architectural design masters, senior consultants of the largest design companies, will also attend the Finnish Design Day. This time Finland is the guest country and it is actually a collective appearance of the high-end design of Finland in Hebei. Welcome everyone to continue to pay attention, thank you!

Xiong'an official website: In creating and satisfying the people's pursuit of life and yearing for it, what kind of design is there in this design week, such as black technology and industrial design innovation in new materials, new technologies and new applications. Can you disclose this exhibition first? Does this mean that design will become one of the key development directions of Xiong'an high-tech industry in the future?

The significance of industrial design lies in its ability to annotate the quality of Xiong'an.

Through the professional inspiration of the designer, some cultural elements or symbols can be implanted into the product, which can make the product more attractive, beautiful, easier to use, more experiential and more warm, because the product is cold, but the designer can make it even better. Just now I was talking about Finland, in fact, the first president of the Aalto School of Design in Finland is called Aalto, who is a very well-known design master in the world. He said that designers can create a paradise on this earth, so the designer can make people's lives better.

Through the display of design products, the experience of cool techs's interactive science and technology experience and the collision of the ideas of the sharing session, we can discover the beauty of design from the eyes and senses, while at the same time we can experience the temperature brought by the design to the product. By communicating, we can really feel what kind of core competitiveness the design can bring to the enterprises, and what kind of vision the design can bring to the core content of the city.