4 July 2023, Shenzhen (China) — On 29 June 2023, the Global Design Leaders Summit was held at Shenzhen Contemporary Art and Urban Planning Museum in celebration of World Industrial Design Day 2023. The summit was co-hosted by WDO, China Industry University Research Institute Collaboration Association and Shenzhen Futian District People’s Government, and co-organized by WDO Member Shenzhen Industrial Design Profession Association and Shenzhen New Social Stratum Association.

Under the theme of World Design, China Power, the summit invited academics and more than 100 of the world’s top design and innovation talents such as Masayuki Kurokawa, architect and industrial designer; David Kusuma, WDO President; Zhao Xinli, Academic at the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences and Senior Advisor to China Institute for Science and Technology Policy at Tsinghua University. The summit was held to discuss the combination of cutting-edge concepts in science and technology and industrial design creativity, and the new trends, opportunities and future of industry development.

World Industrial Design Day 2023 was launched by 15 guests, including David Kusuma, WDO President; Wang Jianhua, President of China Industry University Research Institute Collaboration Association; Zhu Tao, Director of Strategic Advisory Committee of China Industrial Design Association; Masayuki Kurokawa, architect and industrial designer; Zhao Xinli, Academic at the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences, Senior Advisor at China Institute for Science and Technology Policy at Tsinghua University; Bertrand Derome, WDO Managing Director; Liu Zhixiong, Chairman & CEO of 3NOD Group, Founding President of Shenzhen Industrial Design Profession Association, and Shirley Feng, Secretary General of China Industrial Design Collaborative Innovation Platform and President of Shenzhen Industrial Design Profession Association.

Launched in Shenzhen for the first time, World Industrial Design Day was an important moment for Chinese design to integrate onto the world stage with more openness and confidence. Shenzhen Industrial Design Profession Association, together with the World Design Organization, invited industry leaders and design experts from home and abroad to witness the launch of World Industrial Design Day 2023, highlighting Shenzhen’s City of Design designation and accelerating the construction of a gloShenzhen is a recognized hub for Chinese design and innovation, with 2023 marking the 15th year of their UNESCO City of Design designation. The past decade and a half have cemented Shenzhen’s place on the world stage, from participating in 100% Design London to organizing SZIDF, Shenzhen Hong Kong Design Biennale and other activities, the Shenzhen Industrial Design Profession Association has witnessed the flourishing of industrial design in Shenzhen and across China.

During the summit, Shirley Feng, Secretary General of China Industrial Design Collaborative Innovation Platform and President of Shenzhen Industrial Design Profession Association, delivered a keynote speech on World Design, China Power. She shared that the 15the anniversary of SIDA not only coincides with 15 years of Shenzhen’s City of Design designation, but also 15 years of China’s industrial design development. Over the course of the past decade and a half, SIDA has partnered with more than 200 counties and cities across the country, creating 10 innovation platforms and serving 100,000 enterprises. In the future, SIDA will surely lead more design endeavors to help Guangdong address unbalanced development, so that design becomes a key tool for social transformation. bal manufacturing center.

In order to further explore the creative combination of technology and industrial design, and to look ahead to the new trends, opportunities and future of industry development, the event invited a number of design experts including: Tong Huiming, Professor of The Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts and Initiator of BDDWATCH; Bertrand Derome, WDO Managing Director; Juha Kosonen, Chief Designer of Huawei Consumer Business Group, Wearable Business Unit, Chief Designer, CEO of Konseptiplus Ltd from Finland; Cathy Huang, Chairperson of CBi China Bridge, Shanghai Chapter of Service Design Network, Co-Founder of Successful Design; Lam Kam Wa, Vice President of Macau Product Design Association; Liu Zhixiong, Chairman & CEO of 3NOD Group, Founding President of Shenzhen Industrial Design Profession Association; Xiangyang Xin，Founder of XXY Innovation; Thomas Kvan, Founding Dean of the School of Design and Chair Professor at Southern University of Science and Technology; Bob Lee, Chairman of Swedish Design House; Frédéric Gooris, Founder & Creative Director of Studio Gooris; Andrea Ponti, Founder and Design Director of Ponti Design Studio; Xiaoxi Shi, Jury Member for GOOD DESIGN AWARD Japan, Head of China Board; Lin Feng, Chairman of Niuduxiu Information Technology Co., Ltd; Zhang Jianmin, Chairman of CIGA design; Feng Zhifeng, Founder of RITO Design Group.

Focusing on three themes Design Insights: New Future of Design under the Concept of Sustainable Development, Design Driving Force: Fashion New Consumption Led by Design Innovation and Design Awakening Power: New Species of the Era in the Wave of AIGC, the summit explored the prospects of sustainable design, fully analyzing the opportunities and challenges of the design industry now and in the future under the rapid development of high technology.

In the future, Shenzhen Industrial Design Profession Association will continue to work together with more design agencies to promote the development of industrial design to new levels and continue to support the global economy with dynamic energy and new vitality.