???????? ????Martin Li ????martin.mouse@163.com ????A CREATIVE design product should be sustainable for the future, agreed three German designers Friday at the opening ceremony of a show at the design industrial park in Tianmian, Futian District. ????The show is exhibiting winning pieces from iF, a highly regarded Germany-based design award. It’s the first time for iF entrants to be displayed in China. ????The designers said the enormous amount of products of all kinds in modern, consumer-driven society makes sustainability increasingly imperative. ????“There are so many products and, every day, 400 new products are launched worldwide. We have to distinguish creative products from those which just overflow the market,” said Silke Claus, executive director of bayern design GmbH. “Sustainability can start with a bottle of water or a building. You have to ask questions about the life cycle of a product, its material and resources. You have to ask if people really need this product.” ????Michael Lanz, designer and managing director of deaffairs Group China, shared Claus’ take. ????“Sustainability is not only about the environment — products should also be socially and economically sustainable,” Lanz said. ????Lanz said designers have to consider a product’s sustainability, innovation and meaningfulness. ????“Creativity is one way to judge meaningful products,” he said. ????Gerhard Friedrich, a designer for BMW, agreed with Claus and Lanz that education is a very important way for Shenzhen to develop young design talents. ????Friedrich said many exchange programs in the United States and Europe have proved useful in training talented designers. ????Shenzhen needs increased promotion as well as education, the trio said. ????“There should be various programs to promote design in the region. In Europe, we have had since the 1950s a tradition of setting up design promotion centers, which establish programs connecting the industry and creative people, so they can better understand each other,” Claus said. ????Claus added that Shenzhen could send creative people to factories, or establish some kind of incubation center for young talents, offering them cheap places to work. ????All three German designers have been involved in cooperation programs with Chinese enterprises. ????Claus said she hopes to open a studio in Shenzhen as a branch of her design center in Munich, and introduce more foreign designers to China to help Chinese enterprises improve their business management. ???? ???? ???? | 