Papers
Translating concepts into Applied Ideas
Jane Andrew
June 2004
Policymakers are debating the extent to which recent changes in the structure of the Australian economy might constitute the emergence of a New Economy. The argument suggests that Australia is undergoing a transition from an economy based on natural resources, agriculture and manufacturing, to a knowledge based or a new economy.
While the contribution of knowledge intensive economic development and innovation has been widely recognised for some time, (mostly within the realms of science and Information Technology and Communications); the wider significance of creative capital and the creative industries has received less academic attention. In his influential book, The Work of Nations, Robert Reich argues that knowledge and creativity will underpin prosperity and living standards in the new economy.1 Reich suggests that creativity is an attribute dispersed across a range of occupations rather than confined to those who work in the arts, craft and cultural industries. He uses the term 'symbolic analyst' to describe characteristics essential to the successful emergence of a knowledge economy such as critical reasoning and creativity. A deeper understanding of the relationship between creativity and economic and employment development is constrained by a lack of knowledge of the significance of creativity and creative industries beyond the arts, craft and cultural industries.
In the UK in the late 1980s, the creative industries were defined rather blandly as those 'activities which have their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent and which have the potential for wealth and job creation through generation and exploitation of intellectual capital' A more nuanced definition is offered by Throsby who suggests that the creative industries might be best understood as a set of concentric circles with individual artists whose intention is to produce 'art for arts sake' at the core; and that as the circles radiate, the creative individuals and creative content becomes more commercially focused. 2
Creative Clusters Ltd. in the UK suggests that 'the old view, that science, industry and culture are essentially distinct, is obsolete and is a barrier to progress in business, social regeneration and to the development of the arts'. 3 To circumvent these barriers, the conventional economic silos need to be broken down, and the view that the creative sector and creativity is solely the domain of the mainstream arts disciplines, cultural events and not for profit arts and cultural institutions needs to be challenged. However, academic argument is not the answer, examples of successful cross sector collaborations and the positive influence they have on the economy and community need to be fostered and promoted if this outmoded concept of the creative industries is to change.
In late 2003, following the release of David Throsby and Virginia Hollister's report, Don't give up your day Job: An economic study of professional artists in Australia; David Gonsky AO, Chairman of the Australia Council, stated 'Government and industry need to do more to improve the income of artists, artists are forced to work two or three jobs to make a living, in many cases non-arts related jobs...we have a huge capacity to have a much larger arts and cultural scene and we just aren't using it.4 Throsby's report also identified the average income of craftspeople and artists was just $7,000 per annum.
Increasingly the cultural sector is being encouraged and pressured through reduced government subsidies to individual artists and arts organisations to embrace commercialising cultural goods. In addition, local and state governments are increasingly emphasising the role of arts and culture in promoting vibrant and innovative communities as part of a broader economic growth strategy. The rhetoric is stated in various state and commonwealth reports from both the arts and economic development departments, however there is little evidence of investment to support the development of programs that create pathways for individuals to develop and broaden their creative practices, or to facilitate organisational change to enable the development of support services that straddle the economic and creative imperatives.
Craftsouth's Applied Ideas program addresses Gonsky's concerns, and assists designer/makers and artists to develop financially sustainable creative practices by fostering increased market opportunities; skills development and facilitating collaborative product development processes through which they can translate their creativity and ideas into commercial reality.
As an industry association, assisting and representing the contemporary craft and design sector, it was clear to Craftsouth that new strategic responses were required to assist designer/makers access niche markets and the manufacturing sector, thus began the development and piloting of the Applied Ideas program.
Increasingly contemporary craftspeople are now referring to themselves as designer/makers, indicating the development of materials based practices that do not necessarily refer to the traditional image of craftspeople producing their designs in limited edition by hand. Given the decline in commercial gallery spaces, along with the internationalisation of the contemporary craft/design industry, the new breed of designer/makers are developing practices that encompass a variety of markets, from producing works for exhibition and limited run production, designing and producing pieces for private and public commissions in the built environment, to designing objects for sale through the high end homewares market.
In order to engage an increasingly design aware audience and participate in the niche market opportunities mentioned previously, designer/makers are seeking to work in collaboration with the manufacturing sector in order to access new materials and manufacturing techniques as well as produce volumes that studio based production processes are unable to achieve.
Henton, Melville and Walesh argue that the regions that are most able to succeed in the new economy practice 'collaborative advantage', that is 'they enjoy tight relationships at the intersection of their business, government, education, and community sectors, which provide regional resiliency and a unique ability to set and achieve longer-term development goals'.5
In the late 1990s Craftsouth began to investigate ways in which it could address the issue of low incomes for designer/makers as well as the barriers to collaboration that existed between the creative industries and the manufacturing sector. In 2000, Craftsouth delivered the Designing Minds Symposium and exhibition which identified that many designer/makers had attempted (but with little commercial success) to engage the manufacturing sector to assist with Research and Development for exhibition based work and production of limited run objects. Consultation with designer/makers and manufacturers subsequent to the symposium, identified business skills development, assistance with market development and product commercialisation were major areas of need for both groups. In addition to this, designer/makers indicated the need for assistance in negotiating contracts or collaborative arrangements in a number of areas including product licensing and public art commissions.
Applied Ideas is a multi faceted program for implementing innovative product development solutions. Through fostering collaborations between designer-makers and manufacturers on new product development, both artists and manufacturers are improving the viability of their respective businesses by means of increasing revenues and the export of both intellectual property and manufactured goods.
Building collaborative partnerships, let alone commercial relationships between individuals from differing industry sectors is often a challenge. In most instances it involves dispelling the misconceptions held by one for the other. Perceptions such as the following were not uncommon to hear in our research stage of Applied Ideas development. 'Designers are off with the fairies and don't understand the constraints of manufacturing.' Or 'Manufacturers aren't interested in design and they're too inflexible.'
The challenge for Applied Ideas is to assist with the translation of ideas into commercially successful objects that will assist the development of sustainable business for designers and manufacturers. The capacity for Applied Ideas to provide benefits to designer/makers, manufacturers and clients is best illustrated by the following case study. The key players were a retail chain, a manufacturer with fourteen staff and four designer/makers, all based in Adelaide. The designer/makers were Gray Hawk, Craig English, Michael Hill and Toby Thomas. The brief was to redesign an existing range and develop two entirely new ranges.
Applied Ideas facilitated the development of the product design briefs with designers, manufacturers, retail managers and their sales and marketing team. Initial tours of the manufacturing plant were undertaken in order for the designers to get a better understanding of that particular manufacturing environment and thus design to suit their manufacturing capacity; (in some instances suggestions were made by the designers to improve the production process).
The three ranges that were produced as prototypes were accepted by the retailer and approximately fifty to sixty pieces of new furniture were delivered to stores in mid-May. The retailer wants to extend the range to include home office furniture and the manufacturer is now looking to export interstate, trebling their output. This has resulted in the creation of four new manufacturing jobs, streamlining of the production process and a patentable chair jointing system developed and soon to be commercialised.
Income to each designer from this case study is approximately $26,000 p/a. It has demonstrated to them that commercialising their ideas and material based knowledge could provide them with a sustainable income without the need to seek additional employment outside of their practice. An additional benefit was the mentoring and knowledge sharing between designers and the manufacturing team.
All of the design team have practices that encompass exhibiting, commissions and studio based production. Income from royalties will have a significant long-term impact on the viability of their creative practices and in some cases offer an alternative to seeking/ relying on arts grants for exhibition research and development for example.
Not only did this process successfully integrate design into this manufacturers tired product offering, but also assisted in refining manufacturing processes through designing appropriate production jigs and developing a new jointing technique for chairs.
The results achieved in the above case study have occurred through the facilitation of conversations and processes that enable designers, manufacturers and their clients to gain knowledge and understanding of each others processes and business environments.
A barrier to communication has been broken down between the participants in this collaborative product development project through developing a shared language and trust without compromising the business integrity of the individuals involved. The conversation has started, and is set to continue.
An edited version of this paper appears in the June 2004 NAVA Newsletter.
- Reich, Robert, The Work of Nations: Preparing Ourselves for 21st-Century Capitalism. Alfred A. Knopf. 1991
- David Throsby and Virginia Hollister, Don't give up your day Job: An economic study of professional artists in Australia. The Australia Council for the Arts 2003
- Creative Clusters: http://www.creativeclusters.co.uk/
- David Gonsky: Australia Council newsletter December 2003
- Henton & Walesh, Collaborative Economics (1998) Linking the New Economy to the Liveable Community. Sponsored by the James Irvine Foundation. Delivered at the 1998 Ahwahnee Conference.
