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The Des+gn Mais programme began in 2004, when CPD coordinated the funds and a team to get it underway. It was originally called “Plan for Design in Productive Sectors”. The aim was to use design to enhance competitiveness and economic development. The programme was planned to run for 24 months under the auspices of the Centro Português de Design (CPD).  The programme is now drawing towards its close in the first half of 2007 and results are already being evaluated.

The aim of Des+gn Mais is the internationalisation of Portuguese economy. This is to be achieved in four separate ways: by penetrating external markets; by promoting a design culture; by improving companies’ capabilities and by developing products, images and brands. The programme was aimed at graduate designers looking for their first job, or unemployed young designers and Portuguese companies and businesses. In total 76 professionals, 66 companies and 10 associations were involved in the programme.

Des+gn Mais brought together companies and associations from Portugal who were willing to work to promote the country abroad through design. The aim: to conquer or to reinforce European markets. In total, eight people from CPD were involved in developing and implementing the programme along with 50 external consultants who were commissioned to support the programme tasks.

The programme began with prospective studies concerning trends, lifestyles and productive sectors. It covered a variety of areas of the productive sector and in so doing a variety of development cycles too. It was a challenge to bring them all together and build a coherent and solid project. For the purposes of project management the sectors were divided into three areas: People Universe (footwear, apparel, textiles, jewellery); Home Universe (ceramics, textiles, glass, furniture and equipments, lighting, metal-working); and City Universe (urban furniture and equipments, lighting, metal-working, textiles, ceramics).

The choice of companies to take part marked another critical step. It was important to pick companies who might benefit from the scheme. This meant that their ability to benefit from design intervention had to be evaluated on the basis of their technical and technological capabilities. A special commission was formed to handle this part of the programme. Likewise, the choice of designers was also a crucial stage in the project.

With these elements in place, a two-pronged Training Plan was set up: 1) a 12 month training course for companies with theoretical classes at CPD; 2) a work placement for designers, including the development of a new product targeting international markets. In parallel, short seminars were running for the corporate workforces to create a common language among the teams. The underlying aim was to target the development of products for foreign markets.

Apart from this project, the most important activity in the lifespan of Des+gn Mais was to mount four exhibitions, as envisaged in the original plan. They explored three target markets: Spain, Italy and UK.

Different curators and designers separately produced each one of the foreign markets’ initiatives. This was important, since the objective of the programme was to target each of these markets with a comprehensive strategy. On top of all that, a business mission and a media campaign ran in conjunction with each of the exhibitions.

Two exhibitions took place in Spain, both in Barcelona: September 2005 and January 2007. The first exhibition showed more than 200 products from 35 companies taking part. All products were designed by Portuguese designers or by the companies. At this first show Des+gn Mais wanted to highlight the productive capabilities of the companies, especially those related to design as a tool for innovation and product differentiation. Together with the exhibition, the programme took a business mission and study visitors formed by 18 companies and 28 designers from Portugal, both to make direct contacts and to visit places of cultural and professional interest.

In Italy, the Des+gn Mais event took place in Milan during the Design Week in April 2006. Elements included an exhibition at Zona Tortona’s Superstudio 13 in Milan, an entrepreneurial mission with participating companies, a study visit for designers of the Project and a media campaign based on advertising and reports on Des+gn Mais. 22 companies took part in the Design Week exhibition, displaying new products developed by 25 designers. The estimated number of visitors was 58,000. 19 companies and 26 designers involved in the project also took part in the business mission.

Des+gn Mais went to London in September 2006, taking a stand at the 100% Design Fair and also with an exclusive exhibition in the Old Truman Brewery Show (images below). The stand at 100% Design offered audio-visual information on almost every company involved in the project. The Show at The Well of the Old Truman Brewery presented 50 new products from 36 companies, and designed by 38 project’s designers, all displayed for the first time. The business mission included 22 company representatives and the study visit, 12 designers.



© Design Wales 2007
 

In total, the Des+gn Mais budget ran to 4.5 million euros, with 2.8 million spent on training and education and the remaining 1.7 million for the international elements. 75% of this budget came from European and national sources. Participating companies came up with the 25% of the investment that ran the programme.

According to Maria José Nogueira, one of the coordinators of the Programme at CPD, one of the main challenges was to coordinate designers (who were young professionals), and companies, in line with the project’s timescale. There was a difficulty in managing timescales so that products were ready in time for the exhibitions for the good reason that each company had its own production cycles.

For all that Des+gn Mais has a very short lifespan and a very ambitious target, it’s already managed to show results. A partial evaluation in September 2006 showed that the programme has generated 145 new products aimed at the international target markets along with another 400 products that had also benefited from the project. 75 per cent of the new products were already in the market-place. The business missions had accumulated 225 connections with commercial potential. And 60 per cent of the work placements have already resulted in longer relationships between the young designer and the company.

The positive results are encouraging CPD to look to extend the project of boosting the national economy on the international scene through the medium of design. The aim is to upgrade Des+gn Mais to consolidate existing results and help Portuguese companies to gain a sustainable foothold in foreign markets.

For more information about Des+gn Mais, please contact: Maria José Nogueira mnogueira@cpd.pt .

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