Design, histories, empires and peripheries

WOODHAM, Jonathan M / Director of Research and Development (Arts and Humanities) / University of Brighton / United Kingdom

Design History / National / Global / ICDHS / ICSID 2. Recent initiatives in the design of design history and design studies Several concerns have emerged since the first ICDHS conference There are a number of publishers engaged in the proliferation in Barcelona in 1999. Recent texts such as Global Design History of new discipline-based handbooks, encyclopedias and intro- (2011) have sought to distinguish between what is portrayed as ductory readers by established scholars. In the fields of design an ICDHS desire to address ‘world themes’, provide an ‘overarch- history and design studies, the major publisher is Berg whose ing narrative’ and attempts ‘at comprehensively mapping the large-scale investment and ever-increasing number of texts history of design in all its geographical nooks and crannies’, and has taken on imperial proportions. Their Design History Reader global design history’s position as ‘not a topic but a methodol- (Lees-Maffei & Houze 2010) for the most part follows a tradi- ogy’. The 8th ICDHS Conference in São Paolo provides an oppor- tional format with generally well-known textual extracts accom- tunity to redefine aims and future agendas. panied by short essays promoting a fairly conservative view of the field. However, the General Introduction states that 1. Introduction …one of the most pressing issues facing design history today is the need to globalize the discipline. This situation is reflected in This paper seeks to address several major concerns that have the Reader… Therefore, while the core texts…largely concern the emerged since 1999 when the first the first International Com- UK, the US and Western Europe, the Reader closes by heralding future work in design history with its dedicated section ‘Local/ mittee for Design History and Design Studies (ICDHS) confer- Regional/National/Global, on issues of global design history. ence was held in Barcelona. Organized by Anna Calvera and (Maffei 2010: 3) other Barcelona colleagues, it proposed a counterpart to the disciplinary dominance of predominantly Anglophone or Euro- Published a year earlier Berg’s Design Studies: A Reader (Clark American design historical perspectives. Entitled ‘Historíar des & Brodie 2009) encompassed both Design History (Section de la Perifèria, Historia I Historias del Disseny’ (Calvera 2001), One), subdivided into Design Histories and Design History as a the conference established a coherent voice for design history Discipline, and Design and Global Issues (Section 6) subdivided and design studies in the Spanish-speaking world, leading to into Globalization, Equality and Social Justice and Sustainability. the subsequent organization of conferences in Havana (‘The Interestingly, in considering issues such as ‘The State of Design Emergence of Regional Histories’, 2000) and Guadalajara (‘Co- History as a Discipline’, the editors commissioned a fresh essay incidence & Co-incidence’, 2004). In a number of ways such ini- (Clark & Brodie 2009: 55-63) by Denise Whitehouse, a design tiatives answered growing concerns for a re-mapping of design historian from the Faculty of Design at Swinburne University of history to embrace a greater understanding of characteristics Technology, Australia. This provides a concise but incisive view of design practices, manufacture and consumption outside the on the question of ‘A World History of Design’, referring to the prevalent orthodox representations and geographical limitations ICDHS conferences as mechanisms for of the history of design and design studies. However, the third ...drawing together scholars from all regions: Western, non- of the ICDHS conference series held in Istanbul (‘Mind the Map: Western, postcommunist, postcolonial, Asian and Southern Design History beyond Borders’, 2003) marked an additional Hemisphere…these scholars are advocating a new geography of desire to make visible the design history of countries generally design that critically rethinks the impact of Western Capitalism’s dissemination of the idea and practice of design. (Clark & Brodie excluded from mainstream histories of design for reasons of lin- 2009: 61). guistic ‘invisibility’. This also underlined a widening of the ICDHS agenda to bring in from the periphery many countries whose However, Whitehouse also provides a thoughtful critique of the design heritage has been obscured either by the dominance - or positions adopted by a number of design historians in this con- obscurity - of particular languages. Time will not allow reconsid- text, as well as providing a thoughtful way forward in a subsec- eration of the bibliometric analysis of leading histories of design tion entitled ‘The Issue of Specificity: the Building Blocks of a of the late 20th and early 21st centuries that I had employed in Global Design History’. an examination of the place of ‘local’, ‘national’ and ‘global’ in design histories (Woodham 2005) or the ways in which a wider understanding of the complexities of design in parts of the non 3. International design organizations and Anglophone world dominated by major languages such as Man- their windows on design in a global design darin Chinese and Hindustani or, indeed, minor, widely inacces- context sible languages such as Slovenian, spoken by less than 5 million At various phases in the development of history of design the worldwide, that tend to ensure that design activity in such coun- attention paid to national design organizations has often been tries remains less than well-known. criticized as representative of state propaganda and aspirations

WOODHAM, Jonathan M. 2012. Design, histories, empires and peripheries. In Farias, Priscila Lena; Calvera, Anna; Braga, Marcos da Costa & Schincariol, Zuleica (Eds.). Design frontiers: territories, concepts, technologies [=ICDHS 2012 - 8th Conference of the International Committee for Design History & Design Studies]. São Paulo: Blucher, 2012. ISBN 978-85-212-0692-7. DOI 10.5151/design-icdhs-088 Design, histories, empires and peripheries

and somewhat removed from the realities of design, manufac- debut, represented more than 40 member organizations from ture, marketing and consumption. However, such criticisms over 30 countries, having also established a special consultative have often been directed at histories constructed around mate- status with UNESCO. In parallel with the membership of its visual rials in the public domain - such as commissioned reports, policy communication counterpart ICOGRADA, ICSID also embraced so- documents and related media and design promotional materi- cieties from the European Eastern bloc and other non-capitalist als. The latter only represent the tip of the iceberg rather than countries during the Cold War years, thereby widening an under- the often highly revealing mass of archives, and thus primary standing of the variety of meanings and implications of design research materials, below the waterline, full of differences of activity in often complex political, economic and social contexts. opinion, conflict with government departments and negotiations Further dimensions of its outward facing role may be gleaned with other organizations, institutions and individuals; they were from a number of ICSID Regional Working Groups active in the never envisaged as being open to the scrutiny of historians dur- late 1970s and early 1980s including the Asian, Mediterranean, ing the lifetime of the often vociferous participants in debates Latin-European and Nordic Groups. Also visible within the ar- safely and discretely carried out behind closed doors. Nonethe- chives for this period are papers and correspondence relating to less, the meteoric rise in the number of national design organiza- the Associación Latino Americana de Diseño Industrial (ALADI) tions and policy initiatives over the two decades since the early which had been founded in Bogota in November 1980. Under an 1990s (Woodham, 2010, 46) have considerable potential to re- Executive Committee with representatives from Colombia, Bra- veal insights to the roles played by design in a global context in zil and Cuba, it brought together designers from Latin America the period. and the Caribbean for the promotion for the institutionalization of industrial design as a technological discipline needed for the To a more limited extent, but nonetheless highly revealingly, social, cultural and economic development of the region. the archives of professional design bodies concerned with the global significance of design provide valuable insights to a va- The activities of Asian Regional Group (ARG) were formally initiat- riety of attitudes to its practices, processes and protocols in ed at its first meeting in the World Trade Centre Building in Tokyo different geographical locations, within a range of social and in May 1979 [ICSID, 1979]. Participants were prominent mem- political contexts and stages of economic development. The in- bers of leading design organizations, both public and private, in tricacies of internal organizational politics are also revealing and Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan. South Korea, and the Philip- there is still much to learn about the ways in which the design pines. They were well also well aware of the recent Ahmedabad profession sought to establish itself internationally alongside Declaration that had been a major outcome of the first United the different preoccupations facing designers in different parts Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)/ICSID joint of the world. Two important organizations in this context are the conference five months earlier. This had been held at India’s Na- International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID, tional Design Institute, established by the Government in 1961 1957- ), with membership in more than 50 countries, represent- in the wake of the 1958 India Report by Charles and Ray Eames. ing 15 organizations worldwide, and the International Council of Amongst a number of ambitious aims the Declaration proposed Graphic Design Associations (ICOGRADA, 1963 -), representing the establishment of design promotional organizations in de- 200 organizations in 67 countries and regions. The archives of veloping countries, the need for such bodies to underline the these associations represent two of 18 collections held in the need for improved design education and training , as well as University of Brighton’s Design Archives in the UK and provide an the importance of instituting systems of cooperation between invigorating platform for insights into global design debate over design bodies in the developed and less developed world. It had the past 50 years. also argued that international organizations, ranging from ICSID, UNIDO and the World Health Organization (WHO) through to the This is not the place to do more than sketch in a brief reminder Asian Development Bank, the African Development Bank and about the development of ICSID from its establishment in 1957 other financial institutions, should provide active support for as an organization that sought, through collaboration, to pro- such initiatives. (For another reading of the implications of the mote and protect the status of the industrial designers and raise Ahmedabad Declaration for developing countries, see Margolin, design standards through education and training to its status as 2006). a more sophisticated organization that sought promote design as a means of enhancement of the social, cultural, economic At the May 1979 ARG meeting Arturo Luz, the Executive Director of and environmental quality of life. Its more recent preoccupa- the Philippines Design Centre, highlighted the mismatch between tions have included the foundation, with ICOGRADA, of the In- the needs of developing countries and the understanding of the ternational Design Alliance (IDA) with a mission to ‘bring the developed world in respect of the training of industrial designers. benefits of design to world bodies, governments, business and He also reported on the deficiencies of sending small groups of society, as well as the establishment of the World Design Capital designers abroad for such education, pointing out that the average programme – Turin 2008, Seoul 2010, Helsinki 2012 and Cape cost was $26,000 per annum and that the training was of minimal Town 2014. value in terms what his country was trying to achieve. The other alternative of bringing in external design expertise - as had the ICSID grew rapidly and, in little more than a decade from its 1957 Japanese in the later 1940s and 1950s - was also seen as ‘most

Design Frontiers: Territiories, Concepts, Technologies 455 WOODHAM, Jonathan M

unreliable’ as the design experts ‘varied in quality, intent and per- have been evident as ICDHS conference themes over the years sonality’. There were a number of other negative points raised by as in Guadalajara’s concern with ‘Coincidence & Co-incidence’ in fellow ARG participants, including the fact that most countries in the 4th Conference in 2004 or Helsinki and Tallin ‘s considera- the Asian region had an inadequate awareness of the special cul- tion of ‘Connecting: a conference on the multivocality of design tural and social requirements that had a bearing on design, that and design history and design studies’ at the 5th Conference in technological advancement of a country was no guarantee that its 2006. Redrawing a world map of design activity in all its complexi- designers would develop regional sensitivity, and that no mecha- ties should not be seen as synonymous with any commitment to nisms (with very few exceptions) existed for the comprehensive construct yet another Master Narrative but more as a means of education of design promoters. On the other hand there also posi- establishing an evidence base on which to explore a variety of ap- tives: it was felt strongly that the necessary resources needed proaches. already existed in the region and could be effectively unlocked through shared access. It was felt that Japan was well equipped Today the complexities of design in a global context are sig- in terms of high technology training, with other countries able to nalled by considerable shifts in economic power as evidenced offer design experience and training for more immediate applica- by the considerable rise of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia India, China) tions of design including design training at village level. economies and the ascendency of those in countries such as Thailand, Vietnam and Turkey. Furthermore, India’s ambitious From this grew the idea of establishing an ICSID Asian Co-oper- National Design Policy was endorsed by its Government in 2007 ative University and a detailed proposal with an initial level of and followed up by the Department of Industrial Policy & Promo- practical detail was formulated. There is not time to explore such tion (DIPP)’s support for the establishment of the India Design ideas in detail but the potential scale of such a collaboration was Council to implement it in 2009. China is beginning to mature considerable. In its outline form the Co-operative University was as a country where originality in the design of manufactured to be formed of Asian ICSID Council member countries that in- goods is fast becoming a more widespread reality, supported cluded Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea by a massive increases in the provision of national training in and Taiwan with possible future members to include Indonesia, art and design, whilst in Europe we have experienced the geo- Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand. graphical separation between design expertise and leadership at home and distant sites of manufacture abroad. This, the 8th Such initiatives as these, whether realized or not, set along side ICDHS Conference in São Paolo provides further opportunities to ICSID’s long history of biennial Congresses held around the world understand and contribute to local, regional, national, interna- from 1959 to the present day open up many areas for debate. tional and global design activity and its history. Similarly, the globally dispersed ICSID General Assemblies, Semi- nars, Interdesign workshops, numerous Working Groups and the Acknowledgement emergent World Design Capitals merit further detailed examina- The author would like acknowledge the inspiration of Anna Cal- tion as important ingredients in an understanding of the com- vera, the driving force behind the establishment of the ICDHS plexities of design practices, protocols and policies in a global conferences as means of furthering understanding of global ap- context. proaches to design and design history.

References 4. Global Design History: a new concept? Adamson, G. Riello. G. & Teasley. S .2011. Global Design History, Abing- Recent texts such as Global Design History (2011) have sought to don: Routledge. draw a distinction between what is contentiously portrayed as an ICDHS desire to address ‘world themes’, provide an ‘overarching Calvera. A. & Maillol. M. 2001. Historiar desde la periferia: historia e his- narrative’ and comprehensive ‘mapping the history of design in all torias del diseño. Actas de la 1a Reunión científica de Historiadores y Es- its geographical nooks and crannies’, and global design history’s tudiosos del Diseño, 1999, Barcelona, Departament de disseny i Imatge. position as ‘not a topic but a methodology’. Although such an un- Facultat de Belles Arts. Universitat de Barcelona, sophisticated and wilful reading of the complex themes and meth- odologies adopted by several hundred diverse ICDHS contributors Clark. H & Brodie. D (eds.). 2009. Design Studies: A Reader, Oxford/NewY- over the past 13 years is fired from a quality branded gun (the ork: Berg 2011 book has been produced in the context of the MA History of Design joint course of the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Royal ICSID. 1979. ICSID Archives: Asian Regional Group: 06.9.1, University of College of Art, an Arts and Humanities Research Council network Brighton Design Archives, Grand Parade, Brighton, UK. on ‘Global Arts’ between the V&A, the University of Warwick and the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford), the majority of the scholarly Lees-Maffei, G. & Houze, R. (eds.). 2010. The Design History Reader, Ox- contributions to Global Design History would not appear excep- ford/New York: Berg tional as papers at any ICDHS conference. The editors of Global De- sign History seek to privilege two significant approaches to global Margolin. V. 2006. ‘Design for Development: Towards a History’ pre- histories: connections and comparisons. However, such ideas sented at the Design Research Society ‘WonderGround’ Conference in

Design Frontiers: Territiories, Concepts, Technologies 456 Design, histories, empires and peripheries

Lisbon, Portugal, accessed at http://www.changingthechange.org/ blog/2008/01/21/design-for-developmenttowards-a-history/ on 20 April 2012.

Woodham, J. M. 2005. ‘Local, National and Global: Redrawing the Design Historical Map’, Journal of Design History, 18 [3]: 257-67

Woodham. J. M. 2008. Keynote: ‘Design Peripheries, Hidden Histories and the Cartography of Design’, in: Another Name for Design: Words for Creation, Conference Proceedings, International Conference for Design History and Design Studies, Osaka, Japan.

Woodham. J. M. 2008. ‘Design Peripheries, Hidden Histories and the Car- tography of Design’, Proceedings of the 6th International Conference of Design History and Design Studies

Woodham. J. M. 2010. ‘Formulating national design policies in the United States: Recycling the “Emperor’s New Clothes”?’ Design Issues, 26 (2). 27-46.

About the author

Jonathan M Woodham has been active the field of design history since 1975 and is Director of the Centre for Research and Devel- opment (Arts and Humanities) at the University of Brighton. He is currently engaged in substantially rewriting his best-selling Twentieth Century Design (1997) and researching for a new book on British Design 1914 – 2015: Empire, Welfare State, and Enterprise. E-mail: [email protected]

Design Frontiers: Territiories, Concepts, Technologies 457