Dimensions open up by design

Fire in the belly and a robust tertiary degree make for a good start in any area of design advises Cathy Veninga, CEO of the Designer's Institute of New Zealand (DINZ). Design is alive and growing in New Zealand, she says, but to succeed in a competitive marketplace new design graduates need to add entrepreneurial spirit to their passion and be prepared to hunt down their first job.

"Design graduates need to stop being shy and start being business people," says Veninga. "The best thing students can do is join DINZ, attend events where they will meet design practitioners and have the opportunity to network. Practitioners love hearing about what they are doing at design school so they can start to develop relationships and confidence. When approaching employers for work experience or applying for jobs they can say - I met you at these DINZ events."

If they are "reality ready" to strike out into the world of employment, new graduates can expect to spend the next two years learning the ropes towards becoming competent designers in the field of their choice.

DINZ professional and associate membership represents the range of design disciplines in New Zealand. The seven design categories are: Product, Spatial, Graphic, Interactive Media, Craft-Object, Design Educators and Design Management.

Design management is a relative newcomer and is concerned with strategic development and management of a service or product from concept through to marketing and sales.

Whether looking for careers in New Zealand or globally, New Zealand design practitioners mix it with the best. New Zealand has an international reputation for design and innovation, says Veninga. "Alt Group has won over 60 awards both nationally and internationally in the last year. Our graphic design communications companies are working for international clients and our product designers, architects, spatial designers also work offshore."

The internet is a powerful business tool in overcoming geographical remoteness and she cites a product designer in Christchurch working from the comfort of their NZ-based offices with the fifth largest manufacturing company in the US.

While the various areas of design offer healthy career prospects and "economically a fantastic future" for New Zealand, Veninga would like to see the kind of support experienced by the sector under the former Labour government continued by National.

"We need government support to continue to develop ways to cope with our remote situation without costing carbon credits. Our new Government needs to get the message that design can be a powerful tool for our future.

"When a company is already producing at its maximum, how do you make it earn more? Design can push the envelope through innovation and constantly reassessing business processes, products and services."

Design for sustainable products and processes is very much part of the future and in high demand by customers. Veninga points out potential for growth in this area is considerable.

"We have produced so much "cradle to grave" product without considering our environment," she says quoting co-author Michael Braungart, Cradle to Cradle.

"There is more science than what good design knows what to do with - do products go back into the biosphere or can they be reused in the technosphere. If it can't be used in those two areas it's not good design."

Professor Tony Parker, School of Design, Massey University, says graduates come out of their design studies with a "heavy dose of creativity".

During their degree students learn about and practice design across a range of subjects and issues.

"They learn about how things work and how they are made, and become very oriented towards people."

Design studies extend well beyond commercial applications.

"The students understand early on that the reason why we are doing this is to improve the quality of people's lives. That's an interesting orientation in the modern world."

He says design is a different form of intelligence.

"You can be an intelligent person who thinks by making and doing, using design as a way of exploring new ideas and new ways of doing things."

Design programmes broaden higher education in New Zealand universities, offering something to people who come from a different thinking background and skill set.

Design companies are growing in number. Census 2008 figures for employment in the visual arts and design industries alone show an increase since 2001 of 2798. Parker says most companies at some stage would need advice from or need to employ someone with skills in design. Visual communication includes web design, for time-based media, animation, design for interactivity, print and publication, illustration and advertising.

The film industry is another growing area that employs designers from industrial, visual, media, spatial and other design backgrounds.

The country's industrial base also needs designers and when companies move manufacturing offshore, design is being retained where business strategy and marketing understand design is a critical component of the companies' brand DNA, says Dr Cris de Groot, senior lecturer, Unitec.

De Groot sees many students of design who stay in Auckland coming up with unusual job options.

"Many will find work with small niche players in industries that you've never heard of and become totally consumed by their new world of interest and expertise, whether it's bio-packaging or medical devices."

Some graduates work in the marine or film industries. Others work for more industrial and manufacturing organisations. And some achieve higher degrees or train as teachers.

"You've got to love what you do, and be organised. The combination of the two will lead to a young designer putting in whatever it takes to deliver, and delivering on time."

Because design is "a cool thing to do," he says, oversupply is just as great in Europe or the US as it is in New Zealand, however, the transferable skills are highly marketable: identifying and framing problems in ways that deliver advantage; developing solutions that exceed expectations; communicating effectively and emotionally.

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