NZ designers buck the recession

Being at the bottom of the world and in the middle of a recession has not stopped New Zealand’s design industry flourishing.

BeST Design Awards organisers say if entries are anything to go by, the recession hasn’t put a damper on the New Zealand design industry, with this year’s awards shaping up to be the best yet.

The national design awards recognise New Zealand’s very best graphic, product and spatial (interior) design’s from the past year. With a whopping 590 designs received, award entries are at the highest level ever seen in the award programmes’ impressive 21 year history.

Finalists of the awards - which are organised by the Designers Institute of New Zealand - have been announced, and the winners will be revealed at a black tie awards ceremony in Auckland on October 16.

Cathy Veninga, Chief Executive Officer of the Designers Institute says that as well as seeing an increase in the number of entries, the quality of the designs entered this year were of the ‘highest standard ever seen’, which, she says, is a reflection of the coming of age of New Zealand’s creative industries.

“New Zealand has a pool of outstanding design talent as evidenced by the sheer number and quality of designs submitted into this year’s awards.

"We’ve seen huge growth in the design industry over the past few years, both in terms of the number of people employed in the creative sectors and the quality of the designs being produced.”

In Auckland city alone, where the number of people working in the creative sector currently stands at 15,991, employment in the design field grew 63 per cent between 2000 and 2008.

Census 2008 figures show that nationally, employment in the visual arts and design industries increased by 2,798 since 2001. 

Veninga says that increasingly New Zealand design was receiving international recognition and praise.

“Whereas previously people would look to established design markets such as Milan, Paris or New York for examples of great design, New Zealand is now making its mark, and has developed an international reputation for producing innovative, world class designs.”

Veninga says Kiwi designers were known for having a ‘can do’ attitude and were able to adapt quickly to the changing market, which had enabled many of them to thrive in what has been a tough environment over the past 18 months.