How Kiwi Can Be Better by Design

How Kiwi Can Be Better by Design
The Government has allocated $12.5 million over four years to a programme that is intended to make export companies more competitive. Michael Herman asks whether the actual business problem has been identified.

The worldwide move to drop trade barriers has increased pressure on companies in developed countries to replace commodity production with value-added products.

In an era when multinational companies have revenues that dwarf the budgets of smaller countries, the reasoning goes that effective marketing and value-added manufacturing are the only ways for indigenous businesses to avoid the curse of eternally stunted growth, or, worse yet, to shrivel in the cold and dark shadows cast by the global titans.

Prompted by a Design Industry Taskforce report on ways to embed design in research, development and production processes, the Government has introduced the $12.5 million Better By Design initiative.

With a narrow focus on the brand and design instruments in the marketers' toolbox, Wellington is banking on its investment to grow export revenue by an additional $500 million in the next five years.

Speaking at the initiative's launch last month, Economic Development and Industry Minister Jim Anderton said developing design-led businesses was the way for New Zealand to achieve the living standards of other