Daily life presents many annoyances. Single toilets disturb entire apartments, pepper shakers pour instead of sprinkle, car seats leave people with aching backs after a half-hour ride. Are these problems inevitable? No, they come from poor industrial design, when manufacturers fail to consider consumers' needs. Often thought of as a bridge linking producer and user, industrial design is an art Taiwan's makers are paying closer attention to as they seek to upgrade the island's economy.

Thirty years ago, people thought of Japan as a country which excelled only at imitation. Now Japanese products are perhaps the most competitive in the world. For the most part, superior product design, not the invention of new goods, was what enabled the Japanese to rise to their present place in the sun. Japanese firms heavily outspend their competitors on industrial design and have done so for several years.

Industrial design touches our lives in countless ways, influencing the color, shape and material of the myriad of products we use everyday, from the airplane to the paper clip. For example, ricebowls, selected by UNESCO as one of the thirty essential articles in daily life, appear to be extremely nondescript in appearance. Yet manufacturers know they must abide by certain principles. Ricebowls must be compact, easy to hold attractive, and not burn the hands that hold them. Ricebowls that meet these basic needs sell well; those that don't stay on the store shelf.

Put simply, industrial design aims to make products more attractive and easy to use, requiring a minimum of human effort. On the production end, it strives to simplify the production process and lower manufacturing costs. Although producers have always sought to improve their products and better satisfy the consumer, only during the 20th century, when the number and kind of consumer products grew enormously, did industrial design become a separate field, which sought to create a harmonious relationship between the user, product and the environment. Where industrial design differs sharply from art is in its need to consider the consumer's needs and compete successfully in the marketplace. Generally speaking, most countries already possessing a high level of technology and productivity but lacking the means to invent new products turn to improved product design to upgrade their goods and enlarge their market share. Japan was at this stage ten years ago, and Taiwan is there today.

Many observers agree that Taiwan's economy is now at a turning point. For the past thirty years, the island has pursued a policy of production for export, using foreign capital and production and management techniques. Manufacturers generally have been in the role of supplying larger foreign companies and have prospered as their buyers have prospered. However, this strategy has its limits, particularly in the area of independent product development, and Taiwan has not used its own research potential. In addition, the specter of rising labor costs and tougher international copyright and trademark laws have further intensified the need for local manufacturers to do their own industrial design, marketed under their own labels.

The government has also taken steps in this area. The Bureau of Industry gives a 50% subsidy to firms with approved product design plans, and the China External Trade and Development Council (CETDC), which set up an industrial design office in 1979, frequently holds seminars and exhibitions, as well as aiding middle-sized and small companies seeking to link with industrial design firms.

This May CETDC and the Chemical Engineering Division of the Industrial Technology Research Institute sponsored "Taiwan Product Design Week" and held an exhibit which featured the work of students from thirteen colleges and vocational schools, along with 300 products from various firms. The students' efforts won high praise and even orders from interested parties, leading Ch'en Lien-fu, chairman of Ch'eng Kung University's Industrial Design Department, to quip, "Students today are much luckier than their elders, born at the wrong time."

Ch'en's point is well taken. Taiwan's first department of industrial design was founded in 1964, and at one time there were as many as eight, but at present only four remain in operation. One observer notes, "Companies didn't want industrial designers then. Even people who had studied abroad couldn't find a job and had to change careers." Now firms here place much more emphasis on industrial design and work closely with schools in the field. Graduating students are often greeted with several job offers, and the days when industrial designers found their skills unwanted seem part of a bygone era.

Industrial design involves much more than simply engineering improvements or putting art into the production process. Designers must keep the needs and preferences of the consumer uppermost in mind, in addition to financial and aesthetic considerations. As Jones C.M. Wang, a designer from the Union Design & Development Center, points out, "The first step isn't making a product sketch; it's doing a market survey." This attitude has long held sway in foreign countries, but Taiwan has been slow to appreciate its merits. Most firms simply look to industry leaders, listen to their buyers, or rely on the observations of the boss or design director just back from some overseas show.

The progress of industrial design in Taiwan might best be seen by looking at Yue Loong. Taiwan's largest auto company. Chu Sing, director of the firm's engineering center, explains, "Why have we a engineering center? Before, we had a joint venture with Datsun. At exhibitions abroad everyone thought it was only a copy of a Japanese model. We felt this situation was humiliating and decided to design our own car." They put up two posters, one full of Toyotas and Chevrolets and with a caption, "These are theirs". The other was completely white, save for the caption which read, "Where is ours?" After four years and NT$2 billion investment (US$50 million), they completed the X-101, which will be marketed next year. So now there will be one car on the second poster.

Successful industrial design might be defined as that which meets consumers' needs, a policy which sometimes leads companies in unexpected directions. The Ch'uan Yin Music Instruments Co., which concentrated on the production of classical guitars, found their market shrinking and revenues dropping. Research showed, however, that the electric guitar market still had great promise, prompting the firm to shift its production line. CETDC helped Ch'uan Yin to find an industrial design firm, and together they researched the electric guitar market and its consumers. Most consumers were found to be teenage boys who liked rock music and whose personality tended toward the volatile side. Pressed with finding a design suitable for this market, the industrial design firm came back with a model it called "Sexy Little Pussycat". At first, say company spokesmen, no one would accept such a design, but later it was decided to give it a try. Now the firm's biggest problem is keeping up with orders.

Proton, one of the first television models from Taiwan to make a name for itself abroad, faces tough competition with Japanese products in the American market. To distinguish itself from Japanese brands, which emphasize compactness, light weight, and range of selection, Proton counters with simplicity and an elegant, black look which fits in with almost any decor.

These examples illustrate the promising start already made by industrial design in Taiwan. As the island's economy moves to a new level of sophistication and competition, industrial design experts here are presented with a monumental challenge and opportunity.

(Mark Halperin)

[Picture Caption]

"These are Theirs--Where is Ours?"--an apt motto for Taiwan's industrial designers.

Good industrial design makes the product both attractive and easy to use . This computer monitor can be fixed at a number of angles.

Human factor engineering is a big part of industrial design.

American industrial designer Gregg Davis explains the finer points of hi s trade at a seminar sponsored by the UDDC and CETDC.

Sinuous curves suggesting the supernatural--a fit design for an electric guitar.

Skillful industrial design can take away the bother of these necessary trips.

Packaging both protects the product and highlights its special features.Hocheng Co. won an award through its adroit packaging of bathroom fixtures, which "expressed their romantic side".

Costing over NT$9 million (US$225,000), the Yue Loong semi-anechoic chamber is the finest in Taiwan.

This bus was designed through the combined efforts of Chien Ch'uan Auto Co. and students from Ch'eng Kung University.

Yue Loong's X-101 undergoes a road simulation test to check the soundness of its suspension system.

Good industrial design makes the product both attractive and easy to use . This computer monitor can be fixed at a number of angles.

Human factor engineering is a big part of industrial design.

American industrial designer Gregg Davis explains the finer points of hi s trade at a seminar sponsored by the UDDC and CETDC.

Sinuous curves suggesting the supernatural--a fit design for an electric guitar.

Packaging both protects the product and highlights its special features.　Hocheng Co. won an award through its adroit packaging of bathroom fixtures, which "expressed their romantic side".

Skillful industrial design can take away the bother of these necessary trips.

Costing over NT$9 million （US$225,000）, the Yue Loong semi-anechoic chamber is the finest in Taiwan.

Yue Loong's X-101 undergoes a road simulation test to check the soundness of its suspension system.

This bus was designed through the combined efforts of Chien Ch'uan Auto Co. and students from Ch'eng Kung University.