Abstract
This paper explores, through comprehensive perspectives, the challenges of the current design education system in China under the contemporary context. The influences that have transformed design in China from both historical and contemporary context are described mainly from literature. Interview data from professors from various design institutions and senior designers in companies in China were analysed to provide differing perspectives. The research findings show the inter-relationship between the various cultural and historical influences on Chinese design education. The authors conclude on how education might benefit from concentrating on this inter-relationship.
Highlights
The opening-up policy of China from its closed-doors brought in a new and exciting world of culture, including design predominantly from the West
Based on the interviews conducted with educators of product design in a number of Chinese universities as part of this paper, findings have suggested that education is an important factor in the design development in China
Evidence from literature suggests that educators brought the teaching ethos on design from the West [14] back to China in the 1980’s [18], when the country was facing a healthy economy with high demand for production from both within and outside China
Summary
The opening-up policy of China from its closed-doors brought in a new and exciting world of culture, including design predominantly from the West. China has changed dramatically in recent decades, from the conservative communism that restricted markets, to the open-door policy in 1980s which saw an aggressive adoption of capitalism within the communist ideology [1]. According to the research of Woetzel and Towson [4], professors at Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management, China’s strong consumer market will continue to surprise the world with its market growth, which is the fastest compared with any other countries in the world [5], along with the greatest potential amongst emerging economies to be the economic superpower
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