The Design Institute of Australia (DIA) has announced industrial designer Oliver Kratzer FDIA as its new President.
Kratzer is the founder and MD of Sydney based industrial design consultancy, Ideal Industrial. A passionate advocate for the positive role design can play in business, Kratzer was the joint recipient of one of the US design industry’s most venerated accolade, the Gold Industrial Design Excellence Award (IDEA) for his company’s work on JLG ProLift. His portfolio ranges from shampoo bottles (Fudge) to truck rear vision mirrors.
Commenting on challenges and opportunities facing the Australian design industry during his term, Kratzer is says: “I think there are bright skies ahead as a new generation of managers and executives emerge with an appreciation and understanding of the role that design can play in business.”
“There is still the waft of GFC hanging around, however Australia escaped relatively lightly in comparison to other countries. Some design disciplines were bruised harder than others, but most are bouncing back,” he says.
The “beyond normal expectation” increase in DIA memberships experienced during the GFC period is another confidence boost.
“The DIA’s membership growth can be read as a show of the tangible return value of initiatives such as DIA’s Continuing Professional Development Program and the Fee and Salary Survey.”
“The ability to network at DIA events with the cream of the design industry and to share ideas with peers is another exceptional benefit that comes into its own particularly, during turbulent economic times,” says Kratzer.
“One of the challenges in industry is to make sure the voice of design is heard properly; it’s ensuring that people get the right message as to what design is about.”
“State Government initiatives such as the Ulysses Transforming Business Through Design program in Queensland and the Design Integration program in Victoria, in tandem with the Creative Industries Innovation Centre (CIIC) federally, are ways of funnelling this and ensuring that design is firmly on people’s radars.”
“It’s about integrating design into business. There is anecdotal evidence of design’s increased recognition at board level, of moving to the pull rather than the push approach.”
