If you walk into the office of SQV Design International (
It looks like a designer's playground and it is, to a certain extent. "Everything starts from here. This is where our designers do brainstorming and free association, sometimes with our customers too," marketing and sales supervisor Gloria Sun (
Following closely behind Japan and South Korea, Taiwan's industrial design sector has gradually gained international recognition and has become a frequent visitor on the global design scene.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF SQV DESIGN INTERNATIONAL INC
With nearly 20 years of experience in the field, SQV is the biggest independent design firm in Taiwan, with numerous international design awards under its belt, such as the IF Design Award in Germany, the IDEA Design Award in US and the Good Design Award in Japan. Over the years, the design team has developed a wide range of ideas, from hi-tech IT products to household appliances and medical devices. It has built up a long list of clients, including major enterprises such as Acer Corp, Asustek Computer Inc (
The founder of the company, Daniel Koo (顧明德), started his design career in the late 1980s in the US and then dabbled in Taiwan's market. In 1991, Koo decided to settle in Taiwan and established SQV Design's forerunner, the I+U design team.
"I came back to Taiwan with a clear goal and direction in mind, that is, to inject global views in local manufacturing businesses. Since Taiwan is an exporting country it needs international design concepts to enhance the value and marketability of its products," Koo said.
In 2003, I+U joined SQV Group and expanded into an extensive firm that also included mechanical design, marketing and sales, and project management. Now the firm can boast not just innovative design but a complete range of services ranging from brand-building to setting a marketing strategy. With its own research teams, SQV can carry out a project all the way from product appearance, to market analysis, to consumer behavior research, to product launch planning and sales-channel counselling.
"Every product needs marketability. To design a product you need to understand the market. By taking such aspects into consideration, we can create an identity for the product, a story behind the design that our clients can follow and shape their market strategies," Koo said.
"The designers at the firm are able to create market-oriented design with assistance from experts in different fields," Sun said. "When our designers start forming design concepts, they will be joined by our research staff, and together, they will try to answer questions such as, `Who are the targeted users?' `What are their habits and life styles?' `In what situation and environment will the products be used?' `What are the future trends in the market?'"
Not surprisingly, some of the firm's main clients are large electronics manufacturers who are interested in transforming themselves from OEM (original equipment manufacturing) to ODM (original design manufacturing) businesses. Building a brandname is the key to success in the competitive global market these days.
The Smart Phone ET960 from Lenovo Corp (
"We insist on quality design. If we are sure about our design then we won't give in. I think this is partially the reason why we have such a fine reputation in the field," Koo said.
Since many electronics manufacturers have put more resources into their ODM businesses and established their own design centers in recent years, what are the advantages SQV has over other designers?
As Sun explained it, design teams in most companies can only specialize in limited types of products. SQV, on the other hand, has a rich experience of various sectors and can easily adopt design
concepts and materials from one sector to another. "For example, we once applied the material of carbon fiber from carbon cycles to computer design," Sun said.
Moreover, the designers at SQV also take seriously their roles as visionary pioneers who set future trends in the conceptual design business.
"Unlike in-house design teams, we have more comprehensive knowledge and ideas about design in general. So lots of companies come to us because they want to develop never-before-seen products, something that is new and advanced in concept," Sun said.
Cyber Home 2000, for example, is a conceptual design commissioned by Acer in 1995. Acer asked the team to conceive of new roles and functions for computers within a five-year timeframe. The firm spent more than a year creating a hi-tech household connected by one single computerized system, a vision that has been partially realized today.
SQV has developed long-term strategic alliances with overseas companies and secured agents and partners in major cities such as Tokyo, London, Los Angeles and Shanghai.
When asked how he sees the future of the company, Koo said, "We will always be a Taipei-based design firm aiming at the global market and striving to innovate ourselves with cutting-edge ideas and better systems and techniques."
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