Ugandan traders should embrace Industrial Design for better business

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OPINION

By Arch. Kenneth Ssemwogerere

In his speech at Kololo Independence grounds while meeting the traders recently, H.E. The President encouraged them to go into manufacturing of goods as a way to get more things made in country rather than rely on Imports.

This coming from the fountain of honor is a sort of blank cheque that the Kasita community must embrace for better business. He went ahead to mention some local investors like Ntake, Luuka who have already established factories in Namanve. Meaning he has keen interest in developing local manufacturers.

However, the standard of products made locally can only be embraced by Ugandans and late alone the international community, when they are produced to such quality and standards to verse the imported products from abroad at almost the same price or even lower. For this to happen the Traders must arise and come to terms with the fact that nice designs can only be developed if they embrace the profession of industrial design.

It is on record that one of the important factors for the achievement of high product quality and economic stability by countries like Germany, Korea and Japan is their sound base in Industrial Design. Industrial Design is recognized primarily for the value-oriented benefits it offers to people. Design ensures that the new products are more efficient, usable, convenient and safe to use and meet the constraints of the environment.

The Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) defines Industrial design as “the professional service of creating and developing concepts and specifications that optimise the function, value and appearance of products and systems for the mutual benefit of both the user and manufacturer”. It is a process of design applied to products that are to be manufactured through techniques of mass production. 

Its key characteristic is that design is separated from manufacture: the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features takes place in advance of the physical act of making a product, which consists purely of repeated, often automated, replication. The standard of 'Design' in a society reflects its intellectual, technological and organizational capabilities.

Industrial Design has four main concerns: Firstly, It is concerned with improving usability. Satisfying the user needs and offering the user options is a main concern of Industrial Design. Thus, utilitarian and ergonomic requirements are considered from the beginning. The wealthy traders who have been known to import loads of containers of various products should consider starting production in country.

They know that they have an assured market for their products so they need to start by reorienting their minds to questions like – can’t this be produced here and the answers to this question goes back to first figuring out how is this designed and manufactured; what needs of the user does it address; what equipment will I need to produce this product. The first point of call to answer this presumably mindboggling questions to any ‘musubuzi’ is an Industrial Designer.

Secondly, Industrial Design is concerned with 'formal properties' of products. Making the product 'aesthetically pleasing' and satisfying the psychological needs of the user, is a core function of Industrial Design. Need to exploit the variety of materials, finishes and processes to achieve desired formal properties makes the Industrial Designer a specialist in this respect. H.E. has now and again made the case for value addition rather than exporting our raw materials abroad. It can be said that at his vantage point he has done his part and done it well and consistently. If it has been falling on deaf ears, I think his address at Kololo shed more light to it.

The ball seems to be right in the courts of the traders to make those tough decisions for their own prosperity. It cant be argued that there is no lack of capital because if one gets to know the staggering figures in Billions of some of the value of imports done by a single renown trader – it is sufficient to start the design and development of high value goods to be tagged Made in Uganda.

Thirdly, Industrial Design is a creative activity. To be effective, Industrial Design has to be innovative. This is the component that gives the product a competitive edge and brings profits to the manufacturer. Innovative use of technologies, mechanisms, materials and finishes can improve the product quality to a great extent. I think this is the game changer that differentiates men from the big boys.

One can take the example Taiwan and South Korea. Not so long ago their car brand – KIA came on the scene and due to the high level of expertise that they as a country have invested in Industrial Design, this ‘young’ brand is giving the big boys like Toyota, Nissan and the like a run for their money. So this proves that these things are possible and achievable. It can be said that the speech from Kololo can be the spark to start this change for Mother Uganda.

Finally, Industrial Design is concerned with the marketability of a product. Industrial Design acts as a link between Marketing and Manufacture, helping in product planning and product strategy formulation. It can play a significant role in using technologies to bring out products most effectively in the market.

This component of Industrial Design is most significant for 'product success' in internal and export markets. We must apply our brains thoroughly to what we have at our disposal in terms of technologies. We must ask ourselves the right questions – how did those developed countries get to where they are; what did they do differently. It should be contended that we cannot keep doing things the same way and expect different results.  That would border to madness to say the least.

Today, different foreign firms looking for product marketing in culturally diverse countries have started realizing that they can expand their markets in developing countries not by forcing international products in these markets, but by responding to local needs through new product innovation. It is necessary to develop products by understanding current and potential needs of society using local materials and processes. 'Design' talents within the country are essential to absorb the continuous flow of new technologies from developed countries and adapt them to local conditions of manufacture.

Ugandan traders should appreciate the fact that local product needs of the society are very different from those of the western countries. That is why some products that we import end up disappointing many of their users. Here there are several examples which we must look at and make the tough decision to start inhouse manufacture. Design can help in bringing out products to satisfy cultural and social needs of the Ugandan population.

Needs of the rural population can be particularly well taken care through 'Design' which is sensitive to local needs. Design can be directed towards employment generation. Industrial Design could play a vital role in innovating products with high market potentials which can be made with local skills.

Value oriented benefits of product innovation to the society, is not the only reason to promote design activity. It has far reaching influence on export and economic growth. International trade has long since shifted from raw materials to processed products. It is the design and the technological capabilities that give the competitive edge to the products in international market and the earlier Ugandans come to terms with this the better.

It is not surprising that design was recognized as a tool for development, especially in export trade, by the governments in industrialized countries as early as the first decade of this century. Most governments continue to believe in promoting design capabilities, a good example is the British government's commitment to design.

Britain Prime Minister Thatcher during her tenure many years ago made these remarks, “For the United Kingdom to recover honored position in the world economy, it is not only required that British industrial products make further progress but also that further improvements be made in design aspects. For this purpose, our entire design system including design education should be revised".

Ugandans, we need to appreciate that this partly explains the weight of their currency the Pound Sterling. Research has revealed that the UK has some of the leading high value products in the world, manufactured in their Industrial parks. We therefore cannot give a deaf ear to the critical role that Industrial design has to play in our Economy. These Nations woke up several decades ago we cannot keep the status quo of importing products that can actually be made on our home soil. This is what any Ugandan trader should ponder over again and again.

We will take some examples of the industrialized nations and how they got to where they are now. It is said that it was not just the smart marketing and shrewd business approach, but the systematic product innovation and design that underlined the Japanese success. Many years ago Japanese entry into U.S. Consumer electronics market will prove this point further. Building up consumer acceptance from scratch in the 1960s, Matsushita (Panasonic) equaled the market share of the two U.S. giants GE and RCA by 1971.

The reason for popularity of the Japanese consumer electronics products was not their lower price or better performance, as one would believe. It was their ability to meet the requirements of the new American lifestyle that made these products popular in young Americans. Japanese designers perceived the new trends towards mobility in young American in the sixties. They offered compact portable high-performance products that American companies had failed to offer.

Qualitative marketing research into changing consumer needs coupled with the engineering capabilities to develop smaller, more compact, portable products with high quality performance, gave the Japanese products the competitive edge in the market. It is the ability to adopt technology to produce products people really need and want that marks the Japanese success.

Japanese understood the nature of relationship between research, technology development and product innovation, and maintained a careful balance between the three factors with careful planning. This is what we contend that the traders should start to do systematically and strategically like yesterday. It is profoundly clear that the Political leadership is so ready to support such initiatives. The Ugandan traders must read the tide and ride on the same.

All the above said and done, the Government of Uganda should play the critical central role and scale up from Vocational training, which has for sure provided jobs for careers like carpentry, tailor, bakery etc for many years, into Industrial design. Suffice to say that the two careers being a Carpenter and a furniture designer are truly worlds apart.

Acceptance of product innovation within the industries in Uganda and of new product ideas by the society would not have been possible without active promotional efforts. These massive efforts can only succeed only when the government comes forward with liberal funding to form design promotion organizations such as design schools and academies. Similarly, drastic changes in the traditional design approach will find its acceptance by the design community only through systematic efforts in updating design education at colleges and universities.

It is worthwhile to research the various actions that were taken by other countries to promote modern design approach. This submission will not be complete without highlighting the core advantage that this Nation has – the young brilliant population, which if given opportunity in the lucrative career of Industrial design can easily spur this Economy to unprecedented levels in just few years.

Our dear traders, we wish you a great new beginning after the great opportunity of meeting the Head of State. But wisdom should prevail so that you think carefully through your next course of action especially pertaining to import substitution through Industrial design just as the fountain of honor guided.  For God and My country.

Arch. Kenneth Ssemwogerere, PhD

Director of Design & Training,

SASA College of Industrial Design, Busiika, Luweero District