Since the beginning of 2008, I work for Ask4Me Group, a Dutch product design agency, with offices in Amsterdam, Hong Kong and China. Out of personal interest I am interested in the development of product design in China. Within Ask4Me Group I can contribute to defining the meaning of design in China. Many Chinese companies see design related to graphics, fashion, trend, shapes and colors. I like to show that design is also related to user understanding and qualitive engineering. Due to my work I attend and contribute in many Fairs and Expositions that are related to product design in China. Each year we participate in the Business of Design Week in Hong Kong and the Guangzhou Design Week. But also smaller design events like the Shunde International Industrial Design Expo, or the Foshan Creative Week. As a young designer I feel lucky to be present at a new design oriented country.

See interview by Chinese Top Design Talk

I started my focus on China at the end of 2007 with a study about the relation between Dutch Design and China. After intensive literature study I interviewed twenty people who had experience with product development in China. I talked to designers and businessmen in The Netherlands and in China, with government and educational organisations (EVD, BNO) who where concerned with this topic. I was interested in their views about the future relationship and their awareness in general. Did they see China as a threat or opportunity for Dutch Design? The study was presented at Delft University of Technology and the Dutch Consulate in Guangzhou.

During the project my work was advised and reviewed by:

• prof. Daan van Eijk, Delft University of Technology, professor of Applied Ergonomics and Design at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering
• MSc. Jorg van den Hoven, founder Ask4Me Group, and later deputy head of the economic and commercial department of the Dutch Consulate in Guangzhou, among others adviser for the creative industry in South China.