CREATIVE GAME: are all players present on the field

"In order to win, you must first play" - Albert Einstein

Currently, there is no need to prove the potential, relevance of thinking and demand for the ideas of Ukrainian designers — this is confirmed by international awards and successful participation in international exhibitions. Today, the commercial prospects of new manufacturers of design products, brands and bureaus are also obvious. This perspective in the development of creative industries is seen by international institutions, and it is finally realized and even declared as part of the economic and export policy of Ukraine. However, unfortunately, in Ukrainian realities, the classic scheme "idea - product - buyer" has internal problems, so it does not work often enough to talk about the successful sustainable development of the field. Why? Where exactly and what "breaks" are there in this chain and what exactly are the missing links for the ecosystem to work without interruptions? Why does a creative product need a "special" approach?

The International Conference "Days of the Creative Economy", which took place in Lviv on November 23-24, was dedicated to this. The theme of this year's event, organized by the Business Support Center with the support of the EBRD and funded under the EU4Business initiative of the European Union, was "The Power of Players: Value Chains in the Creative Industries". Real players in the field of creative industries, Ukrainian and international, were involved in the event, which consisted of an intensive theoretical and practical program. This practical experience and successful cases of conference speakers were one of the values ​​of the implemented program. The "hottest" was at the panel discussions, in particular, the one devoted to the topic of object design. Four participants in the discussion "Interaction along the value chain in the market of industrial design" tried to recreate this interaction: Adam Vesli-Svichynsky, AWS Design (Vienna), Oksana Tverdokhlibova, head of the subject design sales department at Sergey Makhno Architects (Kyiv), Sana Shevchenko, director of Maino Design Ukraine (Kyiv) and Halyna Proskurina, MZPA project manager (Kyiv). The moderator of the discussion was "design activist" and organizer of the participation of designers and brands at international exhibitions, creative director of Maino Design Ukraine Anastasiya Biletska.

But first a bit of theory. There are three main participants in the creative and commercial process: the designer, who proposes an idea, the manufacturer, who has to choose it, believe in it and start "materializing", and the consumer, who depends on how successful this whole process will be. When examining the chain in detail, it becomes obvious that three links are not enough. What links should be added? To understand this, we tried to reproduce the most revealing and important moments of the conversation in the format of the lines of each of the players.

What game do creative entrepreneurs play?

"Biathlon"

Galina Proskurina: involving designers in product development is extremely important. But it was not from the very beginning that the "big" names of Ukrainian design began to cooperate with the young company. We started gradually, looking for items on Behance, then there were already collaborations with designers. A year after our founding, we participated in Paris Design Week (Project Transformation 2017) with several pieces from different designers. Later, we got an invited position - art direction, and thanks to this, we created a whole collection of office furniture and started working with Kateryna Sokolova and Serhii Gotvyanskyi.

Anastasia Biletska: So, do you think that the position of the art director was an insufficient link in the company?

GP: Not only she, but this appearance accelerated certain development processes, which is natural. We develop and evolve quickly, so we need to strengthen in the "thin" places in order to grow. We must be as strong as possible in the selection of furniture, in production, and in establishing a dealer and representative network on the world market.

A. B.: I believe that the MZPA company is really developing according to the vector of logical evolution: first there was participation in Paris Design Week, the next step is participation in the Maison&Objet exhibition. What do you think are the weak links in the chain that need to be strengthened in order to effectively run exhibitions?

GP: We put a lot of effort into communication with publications and potential customers. To get an effect from the exhibition, you need to prepare in advance. Of course, there is a place for happy surprises, but despite all the surprises, it is necessary to conduct preliminary preparations: in particular, we have invited to the exhibition many potential customers and dealers, with whom we are negotiating cooperation, we want to meet in person. Global networking is a difficult task, but at the same time an interesting one. Thanks to the presence at world exhibitions, gaining the trust of the market is much faster and easier.

"Figure skating"

Anastasia Biletska: Adam, please tell us about your playing style. Which link do you represent and what is the situation with the work in the value chains in Austria?

Adam Wesley-Swichynsky: Thank you for your question. It is interesting to know that there are many shapes and models of chains nowadays. Indeed, large companies can have two, three or more links inside. My company is small, and most of the creative sector in Europe is. I suspect that in Ukraine as well. It should not be forgotten that creative business is an integral part of business in general, and to some extent it is a whole philosophy in general, which provides for the possibility of "supplementing" many businesses with its contribution. We work with industrial design — sports equipment, household appliances, universal design. And the development of some products takes a lot of time - from two to five years. Our team of five people ensures the entire process of turning an idea into a solution, and the actual testing and launch into production already takes place with the involvement of specialists from the customer's company.

AB: How do you look for customers? Do big companies trust small developers?

A.V.: We started our activity by collaborating with a manufacturer of sports and ski equipment, because, actually, I adore skis, then clients came for recommendations, and then the portfolio itself "sold" us to the next clients. We don't need much (laughs). We have been in existence for 18 years and during this time we have developed relationships with Bosch, Siemens, Ottobock, Swarovski, Tyrolia, Head, Fischer, Audi, Leica. Large companies trust proven partners, the size of the companies does not matter, it is important that you could guarantee a quality result from the process assigned to your link.

"Modern pentathlon"

Sometimes designers and manufacturers combine several functions, and instead of involving contractors and outsourcing companies, they take on the additional burden and expand their own team. A vivid example is Sergey Makhno Architects. Today, the company works in three directions — interior design, architecture and object design. The company has its own assembly department, subject design department, own ceramic production, subject design sales department and PR department.

Oksana Tverdokhlibova: Today, our company independently provides 70% of the implementation of its projects. And if we talk about architecture and design, where we have reliable partners and contractors, we are constantly expanding our functionality in the area of ​​object design. Last year, we created and adjusted the work of the ceramics workshop and the subject design sales department. We pay a lot of attention to promotion both in Ukraine and abroad. We participate in collective exhibitions of Ukrainian design, international competitions, we are constantly published by recognized world and Ukrainian publications.

Anastasia Biletska: Do you focus only on foreign markets? Frankly speaking, Makhno is a premium brand.

O. T .: Our brand is liked by everyone, but not by everyone. Makhno is an international brand with a Ukrainian soul and touches of Japanese philosophy. And every "our" client is important to us, geography does not matter here. Ceramics, for example, is presented in Dutch and French galleries and showrooms, as well as in Kyiv - GoodWine and "Vsi. Your | Home and decor". She is popular everywhere. There is lighting in Spain and Canada, we do projects in Israel, France, Italy and Sumy. If the client is "ours", we will find him on the moon and offer him something he will enjoy.

 

Are all players present on the "field"?

"Freestyle"

Sana Shevchenko: What is the peculiarity of the creative industries and the difference from the rest of the business? The fact that all these material values ​​have added / additional value, which is determined by the cost of the idea, artificial production and several other factors. Why does your chair cost more? For you, of course, this is obvious. But how to make it obvious to the buyer? After all, the object itself as a function is 30-40% of its value.

Therefore, this added value, which determines the higher price of the item, must be justified - primarily for the consumer. Therefore, the path of goods produced by creative industries is special on the market. And in this it is impossible to neglect the role of PR and special marketing.

Actually, our company Maino Design Ukraine is one of the non-obvious but necessary links in the chain. In addition to designers and manufacturers, who have already sufficiently understood their place and "responsibilities", the question remains open: who is still selling? Dealers, representatives, exhibitions, mass media sell. In times when planning and long-term unerring strategy no longer work, specialists capable of quick response and visionary vision are simply needed. We have many products, even brands are starting to appear, but what's next? Who will bring information to consumers, through which channels, with what words or actions? We are talking now about the interaction along the chain, and above all, my wish for manufacturers is to see this chain and honestly answer themselves: are my company's resources and specialist qualifications able to provide all the way to victory? Should I spread the risks and start working with professionals in those areas where I do not have sufficient competences? A painful question about work with mass media. But for the third year now, we have been "accustoming" designers and manufacturers to the work format. The participants of the Paris Design Week and Maison&Objet projects undergo a "young fighter course" in 4 months and already have an established scheme that they can use for further work.

Anastasia Biletska: Do you think that PR is the main key to success?

S. Sh.: No, on the contrary, I believe that first of all it should be a quality product, and then PR comes into play. Today, the very concept of PR already has a modified form, and media communication is closer to me. Answering the question, I can say that the result of our link is provided by two main processes — research and action, i.e. implementation, we do not use universal means, but try to choose a tool or means for a specific case, and for this, a lot of preliminary research work is required. We perform them independently and continuously, study trends and predict future possible scenarios. Such a link will become extremely necessary for Ukrainian creative businesses in the near future.

So, the panel discussion on the difficult topic of "Industrial Design Market Players Interaction Along the Value Chain" came out hot. To summarize, from the word "summary" and not "summary", we would like to speed up the entry of Ukrainian creative brands to the world market, which, in fact, will teach in practice all those "theoretically understandable" things we are talking about now. Already in January, the second five brands will be participants in the Maison & Objet furniture and home decor exhibition, which means for us that 5 more brands will "bite" their own piece of the world pie of knowledge about the value of each link of their own chains.

We are sincerely grateful to the PPV company, Volodymyr Vorobey and Amalia Yusufova for the already traditional Creative Economy Days, which initiate extremely useful discussions and networking with European colleagues. It is hoped that by joint efforts we will be able to strengthen the "weak" links of creative entrepreneurship and draw up a logical development "map" taking into account personal market advantages for each individual company that wants to develop.

 

Text: Anastasia Biletska