Furniture Design

There are very few developing countries that really can boast of having a distinctive design school of their own. The Philippines is often cited as one of the exceptions, which has in fact made authentic designs and daring material combinations, an image that is a promotional tool in their furniture exports.

Furniture design education throughout Asia is plagued with both a lack of interest and a lack of demand. The fact that the larger Asian furniture industry is embroiled in a low-wage economy suggests that creative activities such as design and new product development, which involves a long period of time before becoming a success, may not be rewarding to most manufacturers. Hence, there is reluctance among the furniture manufacturers in Asia to employ creative design personnel, and there appears to be growing reluctance among the investing fraternity to fund such creative and innovative works. Rather, there is an apparent need for quick results on large, industrially manufactured furniture.

In a survey of design schools throughout the Asian region, it was reported that only 7% of all industrial design curricula actually incorporated some elements of furniture design into their programmes. Furniture manufacturers should encourage potential furniture designers by providing opportunities to take their creative works to the regional furniture exhibitions. A large domestic market will no doubt spur the development of local design talent, as it serves as a good platform to experiment with their creative works. It is therefore imperative that the organisers of the regional furniture fairs pay attention to the upcoming design talent and make avenues for them to exhibit their creative works. This will inevitably raise the standard of design and product development throughout Asia. Another possibility is to incorporate furniture design elements into the existing industrial design and wood technology curricula.