Xie Xiaoguang, Chief Designer of Edifier Technology Co Ltd.

An Interview with Xie Xiaoguang, Chief Designer of Edifier Technology Co Ltd.

We first set eyes on Edifier’s Chief Designer Xie Xiaoguang nearly two years ago when two of Edifier’s speakers, M3plus and e20, won the “Red Dot Design Award” in Germany in 2009. However, according to previous experience, China’s achievements in the field of industrial design have never been a bright spot. Thus, it was considered to be “accidental” when Edifier received the top design honor. In the last year, Edifier has continually received recognition by winning numerous awards. These honors include, the German iF Design Award, Germany Red Dot Product Design Award, the American CES Design and Engineering Innovation Award, Golden Design of China Industrial Design Association, Outstanding Design Award by Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization, and the Best Fashion Design Award at “Innovation Festival” at home and abroad.

These tributes not only exclude fortuity, but also illustrate Edifier’s ceaseless efforts in industrial design. When talking about these international top honors, it is natural for us to look at the chief designer of Edifier, Mr. Xie Xiaoguang. However, he stressed in the interview: “Although the award-winning products will increase brand value, this does not mean that our high-end products are mature enough.” When Edifier’s speakers are exhibited in the top audio shops together with international well-known brands from America and Europe for the first time, and when Chanel’s design director Lagerfeld bought two Edifier M500 speakers in Paris, we can find that such Chinese companies are heading down the path of enhancing and strengthening brands by design.

China IP: Not long ago, Edifier took part in the International Consumer Electronics Show in the United States and won another award. Which product won the award?

Xie Xiaoguang: It is the M500 that won the 2010 Design and Engineering Innovation Award for Audio Products. Before the show, this product was very popular in Europe and the United States and sold well. In the previous show, our product was not good enough for the award, so that we did not participate in the competition. With improvements, M500 won the Design and Engineering Innovation Award in January's CES and gained “Red Dot Design Award” in the CeBIT exhibition this March. Late last year, the product also won the fifth place in the top products evaluated by a mainstream consumer media STUFF in France, in which Ferrari was listed as the third. It was also been awarded the Best iPod Dock in Germany's top technology media ComputerBILD.

China IP: With Edifier products winning international awards, has the company increased emphasis on innovation and design now?

Xie Xiaoguang: Of course, we are not alone in this field. In the current financial crisis, more and more domestic enterprises have to focus on design. However, many companies are at a loss in the design field. Although Edifier’s products occupy half of the domestic speaker market, most of its products are low-end products. Take the computer speaker for example. In domestic market, its price is only tens of Yuan. Though it sells in a large number, profitability of each product is rather low and its brand influence is not strong enough. After nearly two years of development, now we have chosen the way of enhancing brand value with creative design for sustainable development.

China IP: What is industrial design? What is its connotation? Is product design part of industrial design? Xie Xiaoguang: Industrial design is not a simple change in appearance or improvement in functionality and performance. These are not the essence of industrial design. Personally, I think good industrial design should not only consider function and aesthetics, but also form unique cultural connotation for the product. Good design shall let consumers fully feel the positive impact brought by the product on their living quality, so that they can understand the value of brand. In some industries, there are goods of the same grade but with different brands which are very different because of different brand concepts created by the products. It is the connotation of industrial design to interpret the cultural essence of the brand or to elevate brand value to a cultural level.