People have difficulty under-standing the design process, the process of applied creativity.†Many see it as frivolous, a cosmetic thing. They think that if they use a nice design which makes their product look attractive, however flawed the product, however weak it is, people will buy it.

You still have a lot of that kind of mentality in the country, the pasar malam mentality. They go for the one-off sale. If the buyer doesn’t come back, that’s OK. There will be others who will come and buy.

Design should not be used to cover flaws in products. It cannot be used as a dishonest means to make a sale. That approach simply cannot be sustained.

Design should be used to ensure the quality of a product.

If you have very well designed products, very well designed packaging, you know these products will sell.

Whether it is an educational institution or furniture or electrical goods, you will know.


The basis for a culture of quality

A very well designed product goes hand in hand with a very well made product. Somebody who designed the product so well normally would also make it very well.

If you were to follow that product from an exhibition hall to the shop where it is displayed, you would find that the shop is of a very high standard. The way the product is being displayed and promoted at the shop will be compatible with the high standard of the product.

And if you were to go further back, to the marketing office of the product’s manufacturer, you would find it is well managed. You will see well-informed staff running the office.

Then go even further back, to the factory. At the guardhouse itself, you would get the feeling that the place is very efficient. Inside, you would find a very well planned factory.

It is in this kind of environment that good products are made.

You cannot have a company not doing well, not run well, with a factory badly equipped, with workers poorly trained, and a wonderful product. That just doesn’t happen.

The culture of quality starts with a plan to make the product. You know your buyer, you can read the buyer and, therefore, you are building it for with a person in mind. You know what you are doing, what you have to do.

You maintain quality right through the whole process. If you have to do market research, you will do it; if you have to do market testing, you will do it; and if you have to look at 50 designs to pick the right one, you will do that too.†
And if there is a need for reliable after sales service, you will be there, because the culture that you have adopted will not allow you not to be there.

Once that is in place, you can be certain of sustainability in terms of sales because there will be a second purchase. If you get a second purchase, you will go on to get a third purchase.

If the product integrity is there, quality integrity is there, the product will be sold, in a sustained manner for sure.

Resulting from that, the company will become synonymous with quality, and enjoy the most positive image in the minds of people. And this, in turn, reinforces the perception that whatever it produces must be the best.


Driving creativity and innovation

A company’s competitive edge depends on its ability to foster innovation in a variety of ways throughout the organisation. With rapidly changing markets, values, behaviours, and ways of doing business, companies must respond creatively in order to grow and be profitable. Those who aren’t, lose. And if they lose, the country loses.

In its essence, national competitiveness depends on the creativity and innovation capability of its people.

One initiative to build a nationwide consciousness of the importance of creativity and innovation is the Anugerah Kreativiti & Inovasi or National Creativity and Innovation Award.

It was launched last month by the Malaysia Design Innovation Centre (MDI), a joint development by the Government and the private sector that supports individuals, organisations and companies to build their resources and sharpen their responses to local and global challenges.

Thirty-eight companies were recognized in the inaugural award.

The companies and brands recognized are easily the most obvious ones.

These are companies that are outstanding in their commitment to brand-building, and whose use of innovative thinking in the building process is prominent.

Their efforts have resulted in their names becoming household names, and their brands market leaders in their business sector or product category.

Most, if not all, have established their brand presence internationally.

These are pioneer Malaysian brand builders whose efforts have contributed to the favourable perception of Malaysia as a country that produces quality products and reliable services.

It has taken them long years of investment in building up the brand image to sustain consumer loyalty. This investment undoubtedly includes the application of creativity and innovation to achieve their present status.

As this is an annual event, more of the other well-known brands will be recognized as in the coming years.


Be prepared to compete with the best in the world

Going forward, as a people, as a nation, we must accept that we must be more creative, more innovative, more imaginative in the way we think, if we are to compete successfully in a highly competitive globalised environment.

We must become much more innovative in the way we build our business, much more creative in the way we build our brands.

We must succeed in creating more products the world wants to use and more brands the world wants to own.

To succeed, we must be prepared to compete with the best in the world, and that means we must become one ourselves.

We have to acknowledge that increasing competition will be a permanent challenge that Malaysia must face, especially competition by countries with lower costs. We have no other option other than to increase our competitiveness.

If Malaysia were to achieve fully developed country status and be among the world’s most advanced, and that we must be, then we must work to become a truly innovative nation.