The agreement to host World Design Capital 2014 in Cape Town was signed by the City of Cape Town at the Freeworld Design Centre in the centre of town yesterday, launching an exciting journey for our city to establish itself as the centre of the world’s design industry in two years from now. Disappointing is its new logo, which was launched at the function too, resembling a headache tablet, and does not do justice to the wealth of design talent in our city!

The Host City Agreement was signed by Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille and the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design President Soon-in Lee.  Mayor De Lille said about Cape Town’s honour in having been selected above Dublin and Bilboa to hold the design designation in 2014:“What is design but the application of our humanity, and the search for excellence, elegance and solutions to the problems that we face? We don’t build cities in the ideal mode and expect them to remain that way. Cities don’t work like that. And neither does design. Humanity and all of its variety happens in between. Cities grow organically. We combine our natural energy and growth with the deliberate purpose of design. We use what we have to get to what we want. We change the inevitable by combining with the aspirational.”

Being the first African city in the history of the Design Capital of the World hosting, President Soon-in Lee highlighted what the design honour means for the African continent: “This is a very exciting time for South Africa and indeed for the African region as a whole. As the world looks to Cape Town over the course of the next few years, many exciting opportunities will be presented to the city to shape and make relevant within its own context. Our aspiration for the city is to continue to provide a platform that will empower Cape Town to be a leading example on the international stage, to encourage designers from diverse backgrounds and communities to share ideas and transform objectives into realities. We have no doubt that Cape Town will bring its own unique vision to the project, making all Capetonians and citizens of this region very proud.”  Cape Town’s bid focused on social transformation as the determining factor for the city’s success.“Design needs to offer real solutions to real problems. Cape Town demonstrated a deep understanding of this in their bid. They put human-focused design at the centre of the solution for social transformation”, he added.

Cape Town’s World Design Capital 2014 designation coincides with the anniversary of 20 years of democracy in South Africa. Mayor de Lille highlighted the importance of partnerships: “The task of transforming the city is one that requires the energies of as many partners as possible, within our borders and without. Design is not about central planning. It is about networks that jointly make up an attitude, an approach and a direction. The product of those networks combined is what will transform this city. We sign on behalf of those partners. And we sign on behalf of the people of Cape Town. Above all, we sign for a new way of thinking, one that sees opportunities, not obstacles, challenges not dead-ends, and the roadway for other cities to follow in building a better future.”

Cape Town follows in the footsteps of Torino, Italy (2008); Seoul, South Korea (2010), and Helsinki, Finland (2012) as World Design Capitals.

Cape Town’s official World Design Capital 2014 logo, in yellow, ‘a colour signifying optimism and hope, and representing Cape Town’s urban future’, was unveiled at the signing ceremony.  The name of the designer/design agency is not mentioned in the city’s release. Its uncreative design may well have been an inside job of the City of Cape Town!

Earlier this month the City of Cape Town appointed Richard Perez to head up its World Design Capital 2014 programme for the next two years, reported the Cape Argus.  His job will be to ‘develop the city’s participation in the WDC‘, including the City of Cape Town’s design related plans.  Mr Perez studied at the Royal College of Art in London, has a B.Sc in Engineering, and has completed an executive MBA at UCT. He will focus on ‘linking the creative thinkers and the bureaucrats’, moving in both worlds, he said.  A local stakeholder forum, consisting of designers, academics, and business persons, is to be set up.

One hopes that the programme for Cape Town’s hosting of World Design Capital 2014 will be more creative and more reflective of Cape Town being the design centre of South Africa than is the city’s logo for World Design Capital 2014!

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage