The primary medium to avoid this dead end is design. Ziya Altunyaldız, who manages the Turquality program, seeks to help create a brand for Turkish exporters. Altunyaldız announced the "Design Turkey" program, a competition organized to contribute to Turquality and develop design in the industrial area, in İstanbul on Tuesday. "A different kind of quality comes out of design, and this is what moves small and medium-sized enterprises [SMEs] to a higher level."Foreign Trade Undersecretariat Export Deputy General Manager and Turquality President Altunyaldız, Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) President Oğuz Satıcı and Professional Industrial Designers Association (ETMK) President Gülay Hasdoğan evaluated the "Design Turkey Industrial Design Awards" competition and its effects. Altunyaldız stated that this competition is an important part of the Turquality program and that their aim is to combine competent manufacturing with a long-term outlook, creating new brands with genuine and quality designs peculiar to Turkey. Altunyaldız pointed out that design secures the place of brand creation in the international market during the process that starts out with the industry. SMEs will compete under the same conditions as much larger companies. Only SMEs able to prove themselves through their distinguished designs and manufacturing will be able to rise in rank.
Satıcı noted that even a small company in any city of Anatolia can easily be awarded the prize with the products it designs and manufactures. "This competition is a crucial base, especially for small firms. If they can effectively take advantage of this opportunity, they can get ahead of medium and large companies because small companies make decisions much faster," he said. Stating that export companies have been putting more emphasis on design for the last seven years, the TİM president said: "Because Turquality supports the manufacturer and exporter in creating a brand, methods for design will only develop via Turquality. And this means producers and exporters will become more interested in disciplines related to design."
ETMK President Hasdoğan pointed out that this competition is different from others because it covers implemented designs and products. The basic condition for receiving an award is that the company should already have taken some risks, met all the necessary expenses and come up with something different. Hasdoğan expects applications from the manufacturing industry, and the automotive sector in particular, though the project does provide support for fields such as medical equipment production and others. So far 70 submissions have been received, and more are expected.
The awards include the "Fair Design Award," the "Preeminent Design Award" and the "TURQUALITY® Design Award." The "Design Turkey Industrial Design Awards" includes 12 sectors. In this, the most comprehensive competition taking place in Turkey so far, the first stage covers designs and products for packing, lighting, electronics, home appliances, home and office equipment and accessories, public and commercial commodities, furniture, sports, hobbies, games, personal care products, communications items such as phones, transportation vehicles, building tools, machinery and medical equipment. The deadline for submissions is Aug. 15. Companies that make it into the competition will be given the "Design Turkey" label and will be supported by Turquality in advertising in the international arena. Also, "Conceptual Design Awards" will be delivered to encourage creative ideas which might provide guidance for the industry.
Satıcı discussed the decline in exports of ready-wear products. Pointing out that they do not consider changes over the short term, he said: "We neither get overjoyed when things are great, nor grieve too much if we are experiencing trouble. We can assure people that export rates will reach $500 billion by the year 2023; the textile and ready-wear sector will be better and faster than today and bring in more wealth. But things do not change on the spot; we need time."
Satıcı also pointed out that the increase in exports is continuing. "Turkey's economy no longer depends on low rates of exchange. The biggest problem is high interest rates. While profits rise through means such as design, we are obliged to transfer such hard-won profits to management and investment credits. Nobody invests in the non-financial sector, producers or designers, but on the most promising interest revenues." He also stated that the increase in the first quarter will continue and said: "Gross domestic product [GDP] has grown by 6.6 percent. When you look closer, you can see that producer, exporter and foreign trade have made great contributions to this increase. The growth of the country parallels the growth of the trade." Satıcı also referred to the current situation in politics and, noting the Ergenekon crime network and a case seeking the closure of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), he emphasized the ongoing privatization "Bids of billions of dollars continue; we should not ignore that. However, it is undeniable that the better the democracy is, the better the economy will get. And the better the economy, the firmer the democracy will be," he said.
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