Rompendo com o comportamento da cópia : o desenvolvimento da identidade de produtos por meio da interação entre indústria e artesanato

Fonseca Braga, Mariana (2017) Rompendo com o comportamento da cópia : o desenvolvimento da identidade de produtos por meio da interação entre indústria e artesanato. Design Management and Technology, 12 (2). pp. 21-39. ISSN 1981-1543

Text (Ceasing copycat behaviour)
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Abstract

The Brazilian industrial history and design education have not contributed to the construction of a design culture and to the preservation of cultural heritage, despite the richness and variety of its culture and renowned production of Brazilian designers. The urgency of transforming this scenario – characterized by a culture of copying – into innovative contexts has been reported in several publications. This study sheds light on the issue of copycat behaviour changes in Brazilian furniture industry through two practice-based cases analysis. These cases show the interaction between industry and craftwork towards design culture conception and cultural heritage preservation. Participant observation was the main method used to collect data in the first case (Pedra de Minas). The second case (Corn armchair) was based on a semi-structured interview addressed to the company’s owner, as well as observation and analysis of archival sources such as brochures, materials used in exhibitions, and the company’s website. Interdisciplinary literature review supported the understanding of the empirical cases and context regarding copycat behaviour. This research was focused on: drivers and barriers to integrating design innovation into small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); copycat behaviour (under-researched issue in the design field); product identity; industrial and handcraft systems and their relationship to design. The purposes of this paper are to contribute to the analysis of practice-based cases in an emerging economy, to inquiry relations between crafts, industry and design, proposing possibilities of bidirectional projects as potential sources to create value in companies and communities, to start understanding copycat behaviour related to product-design in the Brazilian furniture industry and its changes towards design innovation, to better understand the feasibility and importance of prototyping as well as their boundaries for design development in this context. The discussion and conclusion point out drivers and barriers found at the company’s level and at the macro level, emphasizing the need to develop effective design policies and appropriate infrastructure in order to support design culture conception and cultural heritage preservation.