In November 2005, we developed this course with the objective of collaborating with Bariloche craftsmen. We consider that it is important to democratize design, make it accesible to everyone, especially to craftsmen who develop a diversity of everyday objects.
With the help of Sebastián Terrero, who represented Fundación Norte Sur, we gave 6 classes to 15 local craftsmen. We talked about creativity, identity, design, production, financial value, product presentation and marketing. We insisted on transmiting the concepts of function, form and technique so they could understand the attributes of the whole object. The results were interesting and encouraging. The four groups of craftsmen put into practice what they learned by looking for an idea, developing a product and presenting it.
We discovered that, in general, most craftsmen are eager to learn about creativity, quality, packaging, presentation and marketing. They told us that the course opened their minds and helped them in their activities in different ways.
In summary, we can say that in this strong input that is provided in our country (official or not) to crafts-enterpreneurs, it is essential to incorporate more design professionals (industrial, graphic) in order to help them get successfully into the market.
