Uses of Economic Rhetoric – Told by Designers, Represented by Economic Press

The design discipline is constantly moving and reshaping itself. As the practices are often new and still evolving, the professionals in the field need to position their own activities to the context in which they are practiced (Valtonen, 2007). In the case of industrial design, the practice is conducted and increasingly discussed in the realm of the economic world. When issues such as global competitiveness or companies’ competitive advantages are discussed, design is often seen as a mean to improve business. This is the case especially where(onko tämä where ok?) competing on merely price or technological advantage becomes increasingly difficult. This paper shows how the designers present industrial design as an economically viable action and how the economic press represents industrial design in the context of economy.

Keywords:
Economic Rhetoric; Industrial Design; Interviews; Media; Rhetorical Analysis