In recent years, design has been recognized as a strategic mean for utilizing competitive advantages to win in ever-increasing competition in both domestic and overseas markets in accordance with the equalization of technology, the removal of trade barriers, the ever-changing corporate business environment, and so on. It is widely accepted that industrial design has a powerful influence on overall company performance and profitability. Industrial design has to be integrated into the product development process right from the beginning. It can not be seen as something which is secondary to engineering and production considerations.
In line with this, the importance of industrial designer's abilities and competency has been increasingly stressed. In particular, there is a strong need for developing re-education programs for design human resources in a corporation in order to improve designer's ability for creating new products that have competitive advantages and adapting himself/herself to rapidly changing design environment.
This study aims to develop a comprehensive re-education program for cultivating competitive corporate design human resources. Firstly, the theoretical body of knowledge on the re-education of design human resources in a corporation has been studied through a course of literature surveys. Then, the current state of re-educational system in Korean electronics and automobile industries has been identified through field studies. Finally, a comprehensive framework for re-educational system for design human resources has been established as a result of this study. The framework comprises a step-by-step re-education process and it's major contents in accordance with designer's career developments, teaching methods, and some guidelines for evaluation and management of a re-education program.
