HTML

ePub

PDF

1. INTRODUCTION

In recent years the city of Lisbon has witnessed a number of changes, especially in areas such as the social and the economic. In turn, it is necessary for organizations to seek to adapt in the best way to the dynamics of a market that has presented high levels of instability over the last decade. From this perspective, the search for alternatives that impacted the innovation sectors, and the renewal of strategies became one of the main focuses of the actors involved in local production and economy.

In observation of the international recession scenario that has gradually settled since 2008 in Europe, Bauman (2008) says that the moments of crisis are accompanied by moments of intense social and cultural transformations, even acquiring positive aspects, such as stimulating a (re)adequacy of the actors involved. Thus, it was proposed to seek to understand how local producers adapted to this changing market.

The proposal of this research aimed to observe the views of designers as creative producers, given the recent economic and cultural changes that occurred in the city of Lisbon. The visibility given to Portuguese creators in the design product development sector is an important motivation, so that one can understand their perceptions and strategies to the detriment of the transformations that have been configured on a local scale and their own participation for the benefit of this scenario.

2. DEFINITION AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES

The cultural and industrial resignification in postmodernity was able to establish new relations of production and consumption of material and immaterial goods. Technological advances and the consequent prominence of issues such as sustainability, global crisis and scarcity of resources made the concept of Creative Economy become "[...] increasingly important in the world as the main link between culture, economy and technology" (NEWBIGIN, 2010, p.9).

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in a 2008 report the following definition is proposed for the term:

In the contemporary world, a new paradigm of development is emerging. It connects the economy and culture, including the economic, cultural, technological and social aspects of development, both at the macro and micro levels. The center of this new paradigm lies in the fact that creativity, knowledge and access to information are increasingly being recognized as powerful engines driving growth in the globalized world (UNCTAD, 2008, p.3).

By definition, the products and services developed by industries and markets that are part of the Creative Economy go beyond the notion of economics of the arts or economy of culture, wich in turn recognizes strictly artistic and cultural activities. It encompasses activities and services that dependo on creativity as a generator of resources and innovation.

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in a 2010 report, creative industries consider:

Cycles of creation, production and distribution of goods and services that uses creativity and intellectual capital as primary resources; which constitute a set of knowledge-based activities focused, among others, on the arts, which potentially generate sales revenues and intellectual property rights; which constitute tangible products and intangible intellectual or artistic services with creative content, economic value and market objectives; which are positioned at the crossroads between the artistic, service and industrial sectors; and which constitute a new dynamic sector in world trade (UNCTAD, 2010, p.8).

Thus, it was defined that the so-called Creative Economy would encompass the set of Creative Industries, being "those activities that have their origin in creativity, skill and individual talent, and that enhance the creation of jobs and wealth through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property" (NEWBIGIN, 2010, p.15).

Florida (2011) comprises this economic model as responsible for major transformations in terms of values, lifestyle, work habits and consumption. If before information and its communication networks already demonstrated power of influence in society, in this new community of individuals and creative companies, information, creativity and immaterial work become indispensable elements for the functioning and dynamics of the markets that integrate the Creative Industries.

UNCTAD classifies the following areas as creative sectors (Scheme 1):

According to John Howkins (2000), most companies in this sector are generally small to medium in size, and therefore, have a greater potential for innovation and are the most favored by the growth of the creative sector. Another factor pointed out is the collaborative work, mentioned by Florida (2011). Companies that develop in the midst of such an intense and fast period of exchanges, must be prepared to work collaboratively with other professionals, other companies and even with their customers/consumers.

2.1. Design as a Creative Industry

Among the various sectors encompassed by the definitions of the Creative Economy and presented in the previous topic, the field of Design is, in turn, the segment of interest intrinsic to this research. For the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD, 2010, p.156) Design falls into the category "functional creations" of the Creative Industries.

Also, according to the classification of UNCTAD (2010), products classified as Design include architecture, decorative objects, jewelry, toys and glass and fashion items. For fashion is given a special emphasis, given its important commercial potential and expanding, highlighting an important differentiation between exclusive and handmade fashion creations from those produced on an industrial scale.

According to Witheley (1993) it is also important to consider that Design, as a creative sector, is directly related to manifestations of social, political and economic situations of a society. The professional of creation in Design is not only a creator of commercial value, but a creator of social, cultural, environmental, political and symbolic value from the environment in which he is inserted (MARGOLIN, 2004).

Given its importance, it is believed that through Design certain values of a society can become understandable to its individuals through material production.

3. LISBON AS CREATIVE CENTRE

The Creative Industries have brought to the fore into ideas that involve new work behaviors, professional and consumer interactions. The main responsible for these transformations is the creative class, the professionals who drive the sector, and through their activities stimulate local economic development. These professionals, in turn, do not necessarily focus on where job offers are, they gather in so-called centers of creativity, "places that offer creative and stimulating environments, that is, places that offer openness and diversity, as well as opportunities and conveniences, where they can express themselves and legitimize their identity" (FLORIDA, 2011, p.11).

Also, according to the author, when these Creative Centers arise, it is not for traditional economic reasons, and not always through incentives from the local government. These centers arise because that's where creative individuals want to be. Aware of this behavior, companies follow these people. Or, as in many cases, it is these people who create the new businesses in activity.

Elected in 2015 as the creative capital of Europe, Lisbon has become an attractive landmark for creators and creative young people from all over Europe over the past few years. Already in 2017 was created the Observatory of Cultural and Creative Cities, a tool developed by the internal scientific service of the European Commission and which at the time of its launch covered 168 cities in 30 countries.

Regarding the specific field of Design, according to the National Institute of Statistics, of the total number of companies classified in Portugal in 2015, 8.6% – 4,555 companies – are related to Design activities and showed a growth of 13% compared to the previous year. These companies, in turn, represent 8.2% of the total jobs generated in creative activities and 4.7% of participation in the turnover generated by the creative sector in the country. In the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon this total is 1,965 companies focused on design activities and 2,715 professionals employed, according to a survey of 2015.

4. APPLIED METHODOLOGY

For the construction of the research, an inductive approach was adopted, in which from the observation and analysis of isolated cases and phenomena it is possible to propose or verify the generalization of a given phenomenon (RICHARDSON, 2009; GIL, 2012). In addition, the study can be classified as exploratory and descriptive, since research of this nature seeks to investigate mainly who, how and why of the occurrence of certain phenomena.

For the selection of the sample of the companies participating in the research, initial surveys of prospecting were carried out through participant and unsystematic observation in five collaborative establishments of local design creators - We Make, Wetheknot, Real Slow Retail Concept Store, Embassy and LxFactory -, located in the neighborhoods of Alcântara, Príncipe Real and Bairro Alto. The spaces are located in areas commonly identified as strongholds of creative producers and because they are also important tourist strongholds for the city.

The main criteria established for the choice of the final sample was to a) be small companies, according to the classification of the European Commission (2003) and based on the definition of Howkins (2000) for the creative sector enterprises, b) to have the products exposed and marketed in store /physical space, c) to be brands created in their current configuration from the year 2010, period established as a time frame for the installation of the economic crisis in Portugal and d) should meet, in its product catalog, at least one of the following categories of projects of copyright artifacts: clothing, footwear, jewelry and / or utilities / decoration.

Through an invitation letter, the first e-mail contact was established with all companies initially registered in a digital database to control the dialogue with them. The extent to which, from this first online contact, the companies met the prerequisites established for the sample, five companies were selected that should make up the final sample for the interviews. The interviews were conducted in the environment of the store or studio of creation of the interviewees, in order to provide them with a comfortable and familiar environment, thus stimulating greater insights for the proposed dialogue.

The script of the interviews was elaborated with the main objective of investigating with the local Design producers their perceptions about the crisis period in Portugal and the capital Lisbon. In addition, another relevant point for the research was the strategies used to adapt companies/brands to the reality of economic instability that was installed in the country mainly between 2010 and 2013. On the other hand, aspects such as government incentives and the possible impacts and consequences of the actions of other sectors were also important points to be considered by the interviewees. All dialogue was recorded through audio capture and also systematized through textual transcription.

Subsequently, a more detailed analysis of the views of the respective creators interviewed was performed. As a research tool fundamentally anchored in linguistic studies and even psychoanalysis, Discourse Analysis aims to build bases of dialogical understanding in verbal interlocution (enunciated) between two subjects, enunciator and enunciatee (BAKHTIN, 1997).

In the notion of speech proposed by Orlandi (2001), a message is understood as information and passed from an sender to an interlocutor, who in turn captures and decodes the message in isolation. Discourse Analysis allows access to the Imaginary (or Imaginary Formations) of the subjects involved in a given group or field of investigation. These imaginary formations, forged with the help of language, reveal how these subjects imagine themselves and the social relationships that surround them. Discourse becomes a symbolic object of analysis and demands a careful, attentive and disciplined reading of the reader.

The results from the interviews and respective observations of the interviewees' discourses can be verified in the following topic.

5. PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF RESULTS

Table 1 below is specified the main characteristics of the participating Design companies, in order to illustrate their framing in the research, indicated here by E1, E2, E3, E4 and E5, according to the order of the interviews.

The companies are divided into three segments focused on the creation in Design: Jewelry (2 companies), Accessories (1 company) and Clothing (2 companies). Initially, furniture artifacts were also considered as consumer goods corresponding to the research interests, but the supply of this segment was considered inexpressive or nonexistent in the areas delimited for field research.

All companies identified themselves as micro enterprises. For this framework, the definition[i] proposed by the European Commission was used to identify the size of companies in Portugal. Thus, all companies have less than ten effective employees directly involved in the production of the brand.

Because they work with small-scale production, the work of companies often approaches a craft production, and in most cases the owners themselves develop the whole concept of the projects, besides participating technically, being generally assisted by other few professionals who are in charge of the making of objects on an auxiliary character. Only in the case of the company E5 (Clothing) all products are made by contracted professionals, limiting their participation in the stages of planning, supervision and dissemination of products.

All participating companies were created between 2010 and 2017, remaining since then in their current configuration. Allegedly, the interviewees established two main and apparently divergent points as motivators and influencers of the emergence and development of companies. The following discourses (Table 2) represent these two points of convergence of the proposed dialogue and will be better clarified below.

Analysis of discourses:

This first approach is about the most immediate influence pointed out by the interviewees as an influencing factor in the creation of brands. Except for the Company E2 (Accessories), the other observed in the crisis an opportunity to undertake in the creative sector autonomously. Many professionals perceived in authorial creation a possibility to undertake and re-enter the labor market, offering product proposals based on the creative autonomy of their creators.

The increase in these autonomous activities help to illustrate Bauman's opinion (2008), when he states that moments of crisis are accompanied by moments of intense transformations. The moments of political or economic instability end up gaining positive consequences when they are an important driver of changes and adaptations by those involved. Thus, the financial instability in Portugal spurred the interviewees to seek in creation and design strategic assumptions to remain inserted in the market, which in the following years presented increasingly positive rates of recovery.

On the other hand, with the consequences resulting from the crisis in the other countries of the European Union, Portugal has become an accessible and attractive destination, which has led to an increase in investment in the tourism sector in the country. Thus, analyzing these transformations, the interviewees positioned themselves as it is possible to verify in Table 3 below.

Analysis of discourses:

The accelerated growth of the tourism sector and its relations with the increase in creative production in Lisbon presented new questions about the influence and importance of local development for the activities of the interviewees. Having become an attractive tourist focus, this was a reality that also brought consequences, in the opinion of the interviewees. As for its position in the market, all companies have pointed to the city of Lisbon as their main center of circulation of products. During the interviews, the participants clarify in more detail the relationship between the brands and the importance represented by the city for the development and positioning of them in the market (Table 4):

Analysis of discourses:

The interviewees are unanimous in considering Lisbon the central point of their activities, especially with regard to the reach of consumers and brand communication, in physical spaces and of wide tourist circulation. Tourism is once again pointed out as a determining factor for the visibility of brands. On the other hand, it is also mentioned the recovery and revitalization of public spaces, in order to boost the circulation and tourism investment in these roads. In recent years, different public spaces have been revalued as emerging centers of innovation, creativity, gastronomy and tourist interest, such as Mercado da Ribeira, Marvila neighborhood and Mouraria itself, with the support and organization of local public administration sectors.

The attraction of a diverse target profile contributes to the transformation of Lisbon into a cosmopolitan, socially and culturally stimulating center, one of the main points addressed in the definitions of Florida (2011) on the structuring of Creative Centers. On the other hand, the author also states that these centers are not always directly linked to government incentives and more by initiatives specific to creative professionals. Asked about the participation of government initiatives in direct support of their activities or the activities of the creative sector in Lisbon, the interviewees presented different perspectives and the impact on their work, as can be seen below.

Analysis of discourses:

It is concluded that there are two positions regarding government incentive. On the one side there are projects sufficiently structured to the point that they have not been massively affected by the economic crisis – the case of the company of interviewee E2 (Accessories) – which also finds support in local public development initiatives. On the other side, there are the creators who had to search for opportunities by participating in fairs and creative markets scattered in strategic points of the city, namely the neighborhoods of Alcântara and Príncipe Real (creative markets and fairs). Also in the Neighborhood of Príncipe Real, as well as in Bairro Alto, central regions of the city, collaborative stores are multiplied, whose activity model will be commented below.

The importance of collaborative work pointed out by Florida (2011) is strongly identified at this time of the interview by all interviewees. On the option of meeting in collaborative spaces, the interviewees reported what is described below in Table 6.

Analysis of discourses:

Again, two are the points that differ in the dialogue and that point out the advantages and disadvantages of collaborative work in the format presented in these shared spaces. The main advantages are the possibility of presenting the products in a physical space, establishing direct access to the flow of tourists circulating in the areas delimited for research. The real estate issue was one of the most mentioned factors as a reflection of the crisis, and later, also of a possible overload of this same flow of foreigners in Lisbon, which caused an overbilling of real estate values in the city. Entrepreneurs understood how advantageous for all involved the sharing of physical stores, especially when there is also a consolidated sharing of values between the brands that integrate the space.

In addition, the importance of local cultural identity as attractive and differentiating to the tourist public also enables the bias of the dissemination of creators in this format. It was not uncommon, for example, to find spaces that highlighted in showcases, online stores and social networks expressions such as "Made in Lisbon", "Made in Portugal" or "Made by Portuguese designers" as a way to value the expertise of professionals and local traditions.

When asked about the importance of the label "Made in Portugal" and the strategy of adopting it in its market positioning process, the interviewed professionals positioned themselves as presented in Table 7 below:

Analysis of discourses:

Traditionally recognized for artisanal, gastronomic and cultural particularities, the locally developed work holds the credibility of the local know-how. As a creative center, it is assumed by the interviewees that the city offers the ideal configuration so that they can express themselves and legitimize their identities.

The legitimation of this behavior as a strategic possibility is presented in the market growth identified by the statistics, both related to the growth in the number of producers and the changes already discussed by the consumer public. The return to a new economic stability enables a resumption of credibility and confidence in this market model that is consolidated and holds this recognition. Or as one of the interviewees reports, "Portugal is very fashionable".

6. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

The study presented aimed to investigate changes verified in the creative market of the city of Lisbon, in view of discourses of creative professionals in Design. The use of interviews and subsequent analysis of the discourses of the professionals interviewed allowed verifying some of the impacts and consequences that resulted from the period of economic recession and what strategies were possible, in order to reposition the activities focused on Design in this economic context.

The investments directed to tourism and the consequent positive response of the sector, caused a foreign consumers flow, which, in turn, favored a renewal in the economy. Design Portuguese presented alternatives of affordable and innovative products to this public, which, in turn, brought the quality of "Made in Portugal" to the knowledge of the international market. Having a strong awareness of local identity was a factor pointed out as advantageous for the ventures of the creative sector. In an economic scenario that for decades has encouraged globalization and the massification of industrial production, differentiating from identity and cultural diversity in a region becomes a strategic differential (FLORIDA, 2011, p.228-230).

Working in the collaborative format, although widely practiced, is sometimes not considered the ideal way to present the products, because they consider that presenting many products in the same physical place can impair the strength of the brand. However, in the opinion of the creators, it becomes the most viable option, since for small producers the values of real estate have become impractical in the central region of Lisbon, the main focus of local tourism. One way out is the commitment to a remodeling of the city, taking special account of the real estate factor and incentive to new businesses that are under development and seeking to integrate into the market. In this way, it will prevent only big companies from having space in the main parts of the city and will benefit the multiplicity and diversity of small businesses, which still seek incentives to develop and consolidate.

[i] The recommendation adopted since 2003 by the European Commission defines Micro-enterprises as having a number of staff of less than 10 employees and having a turnover of less than or equal to EUR 2 million.

[ii] The Mouraria Innovation Center is an important project and business incubation center of the creative sector managed by the Lisbon City Council since 2015. In addition to financing solutions and support to incubates, the project also aims to support the training, visibility and offer of the services and products developed there.

REFERENCES

BAKHTIN, M. Marxismo e Filosofia da linguagem. 8ª ed. São Paulo: Hucitec, 1997.

BAUMAN, Z. Vida para o consumo: a transformação das pessoas em mercadoria. Rio de Janeiro: Zahar, 2008.

FLORIDA. R. A ascensão da classe criativa. Porto Alegre: L&PM, 2011.

GIL, A. C. Métodos e técnicas de pesquisa social. São Paulo: Atlas, 2012.

HOWKINS, J. The Creative Economy: how people make money from ideas. London: Penguin Books, 2001.

MARGOLIN, V.; MARGOLIN, S. Um modelo social de design: questões de prática e pesquisa. Revista Design em Foco, v. 1, p. 43–48, 2004.

NEWBIGIN, J. A economia criativa: um guia introdutório. Londres: British Council, 2010.

ORLANDI, E. P. Análise de Discurso: princípios e procedimentos. Campinas, SP: Pontes, 3ª edição, 2001.

RICHARDSON, R. J. Pesquisa Social: métodos e técnicas. 3. ed. São Paulo: Atlas, 2009.

WHITELEY, N. Design for society. Londres: Reaktion Books, 1993.

Industrial Association of the District of Aveiro. Recomendação Europeia de Definição de Pequenas e Médias Empresas. Available in http://aida.pt/cms/media/pdf/definicao_europeia_pme.pdf Acess in 09/06/2018.

Lisbon City Council. Iniciativas voltadas para Economia Criativa. Available in http://www.cm-lisboa.pt/investir/setores-estrategicos/economia-criativa Access in 08/05/2018.

_________________. Centro de Inovação da Mouraria. Available in http://www.cm-lisboa.pt/centro-de-inovacao-da-mouraria-mouraria-creative-hub Access in 22/06/2018.

European Commission. Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor. Available in https://composite-indicators.jrc.ec.europa.eu/cultural-creative-cities-monitor/ Access in 03/05/2018.

National Institute of Statistics. Estatísticas de Cultura 2016. Available in www.gepac.gov.pt/estatisticas-e-estudos/estatisticas.aspx Access in 08/05/2018.

United Nations. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. The Creative Economy Report. Available in http://unctad.org/pt/docs/ditctab20103_pt.pdf 2010. Access in 19/02/2018.

IR