During my constitutional morning stroll, I came across the rather grandly named Shenzhen City of Design nearby my hotel.

I say “grandly named” because it’s actually quite a small industrial estate comprised of a few office blocks featuring a rather eclectic mix of images, ranging from the professional stylized artwork of the complex’s logos to huge faces of creative geniuses like Einstein glowering down from the sides of the buildings to inspire us.

In contrast, there is also some lively graffiti that bring some life and color to the nearby car park. One of these images blended in quite beautifully with some mops, shoes, and a blanket left to dry out in the sun by complex workers. Just think if this little ensemble had been put assembled by Damien Hirst, it would be worth millions!

Shenzhen Design City may be quite small, but it is a sign of the seriousness with which China is addressing the challenge of moving its industries up the value chain by adding design to their highly efficient, flexible, and low cost manufacturing capabilities.

Indeed, it’s no surprise that the center is working to combine all these capabilities into a single package with its own “Rapid Solution for Manufacturing Center”. Products made in this way may not command anything like the margin that a work of Damien Hirst does, but they’ll definitely generate millions of dollars in revenue for their fast and fleet manufacturers.