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Published on September 24, 2007

From handbags and watches to digital audio players and even cars, the abundance of cheap competitors has made competing on a level playing field all that more difficult in Asia.

Premium brands have resorted to design as their weapon of choice in competing in the new business environment. One individual who has been no stranger to the changes in the world of design over the years as a tool for branding is Professor Luigi Colani.

The German is one of the most famous industrial designers working in the world today, the creative mind behind some of Fiat's most popular automobiles, avant-garde European furniture and hi-tech but consumer-friendly Canon cameras.

Although he has been designing for over 50 years and won a variety of awards, Colani is not adverse to change. Like other successful designers, he is a student of change and gets some of his best ideas from new trends in popular culture.

But one source of Colani's inspiration that is not new is Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, whose interest in round and organic forms he adopted as a concept he terms "biodynamic", since the influence comes from the natural environment. The "Colani" signature has become a global symbol for the balance between technology and nature.

Colani's career began in Europe during the 1950s with a focus on automobile design and aerodynamics through the medium of plastic. His successes include the world's first monocoque (skin-supported) sports car, the BMW 700, and a car from his own company, the Colani GT, in the 1960s.

His passion for furniture design helped build his success, leading to fame on the international stage as a versatile and definitive industrial designer. He went on to establish "Designfactory", the company's headquarters, in Germany. He has also designed products from Atlantic gliders, oil tankers and eco-friendly cars to ceramic and sanitary products.

Colani was also responsible for shaping future auto trends while at Volkswagen, using its wind tunnel to test his high-speed and fuel-saving vehicles. His ideas were admired by the Japanese, who helped him establish the Colani Design Centre Japan and hold exhibitions in the Museum for Art and Design at the Kyoto Institute of Technology in 2005.

He collaborated with Sony, after deservingly winning a Golden Camera Award for the Canon T90, designing the first organically shaped headphones, now part of the permanent collection of the New York Museum of Modern Art.

His innovative products affect not only companies, exhibitions and museums but also celebrities, who have taken a deep interest in his work.

His celebrated design for the illustrious piano-maker Wilhelm Schimmel caught the attention of the music world.

Now he is trying to revive Pierce Arrow, an American company of the 1930s that was famous for its luxury cars. Notable Pierce-Arrow owners include former US president Woodrow Wilson, philanthropist John D Rockefeller, aeroplane-inventor Orville Wright and baseball legend Babe Ruth.

To reinforce the importance of design in the overall strategy of premium and luxury brands, Colani will participate in the first ever Thailand Millionaire Expo in Bangkok in early November. Thailand Millionaire Expo 07 will be Southeast Asia's very own "millionaire" lifestyle consumer show, featuring under one roof some of the best-known premium brands in the world.