John Mathers, CEO, writes:
To commemorate seven decades of championing design, we delved into our archive to unearth previously unseen photographs that tell Design Council’s story, from our inception as a post-war industry driver dubbed ‘The Council for Industrial Design’, to our evolving role, continuing to promote design’s importance in stimulating business but also in improving our public services and enhancing cities and places. Follow this link to find out more on our fantastic new timeline.
It was also a big year for some very talented young designers. As part of our anniversary celebrations, we sought out 70 of the finest up-and-coming stars of British design and awarded them the title of ‘Ones to Watch’. The winners’ work will soon be showcased on our site.
2014 was certainly an exciting, busy year for Design Council. To round it off, on 19 December, we celebrated our 70th anniversary, a momentous occasion for an organisation born out of post-war necessity.
To commemorate seven decades of championing design, we delved into our archive to unearth previously unseen photographs that tell Design Council’s story, from our inception as a post-war industry driver dubbed ‘The Council for Industrial Design’, to our evolving role, continuing to promote design’s importance in stimulating business but also in improving our public services and enhancing cities and places. Follow this link to find out more on our fantastic new timeline.
It was also a big year for some very talented young designers. As part of our anniversary celebrations, we sought out 70 of the finest up-and-coming stars of British design and awarded them the title of ‘Ones to Watch’. The winners’ work will soon be showcased on our site.
In February, our Leading Business by Design Summit was held at the British Museum and was attended by more than 300 business leaders and designers eager to discover more about the connection between good design and corporate success. This summer, hot on the heels of the general election, the Summit will return with a focus on high-value manufacturing. This one-day event will bring together thought-leaders, design innovators and industry giants to learn from each other, forge new relationships and offer a totally fresh perspective on the world of manufacturing.
Last year also saw Design Council sharing its expertise outside of the UK, taking charge of the EU-funded Design for Europe programme. Leading a consortium of 14 partner organisations, we launched this new platform to promote innovation and design in European business, public services and policymaking. We ran 26 events in 19 different cities, meeting almost 2,000 people and bringing together a highly-skilled network of experts and ambassadors in the process.
We will soon be ramping up the case studies and toolkits online and 7 May will see the inaugural Design for Europe Summit in Brussels. I know - it’s the same date as the General Election but, honestly, we had the date fixed first!
Closer to home, we piloted our new cities programme in Oxford and Greenwich. To tackle the challenges modern cities face, we have developed a pioneering system of support combining local knowledge and world-class expertise, aiming to generate infrastructure development, deliver affordable new homes and stimulate local economic growth.
Our work in Oxford didn’t stop there. The Design Leadership Programme helped three new software companies at the University of Oxford’s research commercialisation company, Isis Innovation.
In December’s Science and Innovation Strategy, the government recognised the importance of design in the innovation landscape. One of our main objectives at Design Council is to help the UK’s great technological minds to commercialise and add value to their ideas. Our programme for research bodies has now helped 30% of the UK’s Technology Transfer Offices, and another fascinating piece of research on the role of design in commercialisation is due to be published imminently.
Supporting the business sector through the strategic use of design remains a major focus, and our work strengthening British enterprise will not falter. Our partnership with UKTI will provide expert assistance to companies in improving their operations abroad, and a new programme looking at making supply chains more effective and efficient, which we are piloting in collaboration with Rolls Royce Aerospace, will also be rolled out.
Meanwhile, from April, the business-oriented wing of our highly successful Design Leadership Programme will become part of the Business Growth Service, continuing to help businesses harness the power of design to deliver improvements and drive commercial performance.
Returning to our roots, we kicked off Design Council Spark, a fund to find the UK’s most exciting product innovations. With so much energy - and money - put into the technological innovation market these days, this unique, not-for-profit scheme has been specifically designed to encourage the invention of new physical products. Our open call for applications finishes at the end of January 2015 - so if you have a bright idea, apply now.