Design on the political agenda

Our Design Manifesto - set for launch on 14th October.

This year the Cardiff Design Festival is not only about celebrating design, there’s a political dimension too. On 14 October, Design Wales is launching its Manifesto ‘Design for Innovation in Wales: Industry, Services and Society’ in the Pierhead Building, Cardiff Bay. The manifesto is an output of the SEE project, a network of 11 European partners, co-financed by ERDF through the INTERREG IVC programme.

The manifesto aims to secure design’s place on the Welsh political agenda ahead of the National Assembly elections in May 2011. It calls for Assembly Members to establish a cross-party group for design and innovation to champion the benefits of good design. It presents the rationale for the Assembly to act upon regional design resources and take advantage of design strategies for adding value to industry, services and society. It describes case studies for fostering innovation in companies using design processes, for creating more effective services (both private and public) and for using design for social innovation and promoting an inclusive society.

The manifesto has been endorsed by a number of international, national and Welsh organisations including among others the Bureau of European Design Associations (BEDA), UK Design Council, Creative and Cultural Skills, South Wales Chamber of Commerce, Institute of Welsh Affairs, University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, University of Wales Newport, Swansea Metropolitan University, EcoDesign Centre, Design Commission for Wales and Wales Quality Centre.

The document has already attracted significant political attention. On 5 October, the manifesto and design was raised in plenary session in a debate on innovation. Mark Isherwood Conservative Welsh Assembly Member quoted the manifesto saying that “Wales needs to step up to the mark and harness the power of design for innovation. If our nation is to create user-centred services, embrace social innovation and excel as a competitive economy, the Welsh Assembly Government must act now”.

Mark Isherwood AM

A Welsh Assembly Government report entitled ‘Economic Renewal: a new direction’ has been published on innovation and in a motion that ‘Welcomed the steps taken by the Welsh Assembly Government to encourage world-class research and development’ an amendment to include design was unanimously approved. Lesley Griffiths, Deputy Minister for Science, Innovation and Skills stated “the UK has a strong reputation for design excellence, and Wales should develop its own design expertise”.

Gavin Cawood, Operations Director for Design Wales said; “The Welsh Assembly has been consistent in supporting the use of design by industry since 1994, but this new development is a major step in placing design on the political agenda and sets the foundation for design to find a key role in improving public services and supporting design beyond the constraints of traditional R&D”.

New Service Design Programme for Wales

Design Wales have always been supporters of new approaches to design; so when service design first came into prominence we were right there to support it. Our first foray into this emerging sector took the form of a document called 'Design Matters; Design For Service' which was published in September 2008. The document explored some of the trends at that time and presented a two case studies from Max Bank and The Baltic.

Design Wales also worked with Engine Service Design to produce a document called Design For Service, this was a much more detailed look into how service could benefit SME's in Wales, the three vision case studies are particularly useful for any business looking into service design.

The next stage of work has just started with Design Wales sucessfully proposing to the Welsh Assembly Government that they deliver a service design support programme - focussed on supporting he use of service design in industry as well trying to develop a strong cluster of regional expertise. It's a very exciting piece of work and a programme that will benefit Welsh Design and wider industry in the form of jobs, the economy and the international reputation of these sectors.

Personally I’m really pleased to see such a progressive move from the Welsh Assembly Government and look forward to working towards an internationally recognised hub of service design excellence here in Wales.

If you would like to find out more about the programme then have a look at our web page or follow @SD_Wales on twitter.

Service Design Network

Design Wales are excited to be attending the service design network conference in Berlin next week. The annual meet up of service design practitioners, agencies and academics has been growing every year and you can see pictures and videos of last years event on: www.service-design-network.org

We look forward to sharing our new Service Design Programme with the wider community and hearing about the latest work from around the world.

PechaKucha Cardiff - Oct 7th

The next PechaKucha event organised by Lou Cameron takes place on the 7th October at Chapter.

Presenters include:

• Richard Weston, "Ammonites to digital delight."
• Richard Huw Morgan, "Croeso i Gymry/u Fwyaf!"
• Ric Bower, "Did you ever Start Something."
• Guto Evans, "Brand shit."
• Corinne Thompson, "Flutterbugs - My creative journey."
• Theo Humphries, "Crapestry."
• Dr. Ben Evans, "Bloodhound, 1,000mph car."
• Orkid Studio, OrkStudio: Shelter for the Soul."
• Huw James "Science and sport - A relationship of two halves."
• Jon Chase "Life - An autobiography."

Check out the e-flyer and pass it around. You will need to register for free tickets at www.inklingcreative.co.uk

 

Colour and Trend Event A/W 2011/12

Booking Now Open!

Design Wales Forum Presents
Colour and Trend Event A/W 2011/12

October 2010 sees the return of Design Wales’ much missed colour and trend event. Presented by Jaana Jatyri CEO of Trendstop, the event will cover the A/W season 2011/12. The inspirations behind the trends and their practical application will be covered.

The event will feature a round up of the developments in the fashion and textile sectors in Wales in the past year. If you have any developments/ awards/ facilities you would like others to use/  in your business, organisation or network and you would like to share them with your peers, please forward the information to Victoria Jones at vjones@designwalesforum.org

who should attend: fashion, textiles, product and graphic designers
date:15th October 2010
venue:Central Cardiff
cost: £50 (including lunch)

To secure a place contact Victoria Jones on 02920 417 018

Design for Innovation in Wales Manifesto

Design Wales is currently preparing a manifesto entitled Design for Innovation in Wales: Industry, Services and Society. It presents the rationale for the Welsh Assembly Government to act upon regional design resources and take advantage of design strategies for adding value to industry, services and society. It describes case studies for fostering innovation in companies using design processes, for creating more effective services (both public and private) and for using design for social innovation and promoting an inclusive society. The manifesto aims to secure design’s place on the Welsh political agenda and establish a cross-party group for design and innovation to champion the benefits of effective design.

The manifesto will be launched during the Cardiff Design Festival on 14 October 2010 in the Pierhead building next to the National Assembly for Wales.

DME Award 2010- open for entries.

The only award dedicated to the management of design, the DME Award, is now open for its fourth edition. Previous winners of the DME Award including Virgin Atlantic, NHS, Festo, Decathlon, Senz Umbrellas, Roca and EDF all represent highly innovative organisations where design plays an integral part of their strategy and operation. This year the award will be located in Lisbon and represents a new era of the DME Award.
Wales, through PDR at UWIC, has and continues to play a significant role in developing the DME Award,  coordinating the judging process and hosting the award ceremony in Cardiff back in 2008 (with the Welsh Assembly First Minister openning the event) and providing technical expertise for this years award.
Companies and organisations wishing to enter the DME Award 2010 should visit: www.designmanagementeurope.com
Welsh companies have found success in the DME Awards, including; Nomad Wheelchairs, Performance Health Products, Thrislington Cubicles and Sobor.