All Design Council press releases are issued online and can be accessed here on the day of issue.

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Press releases

Thousands turn out for Middlesbrough town meal

Thousands of people gathered together in Middlesbrough today for a huge public meal that marked the end of a major community project in the town.

Date:
22 September 2007

Design-London appointment marks the dawn of new design age

The Royal College of Art and Imperial College London today announced the appointment of Nick Leon as Director of Design London,  the world-class £5.8 million multi-disciplinary centre. The initiative follows recommendations made in the Cox Review of Creativity in Business, carried out by Design Council Chairman, Sir George Cox.

Date:
19 September 2007

Design Council calls for more support for head teachers in building schools for the future

The Design Council today welcomed the House of Commons Education and Skills Committee report, Sustainable Schools: Are we building schools for the future? , but called for all users to be involved from the start to ensure learning environments are fit for purpose in the long term.

Date:
13 August 2007

Design Alliance: Fighting crime from the drawing board

Four of the UK’s most respected design industry figures have joined the Government’s new anti-crime Design and Technology Alliance, Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker announced today.

Date:
10 August 2007

Designing Demand programme now adding value and boosting competitiveness across the UK

New research from the Design Council confirms that adding value through design is ‘best for boosting competitiveness’

Date:
10 August 2007

'Our Cyborg Future?' Is this the life we want?

Our Cyborg Future? exhibition to open at Discovery Museum, Newcastle.  The event is part of Dott 07 (Designs of the time 2007), run in partnership between the Design Council and regional development agency One North East.

Date:
27 July 2007

New chapter in fight against crime

Design is to take a prominent role in the government’s new crime strategy, as Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced today. Designing out crime forms a key element of the plan, which cites Design Council research into how good design can help prevent crime.  The Home Office issued the following press release...

Date:
19 July 2007

Intersections conference to explore role of design for a world in transition

Intersections is a two-day conference that focuses on the new design landscape as boundaries between disciplines blur

Date:
21 June 2007
Royal College of Art exterior

£5.8 million 'Cox Centre of Excellence' to be created

The Royal College of Art (RCA) and Imperial College London announce today a major strategic partnership with the creation of a world-class £5.8 million multidisciplinary centre called Design-London at RCA-Imperial.

Date:
31 May 2007

Local architects have designs on Dott 07 festival

Newcastle based company Xsite Architecture has won the contract to design the look and feel of a major public event in North East England later this year.  Beating off stiff national competition, Xsite has been given the task of bringing to life the vision for the Dott 07 Festival, which will run from 14th-28th October in NewcastleGateshead.

Date:
28 May 2007

Skills plan calls for UK design academy to foster world class, high-level skills

The Design Skills Advisory Panel today publishes its plan to forge a stronger design industry for a more competitive economy. Entitled High-Level Skills for Higher Value, the report calls for the establishment of an academy to establish industry standards.

Date:
25 May 2007

Middlesbrough sows the seeds of urban farming

The town of Middlesbrough is going wild in an unusual way, thanks to a new initiative that kicks off this week.  Urban Farming is part of Dott 07 (Designs of the time 2007), a year of community projects, events and exhibitions in North East England that explore what life in a sustainable region could be like and how design can help us get there.  Urban Farming will directly address the pressing...

Date:
23 May 2007
High level skills for higher value

Design industry welcomes manufacturing skills report

Design Council endorses findings of the Trade and Industry Committee report, ‘Better Skills for Manufacturing’

Date:
10 May 2007

A new breed of public park is unveiled - designed by the people of Durham

The people of Durham and North East England will be encouraged to discover a new and very different kind of public park over Bank Holiday weekend. The Durham Necklace Park is being created not by bulldozing land or erecting buildings, but through the design of many different maps.  Bank Holiday weekend will see the conclusion of an innovative project called Mapping the Necklace and marks the...

Date:
04 May 2007
image of Portcullis

Design industry calls on government to support high-level creative skills for high value return.

MPs and policymakers will tomorrow (25 April) be called on to support the development of the world-leading professional design skills that are needed to drive competitiveness and help meet challenges posed by increased global competition.

Date:
24 April 2007

North East England Schools Rise to Eco Design Challenge

Internationally renowned designers are set to descend on 20 shortlisted schools across North East England in the latest stage of the Dott 07 ECO Design Challenge.  The designers will be working with Year 8 students to develop projects that will redesign parts of their school in a way that makes it work better for them and the environment.

Date:
30 April 2007
Dott 07 logo

Who Designs Your Life?

WHO designs your life? That’s the question being posed to the people of North East England by a new initiative aimed at getting people to think about how design affects them and the future of the planet’s resources.

Date:
06 March 2007
Alistair Darling, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry

Darling challenges industry to use design to increase UK competitiveness

In a speech to the Design Council’s Competitiveness Summit today the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Alistair Darling, will challenge business to use design to increase UK competitiveness against the rise of low-wage, rapidly expanding developing economies.

Date:
07 December 2006
Door of 11 Downing Street, London

Creativity and design key to global competitiveness says No 11 Design Summit

Creativity and design key to global competitiveness says No 11 Design Summit Alistair Darling, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, today hosts a summit attended by leading individuals from UK’s creative sector to discuss how creativity and design can create enormous opportunity for UK companies to compete globally.

Date:
18 July 2006
The Duke of Edinburgh presents the 2006 Prince Philip Designers Prize to Thomas Heatherwick

Groundbreaking visionary wins design world Oscar

Thomas Heatherwick RDI, the innovative designer whose stunning and often eccentric designs have enlivened public spaces around the UK, has won the prestigious Prince Philip Designers Prize.

Date:
08 November 2006
The word 'Thrive' printed on the back of a white van

Design Council launches online fact finder to prove importance of design to business

The Design Council has developed a unique online information resource designed to help business advisors, design businesses and design educators demonstrate the value of design to potential clients and students.

Date:
06 June 2006
'Keep British Design Alive' logo

Design Skills Advisory Panel launches provocative campaign to forge a stronger design industry

The British design industry should be subject to an internationally recognised accreditation system, according to a report out today from the Design Skills Advisory Panel.

Date:
06 June 2006
Sir George Cox, Design Council chairman

Design Council appoints...

Sir George Cox, Chairman of the Design Council, has appointed a raft of powerful figures from the worlds of business, finance and public policy to strengthen and broaden the Council of the UK’s national strategic body for design.

Date:
10 May 2006
'World Economic Forum - committed to improving the state of the world' logo

Design central to Davos agenda

World leaders are being urged to seize ‘The Creative Imperative’ at The World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos this year, as design makes it on to the agenda for the first time.

Date:
24 January 2006

Design Council in the media


Read what the national and international press have to say about recent Design Council work in our round up of recent press coverage.

Contact details for journalists


Saskia Sissons
Media Relations Manager

Direct line: 020 7420 5248 
Email the press office