Launched today (March 6), Dott 07 (Designs of the time 2007) is a year of community projects, events and exhibitions based in North East England that explore what life in a sustainable region could be like – and how design can help us get there. Care of the elderly, low carbon footprints, sexually transmitted disease and city farming are just some of the issue the North East communities will be addressing.
Dott 07 is the first in a ten-year biennial programme of Dott initiatives spearheaded by the Design Council to look at the ways design can help create sustainable living. North East England - noted as a hotbed of design excellence - is the first region to host a Dott year. Dott 07 is jointly funded by regional development agency One NorthEast and the Design Council.
David Kester, Chief Executive of the Design Council, explains the thinking behind Dott: “For the UK to be a responsible as well as prosperous member of the global community, we need to play to our strengths as a creative nation - not only capitalising on the creative energy of our designers, but engaging business, our young people and the public at large in this process. Dott is about giving everyone the opportunity to play a part in achieving sustainable prosperity.”
Dott 07 will look at design in real life situations and will leave a legacy of genuine improvements brought about by the year long programme.
Focussing on six areas of daily life, Dott 07 will ask people to think beyond the design of clothes, their cars or the products that they use and to consider design in a wider context - for example how design can help combat climate change and limit wastefulness. Dott 07 focuses on health, food, school, travel, energy and tourism.
As the programme gets into gear, the red ball Dott 07 logo will be seen all over North East England. There will be public performances, exhibitions and events, indoors and outside, in city centres and at rural venues across the region.
The Dott 07 projects are varied, interesting and fun with something for everyone, from a Cyborg exhibition at Newcastle’s Discovery Museum looking at how robotics may feature in our future lives, to an urban farming project in Middlesbrough that could see sheep grazing in the shadow of the new mima gallery.
Thousands of children have already been involved in a carbon footprinting exercise as part of the Eco Design Challenge schools project - as Dott 07 helps to produce a generation of design-savvy youngsters for whom considering sustainability and the resources of the planet will be second nature.
The year culminates in a spectacular Festival in NewcastleGateshead in October that will bring together all of the projects and their results. As well as celebrating Dott 07’s successes, the thousands of visitors will be able to take away ideas they can copy themselves.
Dott 07 is led by programme director John Thackara, who said: “Dott 07 is about local communities taking the lead in real life situations to change the way they deal with issues that affect their daily lives – from the way they use energy in their home, to the way we get from A to B, or how we can grow food in the most urban of city centres.
“Sustainability is the word on everybody’s lips – Dott 07 invites people to question the design status quo and come up with better ideas – and then, with the help of the Dott team, implement the best ones.
“When the Dott 07 ball has rolled on at the end of the project, our aim is to leave a legacy of brilliant ideas that can be used as blueprints across North East England.”
Alan Clarke, chief executive of One NorthEast, said: “We believe that the time has never been better for North East England to capitalise on the power of design to create a more dynamic regional economy.
“Design and innovation will be key drivers of a successful region which is why they sit at the heart of the North East’s ambitious Regional Economic Strategy (RES). Dott 07 will create a design legacy for North East England, the effects of which will be felt throughout the lifetime of the RES and beyond.”
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For further media information, please contact Saskia Sissons at the Design Council on 020 7420 5248 or saskia.sissons@designcouncil.org.uk
Notes to Editor
1 Dott 07 (Designs of the time 2007) is a year of community projects based in North East England that explore what life in a sustainable region could be like - and how design can help us get there.
2 Dott 07 is funded by One NorthEast and the Design Council.
3 Dott 07 is the first event in a 10-year programme of design innovation, developed by the Design Council, taking place every two years in a different region or nation across the UK.
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4 Dott 07 asks the question ‘Who Designs Your Life?’ and looks at six key themes: energy; food; school; health; travel and tourism.
5 Dott 07’s projects are about finding ways to improve aspects of daily life through the use of design. The programme sets out three core strands: Public Design Commissions, Education Projects and Design Showcases. These projects will look at solving problems, engaging the public and creating lasting changes.Showcase events will invite the public to explore the past, present and future of design. The programme culminates in October with a Dott 07 Festival, which brings together everyone involved through the year.
6 Dott 07 is being led by programme director John Thackara, renowned internationally for his work as director of design futures network Doors Of Perception, which encourages designers, technology experts and grass roots innovators to work together in new ways.
7 Executive producer is Robert O’Dowd, who has extensive experience in business and creative development. He was a founding director of Classic FM and is now chief executive of Real Health (UK) Ltd and 180 Solutions (UK) Ltd.
8 The Design Council is the UK’s national strategic body for design. It aims to strengthen and support the economy and society by demonstrating and promoting the role of design in making business and public services more effective. It is funded by the Department of Trade and Industry.
9 Dott is one of two national programmes of social and economic change driven by the Design Council. Designing Demand, its national business support programme, rolls out in the region later in the year.
9 One NorthEast is the Regional Development Agency covering the North East of England. It was set up in 1999 to transform the area through ‘sustainable economic development’ and to create jobs, prosperity and a better quality of life for residents. It covers the region comprising County Durham, Northumberland, Tees Valley and Tyne and Wear.