January 2011 News

Design Means Business

Over 250 delegates are expected to attend the 2011 Design Means Business conference on 15 and 16 March. Supported by The Design Council, the line-up includes keynote speakers from Dyson, Nissan and Proctor & Gamble alongside interactive masterclasses on topics such as accessing new markets, product design and branding.

For a full programme go to www.designnetworknorth.org

Industrial Design Conference

A dedicated forum for debate, collaboration and networking, the Product Design + Innovation Conference has already confirmed input from Unilever, Black & Decker’s European R & D Centre and Tangerine.

Register at www.pdesigni.com for further information.

Are you in a creative cluster?

Growing at twice the rate of any other sector, the UK’s creative industries currently account for 6.2% of the economy and that percentage is rising. There is also evidence that their success spills into other areas.

A new study looks to harness and nurture this creative vitality by first identifying just where and how they operate. Complied by NESTA, the UK’s foremost independent expert on how innovation can solve some of the country’s major economic and social challenges, you can see the creative clusters map at www.nesta.org.uk or download the full report at www.britishdesigninnovation.org/new/dd/images/news/6007_NESTA_Creative_Clusters_report.pdf

Sustainable app

A new open source application from Nike could help clothing manufacturers introduce sustainable design practices. The company hopes to involve other manufacturers in further improvements with the goal of creating an industry standard in sustainable design. Find out more at www.nikebiz.com/

Design Effectiveness Awards

The Design Business Association has announced the shortlisted winners of this year’s Design Effectiveness Awards. Now in their 21^st year, the Awards recognise projects that can demonstrate a tangible effect on a client’s business. See the shortlist at www.dba.org.uk/aboutdba/newsarticles/DEAShortList2010.asp. The overall winners will be announced at the gala ceremony on 17 February.

Looking back

There are many end of year round ups, but for a top ten website treat have a look at www.ebizmba.com/articles/best-flash-sites. For a more prosaic round up you can see the people’s choice UK websites of the year at www.websiteoftheyear.co.uk/tmp_results_uk.php

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