Earlier this year, the UK capital exploded with a week of events for the London Design Festival 2007. Now in its fifth year, The London Design Festival has become a fixture on the international creative calendar. With over 200 projects and audiences of 300,000 it has quickly become one of the most important design events in the world. I spent the September Festival week flying across the UK capital to cover some of key events. This year, the London Festival was proud to establish a whole list of socially conscious and green focused events and debates:

“You cannot fail to have noticed that everyone has gone eco. From politics to design, the environment is at the top of everyone’s agenda.Of course eco or sustainable design is nothing new – designers have always returned to the theme of reusing and redesigning products. However, sustainability is now being embraced more widely as it soars up the political agenda, and is a major theme running through this year’s London Design Festival (15-25 September).”

On day one, as I sat outside the Royal Festival Hall on London’s Southbank, I watched 150 blocks of black pre-cast concrete of Zaha Hadid’s sculpture “Super Fluid Tiling” be constructed, polished and curated. Following which, it was off into the press office and then a look at Deptford Design Challenge and of course the Swarovski Installations. Continue Reading »

Early this year, a Design Week article commented on the UK Government Report; Sustainable Schools: Are we building schools for the future?, highlighting an important area of research for all undergraduate designers, teachers and practising designers to take note of; The Future of Design Education.

The UK Design Council CEO David Kester, Hilary Cottam of Participle and John Sorrell of The Sorrell Foundation, were among those giving evidence for the House of Commons Education and Skills Committee report Sustainable Schools, discussing the Building Schools for the Future programme.

With plans to rebuild and refurbish all secondary schools across England over the next fifteen years it is argued that this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity should encompass good design and good design practice to thoroughly embrace a future of better education and educational environments. Parallel to the development plans across secondary education, the design sector is under reform with concerns on the skills designers should be equipped with when they join the industry. The High Level Skills for Higher Value report addresses how the design industry is on the cusp of radical change, which although has been apparent in my eyes for many years, is a promising statement to come from the UK Government. Continue Reading »