Design Council
Encyclopedia
The Design Council is a United Kingdom
non-departmental public body
incorporated by Royal Charter
and registered as a charity
.Registered charity number 272099.
, President of the Board of Trade in the wartime Government, and its objective was 'to promote by all practicable means the improvement of design in the products of British industry'.
The Council of Industrial Design's first director, S C Leslie, played a leading role in the Britain Can Make It
exhibition of 1946, but it was Sir Gordon Russell, Leslie's replacement in 1947, who would set the model for the organisation for the next 40 years. He once described the job as 'pushing a tank uphill'.
, examined ways to reform design education to train the new industrial designers post-war Britain needed. He also took the case for good design over the heads of manufacturers to retailers and consumers. In 1956, the Design Centre (later to include a shop and cafe) was opened to the public in London's Haymarket.
Russell's Council of Industrial Design combined exhibitions with product endorsements, direct services to industry, commercial publishing and retail. It was a model widely imitated around the world, and one later directors would try to modify.
By the 1980s Britain was increasingly design conscious, with high street spending boosting design investment, consumers and retailers aware of the merits of good design, and industrial designers part of a growing design industry.
From 1988 Ivor Owen switched from public campaigning to focusing on business and education. Design Council retailing and product endorsement were closed and industrial services were regionalised.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
non-departmental public body
Non-departmental public body
In the United Kingdom, a non-departmental public body —often referred to as a quango—is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive to certain types of public bodies...
incorporated by Royal Charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
and registered as a charity
Charitable trust
A charitable trust is an irrevocable trust established for charitable purposes, and is a more specific term than "charitable organization".-United States:...
.Registered charity number 272099.
In the beginning
The Design Council started in 1944 as the Council of Industrial Design. It was founded by Hugh DaltonHugh Dalton
Edward Hugh John Neale Dalton, Baron Dalton PC was a British Labour Party politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1945 to 1947, when he was implicated in a political scandal involving budget leaks....
, President of the Board of Trade in the wartime Government, and its objective was 'to promote by all practicable means the improvement of design in the products of British industry'.
The Council of Industrial Design's first director, S C Leslie, played a leading role in the Britain Can Make It
Britain Can Make It
Britain Can Make It was an exhibition of industrial and product design held in London in 1946. It was organized by the Council of Industrial Design, later to become the Design Council....
exhibition of 1946, but it was Sir Gordon Russell, Leslie's replacement in 1947, who would set the model for the organisation for the next 40 years. He once described the job as 'pushing a tank uphill'.
The Design Centre opens
Russell, who played a key role in the 1951 Festival of BritainFestival of Britain
The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition in Britain in the summer of 1951. It was organised by the government to give Britons a feeling of recovery in the aftermath of war and to promote good quality design in the rebuilding of British towns and cities. The Festival's centrepiece was in...
, examined ways to reform design education to train the new industrial designers post-war Britain needed. He also took the case for good design over the heads of manufacturers to retailers and consumers. In 1956, the Design Centre (later to include a shop and cafe) was opened to the public in London's Haymarket.
Russell's Council of Industrial Design combined exhibitions with product endorsements, direct services to industry, commercial publishing and retail. It was a model widely imitated around the world, and one later directors would try to modify.
New name, new focus
From 1959 Sir Paul Reilly brought an increasing emphasis on technology and engineering design to the organisation's work, triggering a name change in the early 1970s to Design Council. From 1977 Keith Grant maintained the organisation's high public profile and campaigned to increase visual literacy and design awareness in schools.By the 1980s Britain was increasingly design conscious, with high street spending boosting design investment, consumers and retailers aware of the merits of good design, and industrial designers part of a growing design industry.
From 1988 Ivor Owen switched from public campaigning to focusing on business and education. Design Council retailing and product endorsement were closed and industrial services were regionalised.
See also
- Chartered Society of DesignersChartered Society of DesignersThe Chartered Society of Designers , headquartered in London, England, is the professional body for designers. It is the world's only Royal chartered body of professional designers...
- Prince Philip Designers PrizePrince Philip Designers PrizeThe Prince Philip Designers Prize is an annual design recognition given by the Design Council and awarded by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh who also chairs the judging panel. It is the longest running design award in the United Kingdom, having been started in 1959 as the Prize for Elegant Design...