1961
The Council registered a world-first with an exhibition of well designed street furniture on London’s South Bank. It featured 17 lighting columns, three bus shelters, five bins and three outdoor seats. Commentators hoped it would make ‘architects and local authority members and officers habitually spend 15 minutes on the South Bank whenever they are in London.’
1962
By 1960, some critics wondered whether Council-approved products should be safe and practical as well as good-looking. Cartoons from Punch magazine landed a characteristically satirical blow.
1964
More than 100,000 people visited the Council’s touring exhibition in Moscow in August and September 1964. It was designed by Conran Design Group. Here, visitors inspect a cutaway version of a Mini, designed to show the role of the industrial designer in British industry.
1969
By the end of the 1960s the Design Centre was looking to the future of passenger travel, with an exhibition that featured full-scale mock ups of the Advanced Passenger Train and designs for ships cabins for British Rail passenger ferries, as well as models of the SRN4 hovercraft.
1970
Manufacturers liked the Design Centre labels so much, they bought them at the rate of 14m per year. Not surprisingly, sales passed the 100m mark, with the occasion marked by this specially designed dress worn by assistants at the Design Centre.
1972
The Council for Industrial Design became the Design Council, bringing industrial design and engineering together in a single organisation. The following year, the Design Council set up the Design Advisory Service to help businesses solve engineering design problems. It also bought Engineering magazine and extended its awards to include engineering products and components.
1973
The Design Council’s exhibition programme became more dependent on sponsorship. Furniture manufacturer Hille started the trend with an exhibition exploring how new plastics technologies influenced the latest furniture designs.
1976
After the Moulton Report on engineering design education, extra staff were taken on to promote design learning in this field.
1977
The Design Council’s logo changed to a new design by Pentagram.
1979
Designing Against Vandalism by Jane Sykes started a debate about how to design environments to reinforce positive social relationships and deter vandalism such as graffiti.
1980
The Design Council showcased small businesses in the Small Firms, Big Ideas exhibition featuring products including a moulded plastic attaché case, crack detection equipment and contact microphone systems.
1981
Prince Charles tries out a stair lift for disabled people. It was part of the Design and Disability exhibition showing how products and furniture were being designed with disabled people’s needs in mind.
1983
Design was seen as crucial to pulling the economy out of recession. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher chaired a seminar on the issue at 10 Downing Street and underlined the link between design and business success. Meanwhile an exhibition entitled Microelectronics in the Home showed consumers the latest electronics for making everyday life easier.
1984
Bob Geldof visits Design for Need, an exhibition of designs to help the developing world build infrastructure and create jobs.