The UK Design Alliance is a partnership of more than 20 national and regional design organisations and networks who are all working to strengthen the design sector.
To explain how the UK Design Alliance was set up, and what it’s doing now, we’ve created an animated presentation using Prezi, a web-based presentation and storytelling tool.
Browse through the presentation by clicking on the play button in the middle at the bottom of the screen below. Keep clicking this button and the presentation will walk you through the history and future of the Alliance.
Follow the instructions in blue arrows that are scattered throughout the presentation if you want more information. You can go back a step at any time by clicking the reverse button to the left of the play button.
As part of its support for the design sector, the Design Council facilitates the network and is supported by an industry Advisory Board.
Listed below are the UK Design Alliance partners. They are all supporting the Good Design Practice campaign which promotes professional development with a directory of training courses and professional development opportunities for designers on our website and a set of free business guides that offer practical advice and information on the business issues facing designers today.
We’re also working with schools, colleges and universities to embed good design practice from the start, and connecting with local and national design networks to help shape their future.
There’s also the new Design Council £100,000 grant that will help designers communicate the benefits of design by offering design bodies and networks small grants of between £1,000 and £5,000 to enhance their design promotion initiatives.
UK Design Alliance partners
Council for Higher Education in Art and Design
(CHEAD)
CHEAD is an association of 70 educational institutions across the UK that provide degree or postgraduate education in art and design.
CHEAD has a strong international reputation for its work in promoting UK art and design and in activity, which examines contemporary issues affecting the HE curriculum and its implementation. In total some 148,000 undergraduate students are enrolled on A&D programmes at our member institutions.
Creative & Cultural Skills
Creative & Cultural Skills is the sector skills council for the creative and cultural industries. Their remit covers advertising, crafts, cultural heritage, design, music, and the performing, literary and visual arts.
Creativity, Culture & Education
(CCE)
Creativity, Culture and Education (CCE) is a national organisation which aims to transform the lives of children and families by harnessing the potential of creative learning and cultural opportunity to enhance their aspirations, achievements and skills.
Our vision is for children’s creativity to be encouraged and nurtured in and out of school and for all children to experience and access the diverse range of cultural activity in England because these opportunities can dramatically improve their life chances.
D&AD
D&AD is an educational charity that represents the global creative, design and advertising communities. Since 1962, D&AD has set industry standards, educated and inspired the next generation and, more recently, has demonstrated the impact of creativity and innovation on enhancing business performance.
Design and Technology Association
The Design and Technology Association is an educational charity which works towards excellence in design and technology education. It has over 6000 members and offers support, advice and leadership to all those involved in D&T education and the wider design and technology subject community.
Design Council
The Design Council believes that design can help people to do what they do, better. We promote the use of design throughout the UK's businesses and public services, highlighting the vital role that design can play in strengthening our economy and improving our society.
Design Initiative
Design Initiative is a specialist regional agency, working directly with design companies and practitioners in North West England, to grow their businesses. Working with industry partners, public sector agencies and commissioners to expand the market for good quality design in the North West, Design Initiative supports professional development, business skills and networking within the sector.
Design Leicestershire
Leicestershire and its sister county Rutland are home to a major cluster of the UK's foremost design and architectural practices. Design Leicestershire exists to promote and bolster the sub-region’s strength in design, by promoting the sector and supporting collaboration.
The organisation's ultimate aim is to support the 345 member practices to attract more high quality business to the sub-region.
Design Museum
The Design Museum is one of the world’s leading museums devoted to contemporary design in every form from furniture to graphics, and architecture to industrial design. It is working to place design at the centre of contemporary culture.
It demonstrates both the richness of the creativity to be found in all forms of design, and its importance. It provides a means for understanding the contemporary world, and, potentially, for making it a better place. The museum’s mission is to celebrate, entertain, and inform.
Design Network North
Design Network North supports innovative companies in the North East of England, helping them to utilise high-quality design skills and processes. Funded by One North East and the European Regional Development Fund, the network is co-ordinated by RTC North in Sunderland and supported the Universities of Northumbria, Newcastle and Teesside.
Design Wales
Design Wales is an international centre of expertise for design support and related national and regional policy. Their extensive programme of activities includes the coordination of a European design network, research and support services for businesses and regional development offices in Wales.
Designer Breakfasts
Designer Breakfasts is a hub for the owners of small design businesses and their employees. It organises events exploring the principles of entrepreneurship, co-ownership and co-creation, with a focus on selling creativity not outputs, and taking designers’ vision and ideas to SMEs to help them
innovate and grow.
Designers’ Network
The Designers’ Network is a not for profit organisation created by designers, for designers in the East of England. It aims to build a strong community from all disciplines by promoting creativity, excellence and professionalism through training, education and shared experience. It also promotes the value of design to business through the Design for Business East website: www.d4be.org.uk
Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for Art, Design and Media
(ADM-HEA)
ADM-HEA was established in 2000 to support and enhance learning and teaching in higher education art, design, media theory and practice, the history of art and design and cultural studies subjects.
They work with people in further and higher education institutions, subject associations and professional bodies, to explore and identify opportunities to develop effective practices in learning and teaching in art, design and media. Their aim is to enhance the student learning experience by creating and supporting a network of people involved in the delivery of higher education in art, design and media subjects; by facilitating the sharing of knowledge across the network and forging and brokering links with professional bodies and subject associations and by promoting and sharing good practice in learning and teaching.
The ADM-HEA achieves its aims by undertaking and supporting research, supporting networks, designing and delivering events and consultations to exchange knowledge and ideas of effective practice in art, design and media education. The ADM-HEA also consults with a wide range of agencies involved in creative and cultural sectors.
Milton Keynes Design Forum
The Milton Keynes Design Forum is a non-profit organisation created to support and promote the creative industries within the Milton Keynes area.
Its main aims are to promote the need and advantages of good design to businesses, working with local government to create a stronger economy, with sustainable development, and to support and collaborate with design-based centres of Higher Education within Milton Keynes.
Members include local design industry professionals, students and those aspiring to work in the design industry. The Milton Keynes Design Forum also supports the Design Alliance's manifesto for Good Design Practice.
NI Design Alliance
The NI Design Alliance is a partnership between industry, education and stakeholders who are committed to supporting designers in Northern Ireland.
They promote professional standards and develop design skills that will help designers compete in global markets. The Alliance aims to ensure designers in Northern Ireland have access to quality professional development and skills training.
Panel
Panel is a new Glasgow-based creative consultancy that aims to promote design locally and internationally through a dynamic programme of exhibitions, events and cultural projects across a range of venues and environments.
Panel will establish a programme of activity in 2010 that will define their approach to creating and presenting design practice of the highest quality.
South Coast Design Forum
South Coast Design Forum is a network for designers of all disciplines along the south coast from Brighton to Southampton. It provides opportunities for business collaborations across sectors, together with events such as showcases, talks and workshops.
It aims to promote good design, raise standards and expectations, inform and educate, provide a voice for designers, address local issues and strengthen links between education and business.
South West Design Forum
The South West Design Forum represents the design industry in the seven counties of the South West, connecting designers and businesses, sharing ideas between public and private sector organisations, encouraging best practice and promoting the benefits of professional skills for all designers.
The South West Design Forum consists of six local groups: Cornwall Design Forum, Designed in Devon, Dorset Design Forum, Gloucestershire Design Network, Somerset Design Enterprise Network and West of England Design Forum.
Victoria & Albert Museum
The V&A is the world’s leading museum of art and design with a collection spanning world cultures and dating from ancient times to the present day. The collection, which includes ceramics, furniture, dress, glass, jewellery, metalwork, photographs, printing, sculpture, textiles and paintings, is unequalled in its diversity and quality.
The Museum is a powerhouse of skills and expertise and a source of inspiration for young and old, for professionals in the arts and creative industries, and for all those with a passion, interest and enthusiasm for making and using as well as looking at art and design. It has always collected from the makers and designers of the day and its collection is a leading international resource that enables the Museum to pursue its original vision by making sense of the past, defining the contemporary and providing inspiration for the designers of the future.