New Year, New BDI Direction
17/01/2011 British Design Innovation
British Design Innovation (BDI), the only national trade body to specifically support the contribution of industrial and service designers and others in the innovation space, today launched the BDI Change Plan 2011, which outlines how the organisation intends to expand the profile, status and influence of its members and promote better knowledge-trading opportunities to the wider world.The Change Plan, which will be rolled out over the coming year, was inspired by the voice of BDI members, who were consulted in a nationwide survey at the end of 2010. BDI is a non-profit organisation that receives no government funding. The organisation is wholly owned by its members and has a strong regional representation; all board members are volunteers.
The industrial design consultancy sector, BDI's core audience, will be offered a new and enhanced package of promotional benefits, service delivery improvements and a revised fee structure - which will be frozen for two years - to deliver greater flexibility and even better value for money.
In addition, two new membership categories have been created that benefit in-house industrial design teams and other individuals interested in the industrial / service design and innovation community.
No changes to BDI's pilot with the university sector are planned until a review with all the participants is undertaken later in 2011.
BDI chairman, Gus Desbarats, said "Today's announcement is a call to every product, interaction and service designer in the country, and anyone who wants to work with us, to join our community and help us help you all. We also want to invite anyone keen to engage with industrial designers to co-create great experience led innovation.
"While the industrial design sector represents only 20 per cent of the UK's £15 billion commercial design industry, it generates 80 per cent of its value," said Desbarats. "Yet for many years, opinions on industrial design have been sought from the generalised bodies that represent the entire industry, rather than from knowledge-based practitioners such as those represented by BDI."
"We value the contributions of our sister national design bodies and plan to work closely with them when it is in the best interests of our members. However, we also need to do more to make our own arguments known to the wider world and form our own relationships with all the different organisations within the industrial design community and industry as a whole."
Desbarats also emphasised that the BDI national board has no intention of turning into a cosy closed shop. "For the first time, we have a constitution which clearly states that the national board will serve limited terms and be elected by the members. There will be a three-year term limit (maximum two terms) for national directors".
"Someone once said that he who rejects change is the architect of decay," said Desbarats, who has directed many hundreds of design projects and is also chairman of design consultancy TheAlloy. "I feel very strongly that the plan we have announced today will deliver a change for the better".
For further information, please contact:
British Design Innovation
9 Pavilion Parade
Brighton
BN2 1RA
t: +44 (0) 1273 621378
f: +44 (0) 1273 622144
w: www.britishdesigninnovation.org
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