ONE CRUCIAL STEP CLOSER TO
CHARTERED DESIGN STATUS

At yesterday’s AGM, our members voted unanimously to amend our Royal Charter, giving us the power to set up a register of chartered designers.

This is perhaps the most significant development in our history as it paves the way for us to finally say we’ve achieved a 'recognised profession of design'. This was a key objective of our charter granted in 1976 and has been a fundamental goal since we began in 1930. It also means that the design profession will at last have a similar status to other industries offering chartered professional status.

This AGM comes a year after our first step towards a register, when members voted to change the by-laws in December 2009 so that a register could be set up. It’s been a year of debate and discussion within the mainstream media, on our own website and social networks and on numerous designer blogs.

This often intense debate has not only helped us understand how best to set up and administer such a register but has reassured us that the sector both wants and needs such a change. In fact, support for this initiative has grown this past year.

We’ve also had real support from like-minded professional institutions whose members practise in a variety of specialist design fields. Many of these have shown an interest in helping to set up the register, as well as in being licensed by the registration panel so that they can award chartered status to their members.

Since we first began considering this nine years ago, we’ve based our accreditation programmes and membership support on a framework of competencies with the requirements of a chartered status in mind. This framework, known as the CSD Genetic Matrix, will form the basis for the award of chartered status.

The next stage in the process is to submit the amendments, as approved by the membership, to the Privy Council, requesting that they are presented to HM The Queen for approval. Before doing this, the Privy Council will canvass interested parties and government ministers on this initiative. Given the importance placed by government on the design sector as a vehicle for innovation and economic growth, we have every confidence in our submission. At this point we will need to confirm the actual title to be awarded that encompasses all design practitioners and ask members to confirm their acceptance by incorporating the title into the Royal Charter.

The Designer will keep you updated with developments on this important initiative as they happen. Have a very merry Christmas and a happy and professional 2011.

DESIGN ATLAS UPDATE

As you may recall, we introduced Leah’s project in the last issue. To help us all follow her progress as she charts the atlas of the design profession, Leah she has set up a blog where you can see developments over the next three years. Here are her first impressions:

“This week, I’ve been in Brighton, working through some archive material relevant to CSD. It’s been really fun to read through Designer magazine. It seems clear that it had significant influence both as a voice for the CSD and also for the wider design industry. The artwork and illustration inside and on the covers, as well as the debates and topics covered, were truly innovative and creative. I particularly liked this James Gardner FCSD cover for the February 1979 issue.”

There’s always the question as to whether such a magazine could ever be comprehensive or innovative enough for today’s CSD members. The accessibility of information on design has surely never been greater with blogging. And yet, perhaps, in its own way Designer acted as more than this – an authoritative voice in an ever-changing profession. Did this give its members a sense of security? Today, a range of opinions might be available at the click of a button, but a tangible and definitive perspective on the subject might have been a reassuring thing for CSD as an organisation. Leah is eagerly waiting to hear what you think. Please follow her on http://designatlas.wordpress.com/

CSD MEMBER ANDREW LAWTON MCSD AWARDED BESPOKE GUILD MARK BY THE FURNITURE MAKERS’ COMPANY

This pair of bedside cabinet tables, made of laburnum with maple detailing and designed and made by Andrew in his workshop, has been awarded the coveted Bespoke Guild Mark. Andrew studied at Chesterfield College of Art and privately in fine furniture-making before setting up his own workshop in 1980. The project brief was for furniture with a crisp geometric feel, richly coloured and using native timber. As Lawton says, 'the challenge of meeting an exacting brief, whether for a single item or a complete scheme, is what makes this job so interesting. My membership of the Society offers many benefits, such as putting me on a par when working with architects and interior designers.'

Previously, two other designs, his 'Janus' chest and console table, were shortlisted for the Wood Awards in 2006 and 2008. His corporate clients have included The TC Harrison Group of Companies and Rolls-Royce.

BOOK REVIEW

GERRIT RIETVELD by Ida van Zijl

This monograph on the life and work of this ground-breaking designer and architect and a key member of the De Stijl movement reveals how Rietveld’s influence on the 20th century and beyond cannot be overestimated. From his first great design masterpiece, the Red-Blue Chair, to his final design for the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Rietveld’s experimental and unconventional work radically changed the development of architecture and design.

The chapter dedicated to the Schröder House illustrates Rietveld’s greatness. The Schröder House, some 80 years after it was built, remains a fascinating experience. Designed by Gerrit Rietveld for Truus Schröder in 1924, it is the only building ever realised on the basis of the architectural principles of De Stijl. Typical features are the use of the Stijl colours red, blue and yellow, in combination with white, grey and black, the relation between interior and exterior and the unity between the free-standing pieces of furniture and the fitted parts of the interior. In 2000 UNESCO placed it on the World Heritage List as ‘an important and unique icon in Western architectural history and a masterpiece of human creativity’.

The author Ida van Zijl, deputy director of the Centraal Museum, gives a meticulous but accessible account of Rietveld's life and work. Van Zijl explores his significance in the wider context of avant-garde movements and in particular his influence within De Stijl and Functionalism, without forgetting his lesser-known interest in mass housing and industrial production.

Designed by Wim Crouwel, the well-known Dutch graphic designer, the book provides a rich mixture of beautiful images and a fascinating story. It’s published by Phaidon for the RRP of £45, but CSD members can buy the book for £35 including UK mainland delivery (overseas costs available on request) using the promotional code in the members’ area of the CSD website.

NOTE THIS

MUSICIANS ALL AT SEA
by Dianne Davies MCSD

Running from 5 to 26 January at the Barbican Library, this shows the work of Dianne Davies, a surface pattern designer with a twist. Her pictorial themes embrace ‘The Massed Bands of the Royal Marines’, ‘Shore Birds’ and ‘The Printed Harris Tweed Story’ – all connected to the sea. The Royal Navy, the Isle of Harris and her love of sailing are all represented in this epic journey documenting both art and design skills. Her exhibition includes fine art, a book that she was commissioned to produce for the massed bands, beautiful thistle and heather-printed Harris tweed scarves, and magnificent fabric prints and sketches. To read more about Musicians all at Sea, please go to: http://www.barbican.org.uk/library/event-detail.asp?ID=11664

WIM CROUWEL - A GRAPHIC ODYSSEY AT THE DESIGN MUSEUM

The work of Wim Crouwel, the designer of Gerrit Rietveld’s book reviewed in this issue, will be shown for the first time in the UK at the Design Museum in London next year. The exhibition celebrates the prolific career of Crouwel and includes original sketches, posters, catalogues and archive photography alongside films and audio commentary. It will explore his legacy and influence on contemporary graphic design.

When he designed the ‘New Alphabet’ in 1967 the work appeared almost alien, a cipher script of vertical and horizontal lines. This illegible font challenged the design establishment and provoked debate, a debate which Crouwel was happy to engage in and in which he openly admitted to putting visual aesthetics above function. The ‘New Alphabet’ was redrawn by Brett Wickens and Peter Saville for the Joy Division album Substance in the late 80s and then digitised and made available for use in 1997 by The Foundry. Crouwel went to design a number of other fonts including Gridnik. This became his nickname, reflecting his fondness for grid systems.

The exhibition runs from 30 March to 3 July 2011 and CSD members can enjoy special rates – you’ll find your promotional code in the members’ area of our website.

MEMBER PROFILE
Edward Barber MCSD &
Jay Osgerby MCSD

Edward and Jay studied together at the Royal College of Art in London, and went on to found Barber Osgerby in 1996. In 2001 they set up Universal Design Studio, their architecture and interior design practice. Edward and Jay have since worked across a wide range of disciplines to create everything from furniture, lighting, household products, restaurants and shops to drinks bottles and electronic products for companies based all around the world. They became members of the Society in 2003 and were awarded the Jerwood Prize for Applied Arts in 2004 and made Royal Designers for Industry in 2007.

The IRIS table featured here is part of a series of five tables, each with its own colour spectrum. Iris is the word used for the circular, coloured portion of the eye surrounding the pupil, and also refers to a rainbow. It’s the name given to the goddess of the rainbow in classical Greek mythology.

As Edward and Jay explain:

“Colour is a very important consideration in any designed object. With almost all our projects we use colour charts at some stage in the design process. These can be fabric samples, paint charts, dye coatings or a Pantone book of printing inks. Whichever type of chart they are, they always look beautiful in their graphic layout and their diverse range of colours. The larger the colour range the more beautiful it is, as each colour is described through close hues and tones. When a variety of colours are laid out on a table, suddenly the diversity of the colours becomes uplifting and alive, in the same way that the different coloured spines on a bookshelf bring a room to life.”

In contrast, the Tab lamp (Flos) is a simple folded form, creating a visually pure shade that translates into a desk, wall and floor lamp. The simplicity of the form contrasts with the technical characteristics of the ceramic reflector, which give a pure and controllable light.

Barber Osgerby has developed collections for leading manufacturers including Cappellini, Flos, Venini, Magis, Swarovski and Established & Sons. Their work is in museum collections around the world including the Design Museum, the V&A Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Indianapolis Museum of Art.