UK design education: up to the job?

10 May 2011

Today, the Design Commission has issued a "Call for Evidence" as part of its investigation into whether the inclusion of "design" in a British education is fulfilling the needs of the economy, business, society and the individual.

Prompted by changes currently underway within the education system, the inquiry will scrutinise the importance of design education, putting a monetary figure to its impact on economic growth, public service renewal, and well-being. The call for evidence (the document can be found here) is asking those with an interest and involvement in this topic to contribute to the investigation.

The inquiry is being led by Vicky Pryce CB and Labour Peer and design enthusiast Baroness Janet Whitaker, while being supported by a small and select steering group including Sir George Cox, Professor Jeremy Myerson and Dick Powell.

Vicky Pryce, Senior Managing Director of Economics at FTI Consulting and former Joint Head of the UK Government Economic Service, said:
"I'm delighted to be chairing this inquiry at such a pivotal moment for higher education: getting it right is critical for securing the UK's economic future. Many are concerned that, if less priority is indeed being given to design, this could damage the UK’s ability to profit from its strengths in science and technology, as well as undermining business and industry more widely. This inquiry will test whether that is really the case."

The Design Commission members share a belief that design is a strategically critical discipline, and skillset. But there is now a real risk that design teaching, and creativity in learning more generally, will be progressively squeezed out. Either through the ‘stripping back’ of the curriculum, or through changes to funding of ‘Arts and Humanities’ courses: the category under which most design degrees are currently bracketed.

Dick Powell, co-founder of leading design and innovation agency Seymourpowell, said:

"The proposed cuts in higher education funding pose a huge risk for design education, especially to the quality of what it can deliver - threatening in the process the future of our creative industries. It's a challenge, but also an opportunity to reshape design education to deliver on our future needs. This inquiry will explore what that future should look like, and how it might be delivered".

This is the Design Commission's first research project, due to be completed later in the year. The Design Commission was established to scrutinise how the UK could better develop and exploit its design capabilities in pursuit of national objectives. It has cross-party support and brings together a number of leading lights from the many different aspects of the design profession. The Commission’s remit is to carry out independent and timely research into various aspects of the topic.

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