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Search previous Design Council news and articles.
Congratulations to our Spark 2018 finalists and awardees
27 June 2018
Last night (26 June 2018) our Spark 2018 finalists from across the UK gathered in London to showcase new product ideas to industry and investors. Our guest speaker, serial entrepreneur and investor Deborah Meaden said:...
New report calls for an integrated approach to housing, planning and design to support people in later life
14 June 2018
One in three children born in the UK today can expect to live to 100 – presenting potential challenges and opportunities to innovate. Co-producing housing, planning and design solutions with older people can support us to live...
Michal Cohen & Cindy Walters – The female duo running a leading UK architecture practice
13 June 2018
When they met on the first day of their first year of architecture school in Durban, South Africa, Cindy Walters thought Michal Cohen was someone’s little sister who had come along for the day. They went on to complete all six...
Design Council Spark Showcase 2018 announced
11 June 2018
We are delighted to announce the Design Council Spark Showcase 2018 will be held on the 26-27 June at the Design Museum, London. Design Council Spark is a leading product innovation support programme and fund that backs ideas...
Sadie Morgan – The youngest president of the Architectural Association
23 May 2018
Sadie Morgan is a founding director at award winning architecture practice dRMM. Sitting in the communal gardens at Trafalgar Place – a Stirling Prize shortlisted housing project delivered as part of the large-scale regeneration...
5 guerrilla design tactics for young businesses
16 May 2018
We first met Gil Kahana from ChattyFeet when he attended our Spark showcase event in 2015. Gil told us he felt that Design Council Spark was about helping people to take a bright idea, and turn it into something real and tangible....
Design skills are not just for designers – Spark proves this
16 May 2018
This year, our product innovation programme Design Council Spark has seen an increase in successful applications from groups under-represented in the design industry and people without a formal design education. Read more about...
Placing design at the heart of the NPPF
11 May 2018
On 5 March 2018, the Prime Minister announced a major overhaul to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The aim of these changes is to help planners, developers and councils build more homes, more quickly with the aim of...
Beyond insects and robots: designing an education fit for the future
2 May 2018
How can we make the most of booming employment rates and improvements in artificial intelligence? What skills will we need and how we will get them? In this post, Stephen Miller explores what we need to design an education fit for...
Jane Ni Dhulchaointigh: The female designer fixing our lives
25 April 2018
Jane Ni Dhulchaointigh is the Irish mastermind behind Sugru – ‘the most exciting product since Sellotape’. Over a cup of tea in her company’s HQ in Hackney, east London, she shares her thoughts on reimagining education systems,...
Videos: Reframing the challenge through Design in the Public Sector
24 April 2018
In 2016, South Kesteven District Council joined our Design in the Public Sector programme, funded by the Local Government Association. The programme provides training to public sector staff on the application of design approaches...
South Kesteven District Council: Accelerating housing delivery and creating a sustainable business model
20 April 2018
During 2016, as part of a cultural transformation programme and efficiency drive, South Kesteven District Council had been trialling new ways of working. Lean methodologies were used to challenge their established processes. After...