Design and the New Economy
Two evening debates on 4 and 11 July 2000 at the RIBA, London, in association with the Institute of Ideas

In the next century
creativity and knowledge
will be the key tools
Tony Blair.

If we believe the hype, the future belongs to the creatives, the innovators and the net savvy. New Labour now touts designers and the creative industries as the shock troops for a dynamic new economy based on brains and not brawn, and knowledge not manufacturing. What is new about the new economy and what it does it mean for the creative industries?

Debate 1 EBiz, show biz and real biz
Tuesday 4 July

Speakers: Michael Johnson (Johnson Banks), Phil Mullan (CEO Cyberia), Kate Oakley (Demos), James Woudhuysen (Seymour Powell Forecasting)

Is there any evidence of any real increased importance of design within the economy or is it all hype? If creativity, knowledge & being net savvy are the key skills for the new economy, does that mean that designers will reach new positions of influence in the 'noughties'?

Debate 2 Creative Britain: from Punk Rock to the Millennium Dome
Tuesday 11 July

Speakers: Peter York (SRU) and Andrew Calcutt (Author of Brit.Cult)

In the 1980s Peter York famously argued that all the rest of the world wanted from Britain was Punk and pageantry, our youth culture and our heritage. Andrew Calcutt argues in his latest book Brit.Cult, that British culture has never been so vibrant and interesting. What has changed and while 'Cool Britannia' was a joke, what exactly do British Designers have to offer an evermore globalised world of the ‘noughties’? Can our creative exports make up for flagging industry?

With the Internet driving the new economy in the US, and Europe catching up quickly, technical progress and levels of access to the Web have run ahead of our ability to use it, leaving customers and other users frustrated and disappointed. The event sold out and was attended by over 450 people. See the ‘Design for Usability’ Web site to learn more.

Speakers: Steven Norris, Mayer Hillman, Mark Brutton, Nick Talbot Chair: Peter Snow. Attendance: 60

The conference set out to examine the implications for the future of mobility, at a time when the car is considered to have become a barrier to mobility. Design Agenda’s ‘Tomorrow’s World’ session asked: ‘Whatever happened to the monorail, the personalised Lear jet, and long-haul flights by space shuttle? It examined why commonplace visions of the future in the 60's had been replaced by more sober transport predictions in the 90's and asked if the transport planners have lost their vision or just become more sensible?    

Crosscurrents
Two sessions produced by Design Agenda for a one day conference on 13 March 1999 at the Phoenix, Exeter

The conference set out to address “the key themes in contemporary creativity”. Design Agenda produced two sessions: ‘Techno-hype and Future Babble’ and ‘In conversation with Ken Garland’. Other conference speakers included: Ken Garland, James Woudhuysen, Cosmo Landesman, Jamie Wagg, Toby Litt and Steve Ignorant.    

New Design – ‘Design is Mainstream’
A one day conference on 4 July 1998 at the ICA, London. Attendance: 100 (Sold out)

Speakers included: Peter York, Jan Abrams, Janice Kirkpatrick, Caroline Roux, James Woudhuysen, Michael Bracewell, David Redhead, Ken Garland, Glynn Trippick, Peter Higgins. Conference Director: Alex Cameron.

Aiming to get beyond New Labour ‘spin’, New Design was the first public conference to raise critical questions around government and existing design institutions’ celebration of ‘Creative Britain’.

Designing the Internet: When Digital Design Demands Analogue Thinking
A two day conference on 4-6 July 1996 at the Cochrane Theatre, London. Attendance: 200+

Speakers: Peter Girardi, Andrew Zolli, John Warwicker, David Peters, John Browning, Karen Mahony, Professor Harold Thimbleby, James Woudhuysen, Tim Brown, Kevin McCullagh. Chair: Nico Macdonald. Attendance: 200+  

‘Designing the Internet’ was the first UK conference on the subject, taking place at a time when it was still possible to ask whether designers were shooting themselves in the foot by not taking online media seriously. Many of the attendees have become significant figures in the Internet industry, taking a better understanding of design with them.  

Beyond Fear and Envy: Demystifying Japanese Design
A one day conference on 15 July 1995 at the the Design Museum, London. Attendance: 80 (Sold out)

Speakers included: Mr. A. Amanuma, (Director, Sony Design Center Europe), Richard Seymour, James Woudhuysen, Kevin McCullagh. Chair: Nico Macdonald. Attendance: 80 (Sold out)

Held in the run up to the 50th anniversary of VJ Day ,‘Beyond Fear and Envy’ attempted to expose ten myths about Japanese Design. The programme described how "from the Walkman to the Mazda MX5, Japanese product design has been held out as a magical source of wealth. In turn, we are told to emulate the Japanese Way in Design. The popular lament for the decline of British manufacturing is often expressed as a mixture of fear and envy about Japanese design."  

Do Designers Need Design History?
An evening eveing on on 14 July 1994 at the Business Design Centre, London. Attendance: ~50

Speakers: Ken Garland, Nigel Whiteley, David Cowlard, Catherine Cook. Chair: James Woudhuysen. Attendance: 50

‘Do Designers Need Design History?’ brought together design historians, theorists and working designers to discuss how to bridge the gap between their professions and stimulate debate across a wide cross-section of the design community.