DV Summit: Kickstarter – Design to improve the world

The Design Ventura summit “Design: the problem and the solution” was held on 29 March 2017. Its purpose was to bring together educators, designers, cultural providers and policy makers to discuss how they can ensure that young people are developing creativity, design thinking and employability skills to prepare them for future success.

The following extract is by Martin Chandler, an Education Consultant at The Making Project and his take on the issues discussed.

People in the design world are guided by the belief that their products should exist in the world because they improve the lives of others, whether this is safety on bicycles, creating gender equal action figures or building an instrument that aids people to learn to play music. All these contributions improve the world and there are so many inventive people who, given the opportunity, can add more to the diversity, enjoyment, and survivability if only they had the chance.

We have extensive means of passing information, advertising and helping one another. The Sorrell Foundation has enhanced the education of so many, Kickstarter has enabled inventors to follow a design to manufacture.

The United Kingdom is famous for its acceptance of immigrant talent and infusing that into its culture of dynamic, creative entrepreneurial communities, but the education system that has, over many years, developed this wellbeing has been savaged. The findings from the Nesta research indicate that an attack on Design Education not only affects the creative subjects but the development of the whole of the education system!

Is that really a surprise? When you cut one part so drastically it must affect the whole!