Culture

88 Culture Vultures
operates the Design Immersion programme, matching designers to
manufacturers. Under its aegis, Sam Hecht’s designs for Sheffield
Cutlery maker Harrison Fisher, in particular an award-winning knife
sharpener have improved the company’s fortunes: £60 000 of investment
in design are forecast to generate extra sales of £800 000. 44
The changes at the Design Council have raised some eyebrows.
Eleven years ago, chairman John Sorrell’s report The Future of the
Design Council led to a significant down-sizing of an organisation
that was spending a £7.5 million grant from the Department of
Trade and Industry each year, and employing 200 people. Sorrell
wanted the DC to take a more strategic role as a think-tank and
champion of the industry, and slimmed it down to just 40 people in
new offices in Bow Street.
But since the Sorrell Report, the Design Council has once again
enlarged its operations. The Design Immersion programme is
financed through the DTI’s Regional Development Agencies. The
Council has been instrumental in re-launching a Design trade association,
the Design Business Association. In April 2005, the Council
announced that, in association with the DBA it would create a
Design Matching Service for designers and industry, and back it up
with major research on the state of the design industry - with the
DC’s Chief Executive taking a seat on the DBA’s board to seal the
deal. 45 On top of that the Council took on the job of administering
the Sector Skills Council for the Creative Industries on behalf of the
Department for Education and Skills. Today, the Design Council’s
budget is once again over £7.5 million, coming from the DTI and to
a lesser extent the DfES, with not 200 but 66 full time staff. 46
Unfortunately, some of these new activities the Council has moved
into were already being provided by the private sector. The Chartered