The Chartered Society of Designers (CSD) has this week ruffled a few feathers not to mention confused many within the creative industry by launching another ‘Design Association’, writes Nick Burton, bmedi@ chair. The latest activity to come out of the CSD is seen by many as a repeat of a previous CSD strategy that gave rise to the Design Business Association (DBA) some 20 years ago.
It was only a week ago since the Financial Times reported that government business support schemes are to be cut from about 3,000 to no more than 100 by 2010. The reason given for such a dramatic cull was that businesses within the UK have found it difficult to obtain the correct guidance and support within the currently overcrowded landscape of support service organisations.
The criticism of the CSD’s new association seems to echo the government’s findings. In his letter to the Design week magazine, Factory Design’s Peter Tennent writes: “There are a bewildering number of professional bodies and associations, even viewed from within the profession – so what must it be like for the rest of the business world?”
Many creative practitioners would love to see the CSD and DBA get their heads together to devise a strong collaborative offering, preferably before the reputation of the creative industry is weakened irreparably.
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