The RSA and Dott 07
Over the next ten years, a new festival entitled Designs of the time (Dott), will take place in different regions and nations of the UK. Dott, an initiative being led by the Design Council and each time partnered with a regional development agency, is a national series of public events to demonstrate how design can help people improve practical quality of life issues. Launching in North East England in 2007, in partnership with One North East (ONE), Dott will provide designers, businesses and public service providers with an opportunity to engage with citizens in projects to improve daily life through design.
In collaboration with Dott07, RSA Design Directions developed two student projects as part of this exciting initiative. Each project dealt with a specific sustainability challenge - food, and tourism - and focused strongly on multidisciplinary team-working.
The projects, which were sponsored by Dott07, formed the first stage of a larger, two-stage competition. The first stage involved taking part in one of the two Design Directions/Dott07 projects on offer: either Food Information System or Sustainable Tourism. These projects have now been judged as part of Design Directions in the usual way by a panel that will included John Thackara, Dott07's Programme Director. The winning Design Directions students were each been awarded trips to participate in Doors of Perception 9 which took place in New Dehli earlier this year. Each of the winning projects will be featured as part of the Design Directions online exhibition next month.
The second stage, later this year, involves participation in an international design camp at two (so far secret) locations in North-East England. Here, teams will further develop food and tourism ideas for these specific locations, working both with local partners and with design mentors organised by Dott.
The results of the design camp will be featured at the Dott07 Festival in October 2007. Design camp projects will be presented at Doors of Perception 10, which takes place during the festival - and the best will be celebrated at The Creative Community Awards ("The Commies") which concludes Dott07.