Design Council initiative to motivate Government

The Design Council is launching a design management campaign this week, through a new publication called Design Helps and an on-line toolkit. It will target Government departments.

The initiative is the latest step in the Design Council’s on-going efforts to encourage effective use of design by the Government departments. Backed by Tony Blair, the brochure has been designed by Gas Design. Arehaus has designed the website, www. designcouncil.org.uk/govtool.

Design Helps is described as a “sales brochure” which aims to highlight the effectiveness of design through a series of case studies involving different Government departments.

The publication is designed to promote the on-line Government design toolkit which provides detailed guidance on developing and managing the design element of public sector projects.

Project management is split into four parts: helping public sector managers define the project and understand the issues they want tackled by designers; how to write a design brief and set up an internal and external team to manage the process; applying user research and creating prototypes; and, evaluation of the effectiveness of the design.

Design Council development manager for Government Alison Huxley says it is important that the Government takes notice of design and its possibilities. “Design can make a difference in terms of the outcomes of public sector projects. Design can improve efficiency, save money and deliver customer-facing services, which is becoming more important to the public sector,” she says.

Four Government departments have been involved in the development of the project – the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for Education and Employment. Each has a “design champion” – a director of strategy and communication – selected by the Design Council to champion the broad use of design in the public sector.

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