Emphasising the need for excellence

In recent weeks you have covered the Design Week Awards and your annual listing of the leading design companies.

For somebody who is attempting to persuade the British manufacturing industry to improve its approach and increase its investment in product design and the packaging thereof, it is very disappointing to see the level of coverage that Design Week gives these segments of the market. The Design Awards gave product design one page in 60 and it was placed right at the back of the publication.

This positioning seems to reflect the importance given by Design Week on a regular basis and is sending all the wrong messages to manufacturing industry.

If design wants to be taken seriously it needs to get its hands dirty and promote real wealth-creation through successful international products. The design of calendars, posters, annual reports and brochures is not going to rejuvenate UK Manufacturing Ltd.

Alan Murphy, Marketing Director, Cambridge Consultants, Cambridge

As a product design group you will know you are in the minority in the UK design industry, accounting for some 10 per cent of the industry. You will also know the confidentiality that attends many projects, making it hard for us to cover the work.

In our awards, product design consistently attracts some 30 entries, while the literature categories combined bring in more than 300, hence our bias. – Ed.