There’s plenty of design business advice available

The London Institute read with interest Design Business (DW 30 October) on the Risk It initiative and the advisory service it provides to new and emerging creative businesses, and I welcome its innovative approach to market development and interaction for this sector.

However, comments made in relation to the non-existence of business skills and knowledge within design education are unfounded and untrue.

Employability and enterprise skills are integral to the art and design student’s learning experience and are crucial for graduates entering the professional world, whether design-related or not.

Models used at The London Institute and at various UK universities to deliver this element are either curriculum-based via personal and professional development studies or through work experience, work placement, work-based learning, live projects, industry talks and futures programmes.

Creative practitioners across London who wish to enter self-employment or who are already running a business can also use The London Institute Enterprise Centre for The Creative Arts (see www.creatingaliving.org for further details) for free hands-on business advice and support, business planning and development, information resources and as a networking facilitator.

I agree there is a need for creative practitioners to be business astute and I strongly believe that education, at all levels, can provide, and is, providing the foundation for this, but a little homework would have helped the comments made in this article to be more factual and based in the real world.

Marice Cumber

Enterprise developments co-ordinator

The Enterprise Centre for the Creative Arts

London College of Printing

London SE1