…while Millennium Products logo launches

Johnson Banks has created the identity for the Design Council’s Millennium Products scheme. The project will be launched by Prime Minister Tony Blair on 17 September.

The Design Council’s initiative aims to promote Britain’s reputation for innovative design and manufacturing by selecting and promoting a range of 2000 Millennium Products.

Conceived by the Design Council in 1995, the scheme has secured 3.8m funding over the next four years from the Department of Trade and Industry. This figure is an increase of 500 000 on the figure announced at the beginning of the year. The design work to emerge includes stationery and invitations bearing the scheme’s spiralled type logo, which is indended to encourage the idea of going onwards and upwards.

“The logo could be used as a branding device on the products themselves and will be incorporated into banners, brochures and a website,” says Johnson Banks design director Michael Johnson. The group has been working on the project for about five months.

Tony Blair’s involvement in the Millennium Products launch emphasises his enthusiasm for a concerted programme to redefine Britain’s image.

On the day the General Election results were announced in May, the Design Council sent a strategy report to Downing Street’s policy unit entitled, A New Brand for a New Britain.

The council has commissioned the think tank Demos to prepare a report on Britain’s identity to be published on 8 September. Demos will present its findings at the political conferences in the autumn to set off a new round of discussions and workshops sponsored by the Design Council.