Local groups should be favoured over London ones

Are all designers in the north-east incapable of good design? Being from Newcastle myself (although now working in London unfortunately), I think not.

I happened to notice in Design Week a small piece on the new identity for the future Music Centre in Gateshead (DW 11 July). It’s nice to see the Gateshead Quays regeneration project being recognised nationally.

What is not nice to see is the likes of Pentagram being given the job of creating the logo and identity. I wasn’t aware Pentagram had an office in the north-east.

There are design consultancies in and around Newcastle and Gateshead, it’s not all flat caps and whippets. Why do people see fit to dish out work to established consultancies and pay through the nose for something that could just as easily have come from a small local group at a reasonable fee?

There is something seriously wrong when a region can’t support its wealth of talent and attract more business into an already creative local industry.

Graham Renwick

Designer

Plum Media

Enfield EN3 7XU

graham@plummedia.co.uk

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