Matchmaking goes global

Rebecca Harris and James Hall from the graphic design department at BBC Resources South in Bristol have designed the titles and content graphics for a new safari-style programme Dawn To Dusk. Beginning next month, the series emanates from the BBC Natural History Unit and comprises six half-hour programmes following African wildlife. Touch Animation contributed to the project.

A new matchmaking service for UK and overseas consultancies will be officially launched in September, enabling designers in different countries to work jointly on projects.

The UK new business agency British Design Initiative is linking with ten national design bodies in the Strategic Design Alliance. The SDA partners include the French Agence Pour La Promotion de la Création Industrielle (APCI), the Barcelona Centre de Disseny, the Dansk Design Centre in Denmark, and The Design Institute of Australia.

“We’re not trying to create another design body, it’s a straightforward exchange of contacts,” says BDI managing director Maxine Horn. “It will be useful for consultancies that want to work with overseas designers, whether for one-off projects or long-term associations.”

UK consultancies not already on the BDI’s books will be charged 225 for the matchmaking service. “This may increase depending on how much research is necessary,” says Horn. If both consultancies are already registered with the SDA’s members it will cost 50.