DETR appoints 24 to cover new workload

Two dozen design consultancies have been appointed by the Department of Environment Transport and the Regions, to deal with all its publicity material and publications.

The department, which is an amalgamation of the former departments of environment and transport, originally approached 99 consultancies last year because of the excessive workload created by the merger.

DETR head of publicity Tony Orsworth says: “Each department operated differently – one with a roster and one which appointed different people each time. But with the departments combining, lots of material needs designing.”

Though each of the consultancies has a three-year contract, Orsworth is unsure how many will be used annually. “It is impossible to say, but they all have options for a further two years, so we would expect to try them all over that period,” he explains.

Among the consultancies appointed by the DETR are The Team, Lloyd Northover Citigate and Still Waters Run Deep.