DTI plans two trade missions after Comdex

The Government is planning two export missions for UK designers in 1996 – a result of the recent trip to electronics show Comdex (DW 24 November).

“This was the first time the Department of Trade and Industry has exported a service, normally it’s a manufacturer,” says Alex Pratt, the DTI’s exports promoter for North America.

Pratt confirms that the DTI is planning two further export missions, one to a medical show and one to a houseware/hardware show in Chicago. “Designers now know much more about selling their services abroad. In the future the missions will be targeted at specialised sectors,” adds Pratt. DBA chief executive Ian Rowland-Hill is “very encouraged by the feedback”.

London consultancy Rufus Leonard, which attended Comdex on the Design Business Association-organised stand, is involved in a pitch to design interfaces for the database at DataBase America as a result of the trip.

The DBA took representatives of nine consultancies to Comdex, which was held in Las Vegas two weeks ago. The British Design Initiative took members of six consultancies.

The DBA and DTI will hold an Export Task Meeting on 7 December to discuss its action plan for next year.