Priestman might need to get a different DBA idea

May I suggest that Paul Priestman, chairman elect of the Design Business Association, thinks about the name for the association’s Idea award or not refer to it as Idea.

Perhaps calling it the Design Effectiveness Awards would be less confusing as the BusinessWeek/ Industrial Design Society of America-sponsored award is called Idea – this stands for the Industrial Design Excellence Award.

More and more UK, European and Asian consultancies and in-house groups are entering the Idea award competition.

It is very visible due to the great spreads BusinessWeek devotes to showing the winners once a year (its international circulation is eight million).

Also, it is interesting to note that [under Priestman] the DBA is considering extending its membership to include in-house design teams and design managers.

In the US, designers go from consultancies to in-house and vice versa on a regular basis. As far as I know, the IDSA, the American Institute of Graphic Arts, the American Institute of Architects, the International Interior Design Association, the American Society of Interior Designers, the Society for Environmental Graphic Design, the International Furnishings and Design Association and the American Center for Design do not discriminate similarly, nor does the Design Management Institute.

The feature about Priestman’s plans (DW 19 July) mentioned that the inclusion is a controversial move. I’d love to know why, as might some other readers.

RitaSue Siegel

President, RitaSue Siegel Resources

ritasue@ritasue.com