Counsellors aren’t doing such a bad job

I welcome your encouragement of design consultancies to take advantage of Business Link’s advisory services, which would assist their need for additional commercial and managerial skills (Comment, 13 December 1996).

However, I would like to correct the misconceptions over the effectiveness of the design counsellors in bringing work to consultancies. In just over a year serving the Chester, Ellesmere Port and Wirral Business Links, I have brought in excess of 70 projects to the consultancies in the area and established an informal consultancy association to encourage networking and inter-trading and raise design awareness in the business community. Your reference to the London situation, as usual, does not take account of the more established Business Links and their design counsellors in the regions.

Finally, please give the design counsellors and the Design Links a little more credit and support. We have enough trouble convincing sceptical businesses of the value of using designers without having to defend our role to the very people that benefit the most from our work.

Andrew Arditti

Design counsellor

Business Link

Chester & Ellesmere Port

Chester CH2 3NE