Carrying forward the “Call to Action” from the historic Montréal Design Declaration, the first of three Projects to be featured in dedicated sessions at the Saint-Étienne Pre-Summit Meeting is announced today. Eighteen (18) international and national entities have already confirmed participation in the event.
The DDS Metrics Project is an international collaborative effort establishing metrics and collecting data and case studies to more effectively communicate the value of design.
The session will involve a presentation of the DDS Metrics Project framework and will feature keynote presentations from expert contributors, with opportunities for panel and roundtable discussions amongst the official Participants.
The Project framework is being developed by a Project Management Committee (PMC) and is enriched by the contribution of experts from both within and outside of the design world.
The Project Management Committee is Co-Chaired by:
Mr. Bart Ahsmann of the Bureau of European Design Associations (BEDA), and
Mr. David Grossman of the International Council of Design (ico-D).
With expertise from:
Ms. Sian Whyte, Head of Research and Insight at the Design Council (UK),
Mr. Simon Widmer, Circular Design Lead at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (UK),
and a premier international business consultancy.
When asked what specific challenge is being addressed by the DDS Metrics Project, Mr. Ahsmann said “Design and the design process are often not fully understood, causing non-design entities to undervalue the role and potential of design. Designers do not utilize the language of non-designers to effectively convey the value of design.” Mr. Grossman added, “There is a dearth of data and case studies presenting the value and potential of design that utilize metrics relevant to non-designers”.
Responding to the need for discernable and communicable measures of the economic value and impact of design, the DDS Metrics Project will collect and present data, develop indicators based on measurable metrics transmitted in the language of non-designers, and describe both the size and impact of the design sector itself.
Furthermore, the projectwill enhance the consolidation of the design community, reflected in the Design Declaration Summit process, and better convey the potential and value of design to non-design collaborators.
The Project will be global in approach, focusing on establishing uniform standards for reliable data, developing quantitative and qualitative measures to evaluate design impact across key sectors: economic, environmental, social and cultural. In addition, case studies demonstrating design impact and utilising metric measures, will be collected and presented to targeted audiences.
The Project session will be presented at the Pre-Summit roundtable, which is a milestone event leading to future full-scale Design Declaration Summits.
For more details, please contact:
Jovana Milović, Programme Manager at jmilovic@designdeclaration.org
The DDS Pre-Summit meeting is taking place in partnership with the Biennale International Design Saint-Étienne.
For more information on the Biennale Internationale Design Saint-Étienne, please contact:
Camille Vilain, International projects officer at camille.vilain@citedudesign.com