Design Manchester

Design Manchester

Design Manchester logo
Founded	2013
Legal status	Not-for-profit company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales number 9736584.
Purpose	Promoting design in Greater Manchester and the role of Manchester as a design city internationally.
Key people	Malcolm Garrett (joint artistic director) Lou Cordwell OBE (advisory board chair)
Website	www.designmcr.com

Design Manchester is a not-for-profit organisation established to showcase design talent; support design skills, careers & enterprise; advance the contribution of design in the city and the regional economy; and promote the role of Manchester as a design city internationally. It has a year-round programme of activities and events and organises Manchester’s annual citywide festival of design.

History

In 2013, graphic designers John Owens and Malcolm Garrett RDI and media publicist Fiona McGarva were asked by Professor David Crow, then the Dean of Manchester School of Art, to organise an event to mark the School’s 175th anniversary and the opening of the new Benzie Building designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios. Their response was to organise a festival under the name ‘Design Manchester’, comprising nine events including a professional design conference, an exhibition, talks, workshops and parties, with the stated aim of creating an annual festival of design for the city. The following year the team was joined by Garrett’s business partner, the writer Kasper de Graaf. A vehicle initially set up to organise the annual festival was replaced by the incorporation of Design Manchester Ltd as a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee on 17 August 2015 and that same year, Arts Council England funded the development of a business plan for the organisation. The annual festival is produced and delivered by the directors, a festival producer and team alongside scores of partners and volunteers.

Programme

Design Manchester works with Manchester City Council, the Mayor of Greater Manchester and local stakeholders in industry, education and the community to advance the contribution of design in key challenge areas, including health & care, transport, age-friendly design, cognitive design, education and skills, employment, start-up incubation and the global perception of Manchester as a design city. Year-round activities with designers and artists, schools, colleges, universities and community groups culminate in the annual festival of design: a showcase for talent and an opportunity to engage, consult and co-create. In 2017, Design Manchester was commissioned by Manchester City Council Leader and Greater Manchester Deputy Mayor for Business and Economy Sir Richard Leese to conduct a research study to underpin development of a design strategy for the city.

Festival

DM13

28 October – 1 November 2013
The first festival, sponsored by Manchester School of Art and supported by G. F Smith and Design Week, took Longevity as its theme: “celebrating the importance of creativity in society in what can be challenging economic times… (discussing) sustainable design and its importance to our economic and environmental future; how to keep design fresh, new and creative in an ever-evolving world; and why print will never die.” Manchester creatives collaborated to create an exhibition, “10 x 10”, curated by John Owens and shown at Bench Self Made Gallery and Kosmonaut in the Northern Quarter. The contributing artists and designers were: Mark Kennedy and David Arnott (Pub of the week. Forever.), Dr John Cooper Clarke and John Owens (Things are gonna get worse), Dave Sedgwick aka Designbydave and Tim Denton (Don't sit still. Keep going.), Helen Musselwhite and Loz Ives aka Fieldwork (Save Yourself), Jon Bland and Mike Ash of Music (howfatisjonbland.com), Owt Creative (Diamonds aren’t forever), Matt Booth and Zelig Sound (VISUALISER), Percy Dean and Alan & Brenda (Alan and Brenda: Diptych: Percy Dean 2013), Katherine Beefheart and Buddha (Karma's a bitch), Liam Hopkins aka Lazerian and Daren Newman (Unknown Time). The first Design Manchester Conference took place at Manchester Town Hall on 31 October and was opened by the Deputy Leader of Manchester City Council, Councillor Sue Murphy. Hosted by Professor David Crow, the Conference heard from Mark Farrow RDI in conversation with Design Week editor Angus Montgomery; Kate Moross; Colophon Foundry; Nat Hunter and Mark Shayler of the RSA; Andrew Shoben and Peter Saville RDI. Other events included a D&AD Creative Brief-in, talks, workshops and a party at Kosmonaut. DM13 was attended by 1,000 visitors.

DM14

21–30 October 2014
The Science of Imagination was the theme of the second festival, sponsored by Manchester School of Art and supported by Manchester City Council, G. F Smith and Design Week. DM14 featured 16 events over ten days, including an exhibition of Dress of Glass and Flame by designer and artist Helen Storey RDI at Manchester Art Gallery as a joint event with the Manchester Science Festival. Adidas SPEZIAL, an exhibition of 650 pairs of rare, vintage, deadstock, re-issues and collaboration styles from the personal collections of numerous collectors of adidas trainers, curated by Gary Aspden, attracted wide media interest and thousands of visitors. ARTOMATIC founder Tim Milne gave a talk on “Materials in the Digital Age” at the Special Collections Gallery. The Design Manchester Conference, again held at Manchester Town Hall, featured Adrian Shaughnessy and Tony Brook of Unit Editions; Technology Will Save Us’ Daniel Hirschman; Brazilian designer Rejane Dal Bello; designer and artist Rob Lowe aka Supermundane; retail experience and interaction designer Ross Phillips of Dalziel & Pow; and Michael C Place of Leeds-based creative agency Build. DM14 saw Manchester’s first annual Great Design Debate, at Manchester School of Art, on the topic “North: the role of the creative industries as a catalyst for growth” in the newly minted Northern Powerhouse. Chaired by Robert Yates, deputy editor of The Observer, the debate panel comprised City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese, Dean of the School of Art Professor David Crow, Creative England CEO Caroline Norbury and magneticNorth Founder and CEO Lou Cordwell. Other events included the Manchester Print Fair at the People's History Museum, a performance by analogue electronic musicians Metamono, exhibitions, talks and workshops. DM14 was attended by 20,000 visitors.

DM15

14–22 October 2015
The 2015 Festival took Know How as its theme, with an exhibition by graphic artist Swifty at PLY, Kosmonaut and in the window of Fred Aldous in the Northern Quarter; a series of film screenings; an interview by Katie Popperwell with New Order’s Stephen Morris and Jon Drape and Luke Bainbridge of Festival N°6 about design in music; a series of exhibitions, talks, workshops and parties. The Great Debate, at the Whitworth Art Gallery, looked at “The Value(s) of Design”, chaired by RSA chief executive Matthew Taylor with a panel comprising the City Council’s head of city policy Jessica Bowles, head of the Cabinet Office Policy Lab Andrea Siodmok, chief executive of the Design Council John Mathers and Lou Cordwell. This year the Design Conference was split in two parts, both at the Royal Northern College of Music. Design Now looked at the latest in cutting edge design, chaired by University of the Arts London’s professor of Interactive Digital Art Fred Deakin who introduced illustrator Malika Favre and new Pentagram partners Jody Hudson-Powell and Luke Powell. Design How, again chaired by Design Week’s editor Angus Montgomery, featured industry leading designers Ben Terrett, who had recently left his position as design director of the Government Digital Service to take up the same position at Co-op Digital; Barclays Bank customer experience director Clive Grinyer; IDEO executive design director Steve O’Connor; and the creative director of Territory Studio, Lee Fasciani. DM15 was sponsored by Manchester School of Art, received funding support from Manchester City Council and Arts Council England, and was supported by G . F Smith, Shoosmiths and Design Week. DM15 drew 21,000 visitors to 17 events delivered by 124 artists and 100 volunteers.

DM16

12–22 October 2016
The headline sponsor of the DM16 festival was the Co-op and other sponsors were Manchester School of Art, St John's Manchester, Transport for Greater Manchester and G . F Smith. The festival received funding support from Manchester City Council. The theme of the 2016 festival was Design City, reflected in a specially commissioned series of photographs by Andrew Brooks exhibited at Neo and The Refuge, and in The Great Debate – sponsored by Pannone Corporate. –, in the Bonded Warehouse at Old Granada Studios, on the topic of “City Identity”. Chaired by Lou Cordwell, the debate panel comprised Emer Coleman, the head of technology engagement at Co-op Digital; Designers Republic’s Ian Anderson; Labour candidate for Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham MP; legible cities pioneer Mike Rawlinson of City ID; Manchester Metropolitan University Chancellor Lord Peter Mandelson; and urban designer Claire Mookerjee. Ten festival exhibitions included Alan Kitching: A Life in Letterpress at Manchester School of Art; Women in Print, curated by Jane Bowyer, at PLY and the Co-op Angel Square; Manchester Moleskine at Old Granada Studios and Ideas Worth Fighting For at the People’s History Museum. The Manchester Print Fair, Manchester Artists Book Fair and Art Battle Manchester were incorporated in a larger scale Design City Fair at London Road Fire Station, attracting almost 8,000 visitors over the weekend of 14–16 October. DM16 also saw the introduction of the Design Manchester Film Series, featuring four feature movie screenings at HOME introduced by their designers or subject experts: Fight Club, introduced by production designer Alex McDowell RDI; Vertigo, by International New York Times design critic Alice Rawsthorn; Dr. Strangelove, by film author and educationalist Sir Christopher Frayling; and Hail The New Puritan, the Charles Atlas movie about the dancer Michael Clark, by Malcolm Garrett. The Michael Clark Company performed its new work, “to a simple, rock’n’roll… song”, at The Lowry on 19 October. The Design City Conference at Royal Northern College of Music was chaired by Creative Review editor Patrick Burgoyne, introducing architectural lighting and interaction designer Jason Bruges; Warner Bros. head of animation and blue ribbon content Peter Girardi; wayfinding designer Lucy Holmes of Holmes Wood; Dutch experience design collective Trapped in Suburbia; Vera-Maria Glahn of FIELD; and the Manchester-based community co-design group OH OK LTD. Other events included CIRCUX, a public user experience design workshop by the BBC design team; workshops on wayfinding, age-friendly design and neurodiversity; talks and parties. With 37 events at locations all over the city featuring more than 300 designers and artists, DM16 attracted 40,600 visitors.

DM17

11–22 October 2017
Manchester’s fifth annual festival of design, with a programme of 50 events, was supported by headline sponsor the Co-op, Gold sponsors Manchester School of Art, G . F Smith and Manchester Fashion Institute, sponsors including Auto Trader, the AHRC Creative Economy Programme and University of Salford, with funding support from Manchester City Council. Media partners were Creative Review and The Guardian. The theme, Reframing Reality, aimed to reflect on the rich musical an visual heritage of the city with an eye on the future. The “four-track EP of events” titled Fizzing at the Terminals marked the fortieth anniversary of the release of the Orgasm Addict single by Manchester punk band Buzzcocks. A retrospective exhibition of Malcolm Garrett’s designs for Buzzcocks from 1977 to the present day (including a 1977 Love Battery gig poster that featured the Fizzing at the Terminals lyric) took place at the PLANT workshop space in the NOMA district. A parallel exhibition at The Refuge and throughout the city, titled Orgasm Addict Reframed, invited leading designers and emerging creatives to re-imagine the famed record sleeve that featured in the V&A’s Postmodernism exhibition, where Garrett (then still a student at Manchester School of Art) had collaborated with his artist friend Linder Sterling, taking her montage illustration, turning it upside down and printing it in single colour to create the graphic impact of the striking blue and yellow sleeve. The fourth track on the EP of Buzzcocks events was an exhibition titled Time’s Up at the University of Bolton, where (when it was Bolton Institute of Technology) the band was formed in 1976. The exhibition showed the output of the band’s first line-up with Howard Devoto, including the Spiral Scratch EP and the Time’s Up box set alongside handbills, posters and photographs.

The Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair, whose tenth annual show took place at Upper Campfield Market from 12–15 October, was also part of DM17.

Details of the full programme of events that took place are available to view on the Design Manchester website.

Document Magazine

Document is the Design Manchester annual, edited by Kasper de Graaf and published by Design Manchester since 2015.

The first issue, Document 15, was a 28-page 289 x 380 mm magazine litho-printed by Galloways on G . F Smith 120 gsm Naturalis Absolute White. The cover image showed the Swifty display in the shop window of Fred Aldous. The magazine reproduced designs by Swifty, Racco, Daniel Johnston, Instruct Studio, Tash Willcocks, Peter Saville, Anthony Burrill, Hattie Stewart, Helen Musselwhite, Malika Favre and Hudson Powell; reports and features by Swifty, Elle Simms, Jane Crowther, Tom Clarke, Fiona McGarva, Fred Deakin, Angus Montgomery and Matt Cooper-Wright; photography by Sebastian Matthes. Document 15 was widely distributed to the design community in Manchester.

Document 16 a year later featured specially commissioned front and rear typographic covers by Alan Kitching RDI. The 68-page 247 x 247 mm magazine was litho-printed by Galloways on G . F Smith Naturalis Absolute White 330 gsm and 135 gsm. Feature contributors included Sir Richard Leese, OH OK LTD, Patrick Burgoyne, Peter Girardi, Trapped in Suburbia, Jason Bruges and Andrew Walker, Alessandra Mostyn, Jane Hughes, Alex McDowell, Alice Rawsthorn, Sir Christopher Frayling, Malcolm Garrett, Andrew Brooks, John Macaulay, Jane Bowyer, Professor Alice Kettle, Fabrizio Cocchiarella, Alison Slater, Sir Peter Bazalgette, John Owens, Leena Haque and Sean Gilroy, Rebekah Cooper and Fiona McGarva; photography by Sebastian Matthes, Jody Hartley and Alex Mead. Many designs were reproduced in the magazine, including by Alan Kitching, Malcolm Garrett, Rena Gardiner, Trapped in Suburbia, Saul Bass, Sir Ken Adam RDI, Tash Willcocks, Ellie Thomas, Nell Smith, Anna Mullin, Memo, Deanna Halsall, Adam Stanway, DR.ME and Alex Darke. A photographic feature by Andrew Brooks included a series of images of the city specially commissioned for the DM16 festival. Document 16 was distributed to the design community, partners and stakeholders in Greater Manchester, and to the national and international subscribers to Creative Review.

Board and governance

Directors

• John Owens, Joint Artistic Director
• Malcolm Garrett RDI, Joint Artistic Director
• Fiona McGarva, Festival Director
• Kasper de Graaf, Partnerships Director

Advisory Board

• Lou Cordwell, Founder and CEO of magneticNorth (chair)
• Sarah Elderkin, Principal Policy Officer, Manchester City Council (observer)
• Jon Kingsbury, Head of Digital Economy and Creative Industries, KTN
• John Mathers, Design Director, Business Development Fund
• Joe McCullagh, Head of Design and Associate Dean, Manchester School of Art
• Simon Poulter, Artist

References

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