Design Council: Home-grown Talent being Wasted

Design Council Home-grown Talent being Wasted
Businesses are squandering home-grown design talent, with much of it going into international companies, according to research published yesterday.

The Design Council announced its finding - that most companies fail to give the discipline enough priority - as top practitioners gathered at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the industry. Around them was a selection of examples that was a far cry from the cutting-edge objects of desire with which they were associated.

The palace's quadrangle was transformed into an "avenue of design" to showcase classic examples such as the penny farthing bicycle from 1871, the Royal Mail Penfold pillar box from 1852 and the red K6 telephone box from 1935.

David Kester, chief executive of the council, said: "These are all wonderful examples of British design ...but I don't think there is any one particular style that epitomises modern British design."

The guests, including Patrick Cox, Bruce Oldfield, Vivienne Westwood and Sir Terence Conran, counter-balanced the avenue with their own selections such James Dyson's DCO2 Clear centrifugal cleaner.

Mr Kester said the event demonstrated the UK had a vibrant sector but supported the finding that two-thirds of companies failed to use it to create products and services.

"We don't make the best use of it," he said. "We don't put it to work