The campaign to promote Leicestershire’s cluster of design businesses has published the Design Leicestershire book. The book is the centrepiece of a £260,000 drive, funded by Leicester City Council and Leicestershire County Council, to raise awareness – locally, nationally and across the world – of the creative capability to be found in Leicestershire.
Design Leicestershire will also seek to be a gateway for design buyers to discover the design suppliers in Leicestershire and Rutland via its website www.designleicestershire.com which contains a searchable directory and downloadable PDFs of the book’s chapters.
The stunning, 300-plus page publication was revealed at a launch event in Leicester, in front of more than 200 people from design companies, Leicestershire’s three universities and the public sector. The event was sponsored by InterfaceFLOR and Taylor Bloxham, who printed the book in Leicester, with the book given out in bags supplied by Dragon Consultancy accompanied by cakes from Fiona Cairns. Sheridan & Co sponsored huge banners which framed the stage.
Sir George Cox, the former chairman of the Design Council and the author of the Cox Review of Creativity in Business, was the launch event’s key speaker. Sir George, who contributed the book’s foreword, said: “Good design and innovation are more important than ever, especially in a tough economic climate. The Design Leicestershire book illustrates what a wealth and diversity of talent there is available and I hope businesses and other organisations will take full advantage of that.”
The event was hosted by Alistair Reid, Leicester City Council strategic director of development, culture and regeneration, and Shirley Pearce, the vice-chancellor of Loughborough University, which is delivering the Design Leicestershire project. Shirley Pearce said: “Design Leicestershire is an outstanding opportunity for our designers to demonstrate their skills and abilities to a global audience. This book is a tremendous publication, and particularly so because of the breadth and depth of design talent it reveals in Leicestershire and Rutland. The book also showcases the outstanding research and commercial collaborations of our three universities. I am delighted that Loughborough is playing a key role in Design Leicestershire.”
Paul Atkinson, the design director of Leicester-based Atkinson Design Associates, chaired the book’s editorial board of designers and architects. Paul Atkinson said: “The book launch is a very exciting moment in the Design Leicestershire journey.”
The book contains a directory of hundreds of design businesses in Leicestershire and Rutland, and examples of the best work produced within the largest cluster of design businesses to be found outside London, for clients across the world – everything from the architecture of buildings to the pixels of websites.
The Design Leicestershire book also contains chapters on the design-related research and other activity at De Montfort University, Loughborough University and the University of Leicester, plus a look at the origins of the cluster. Some 2,500 copies of the book have been printed. The book will be distributed to buyers of design in the UK and used globally by UK Trade & Investment through the British embassies around the world.
Notes:
For more information about Design Leicestershire, for images of and from the book, or to speak to one of the design businesses involved, please contact Andy Gilgrist at email: andygilgrist@btinternet.com
To speak to Kate Beresford, project manager of Design Leicestershire, email: kate@designleicestershire.com
More information is also available at the website: www.designleicestershire.com
InterfaceFLOR is a worldwide leader in the manufacture of modular commercial flooring. www.interfaceflor.co.uk
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