Australian Design Alliance

When it was formed more than fifty years ago, the name Icograda was an acronym that stood for the International Council of Graphic Design Associations.

In January 2012 Estonia became the first country in Europe with a dedicated national design policy. The National Action Plan for Design was the culmination of more than a decade of advocacy and policy development which included the creation of the Estonian Design Centre in 2008.

On behalf of the Australian Design Alliance Board, we wish all our members, friends, partners and supporters the best for the festive season and a happy and productive start to 2015.

The Advisory Council on Intellectual Property’s (ACIP) has just released an Options Paper for its Review of the Designs System. The Paper seeks stakeholder comments on three broad options that address varying levels of policy issues. These options will be further analysed once ACIP has received stakeholder feedback.

200 YOUNG INNOVATORS, 2 COUNTRIES, 1 CITY
The China Australia Millennial Project (CAMP) cultivates opportunities, develops networks and co-creates new solutions to issues common to both Australia and China. In collaboration with Vivid Ideas 2015, CAMP will see 100 young innovators from China converge upon Sydney and meet 100 young innovators from across Australia for a one week innovation incubator lab, mentored by global change-makers.

The outgoing Creative Industries Innovation Centre has done some very valuable work in its six year history. This month it unveils the 2014 Forensic Reports which examine eight creative sectors and reveal some critical trends across the industry.

Design and manufacturing cultures are being re-cast in Australia. With new technologies available, new markets domestically and internationally, there are many options for Australian-based designers of all kinds of products. Once Australia had a strong manufacturing culture - so what it is that people are starting to see in a re-cast 21st century Australian manufacturing and design culture. Brandon Gien, CEO of Good Design Australia and Chairman of Icsid (International Council of Societies of Industrial Design), talks with By Design's Fenella Kernebone about the opportunities that exist for a reinvented Australian manufacturing sector looking through a design lens. Listen to the program on the RN Website.

The Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) says that a failure to value public space as critical infrastructure would be a failure in planning our city for the 21st century.

Sydney studio Reactive's Most Powerful Arm gives children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy the ability to write. Reactive won an award at the Australian Design Biennale in Hobart.

Architecture & Design spoke to Tim Horton about landscape sustainability, why working together doesn’t come naturally and why Australia’s design, technology and innovation policies are poor by global standards.