I have just returned from a four day workout for the brain. Tucked away in deepest Devon is this very beautiful place...
It's Dartington Hall and I was one of 50 odd designers spanning every discipline and age range, from the mid twenties to the late seventies, along with a peppering of 'wild cards' to spice things up a little.
Did you know that designers fall into three character types? Well apparently they do; The philosopher, the artist and the artisan. The Red, blue and yellow squares you see above where used to determine which category each designer fell into via an ingenious but highly suspicious questionnaire. I came out with an equal measure of each trait . And talking of colour we had bit of competition...
There was a Morris dancing convention.
But why were we there, and what were we doing? First a little background.
Eight years ago the Royal Designers for Industry dreamt up a special four day experience. It proposed to take 30 to 40 young designers - with between 3 to 10 years working life - away from their everyday environment. The plan was to challenge the perceptions of what a designer is or should be. It became the RDI Summer School. No conventional projects were set . Instead a range of abstract notions were put before the designers, forcing them to think laterally and question, question, question. Past students have said that the conversations were just as stimulating as the outcomes. Each year the formula has been subtly adjusted to keep an element of surprise.
The 2008 school dramatically changed when course directors, Chris Wise and Ed McCann opted to pose a real brief. Over four concentrated days, old and young worked side by side - with RDIs on an equal basis - to grapple with the relationship between the designer, society and the environment. This was a meaty subject which generated passion, anger and tears (the Summer school has a tendency to engender the latter). And what did we learn over those four days? Well, speaking for myself, I changed my view of what a designer could be. You see, you can teach an old dog a new trick.
Now safely back at home I feel a little bereft at not being plugged into the sheer power and enthusiasm that a bunch of hyped up designers can generate. It is wonderful and special and very moving. It has made me love designers even more - and that's remarkable. Just one of the outcomes of this concentrated period of time is this...
a blog that will shortly go live. Its aim is to hook up with the past alumni of the RDI Summer School to share creative minds to work on specific problems that could benefit from the unique qualities that the designer possesses. Environment and social issues, being at the forefront of societies problems will be tackled. A lofty ambition but one that I, and other members of the RDI Summer School, feel are very worthwhile and important. We can apply our minds to small things at first to help make a difference. The blog will also be used as a lobbying tool, and a forum for discussion and the hub for kick starting initiatives. If you are a past member of an RDI Summer School and want to volunteer to be part of Designers Unite do contact me via this blog. In the meantime some more loveliness...
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