Design adds value – just ask Tesco’s

Tesco’s new Chief Executive Phil Clarke is quoted today as saying that the world’s third-biggest retailer needs to come up with new products and services and improve general merchandise ranges after falling short of its own expectations in a tough British market. At the same time, it is being reported that art and design is at risk of disappearing from timetables in many state schools as the national curriculum is slimmed down to focus on “core” academic subjects.

Rather than charging our schools and colleges to produce the next generation of product designers, education in the arts is in danger of being restricted to children at high-performing schools or with parents who can afford private lessons or clubs.

Michael Gove, the Education Secretary seems to think arts and design education is a “nice to have” rather than an essential like English and Maths. But the creative industries are, according to the Department for Culture, Media and Sports (DCM&S), “an important growth area in rebalancing the economy… Creative employment provides around two million jobs, in the creative sector itself and in creative roles in other sectors. Employment in the sector has grown at double the rate of the economy as a whole”.

Moreover as funding is redirected towards science and technology, it must not be forgotten that design plays an essential role in the realisation of many technological advances and scientific breakthroughs. When presenting our Designing for the Future Competition awards Kate Sharp, Faculty leader at Collyers Sixth Form College explained this relationship as follows :  “James Dyson famously said  “The teaching of quality design and technology is a vital requirement for the country’s future in the 21st century” …… “There is no division between the designers and the engineers. I couldn’t agree more. Without Design and Technology in the national curriculum and its progression to Product Design at A level our students experience at school and college would be a lot less enriching. As a subject Product Design is the perfect bridge between science and creative, innovative, design.  It is applied science in the design and development of the products that we need to live our everyday lives.  It’s no good just understanding how things work if you can’t then use that knowledge to innovate and create”.

A good example of this relationship (or lack thereof) can be found in assistive products. Gretel Jones, consumer policy advisor from Age UK,  frequently makes the point that whilst there are many devices available to help older people live independent lives, some of these are so ugly or stigmatizing that people just refuse to use them. This is why we need good, attractive design.

On its website the DCMS promises to “continue to work closely with other Government departments and agencies to make sure that there is an appropriate level of support available for the creative industries”. Does that include the Education department, I wonder. I hope so.

Image : The boiling mug by James Delve, Designing for the Future Competition