On Feb 1st, we had the pleasure of attending the Design Leaders Conference, hosted by Design Skillnet, at the Light House Cinema. Over 100 design thinkers and leaders from the Irish creative sector gathered for a day brimming with engaging discussions, shared knowledge, and thought-provoking talks, offering inspiration, new ideas, learning opportunities, and actionable takeaways.

"We are the leadership driving the change," remarked IDI CEO Charlotte Barker, encapsulating the key theme of the event - Design as The Act of Leadership - and urged designers to embrace true leadership in their field. “We need to move from being reactive to being proactive: take control of our purpose, our values and our motivation and drive our businesses and our teams forward.” 

From challenging industry norms to envisioning bold strategies and fostering collaboration for societal change, every moment of the conference was packed with inspiration and actionable insights.
 

It was also an opportunity for Charlotte to underscore the significance of positive changes and strategic positioning of design at government level with Designing Better Public Services and Digital Creative Industries Roadmap, signalling a commitment to supporting the design industry and recognising its importance by Government.

Charlotte shared that Enterprise Ireland has appointed a development advisor, specific to the commercial creative services sector, to work with the IDI on a program of work to support the design industry. With plenty of other IDI leading initiatives to support Design Businesses, Sustainability in Design, design graduates, early careers and recognition by all that “design matters and design works”, there are plenty of positive, potentially transformative, measures forthcoming for designers and leaders.

 

Join IDI today to lead the Change with us!

 

You can re-live the Design Leaders Conference in pictures, courtesy of Debbie Hickey, Studio Ten Photography.

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