New Designers has been showcasing the work of emerging design talent for nearly 40 years. Founded in 1985, the event has become the UK’s leading exhibition for up-and-coming designers, providing a platform for thousands of graduates to showcase their work and connect with industry professionals.

Explore the work of over 3,000 talented designers across a wide range of disciplines, from fashion and textiles to furniture and product design and discover the latest trends and innovations in the design industry. As the largest showcase of graduate designers in the country, ND offers an unrivalled opportunity for businesses to add such a high calibre of fresh designers to their talent pool. Find the next great addition to your team and streamline your recruiting process.

Week 1: 26 – 29 June 2024 

Fashion & Costume, Contemporary Design Crafts, Textiles, Ceramics, Glass, Jewellery & Precious Metalwork 

Week 2: 3 – 6 July 2024

Furniture, Product Design, Industrial & Spatial Design, Graphic Design, Illustration & Animation, Motion & Digital Arts, Game Design

Since launching the podcast two years ago, DBA Expert and host Claire Blyth has interviewed over 50 of the world’s leading designers, creatives and strategists about their lives in design. 

The podcast lifts the lid on their careers, starting each episode by asking when they first discovered that design was a ‘thing’ they could base a career on.

For some it was the influence and impact of graffiti or album cover art, for others it was a curiosity around packaging design, something else that sparked their curiosity –  many came to it quite late. This is partly why the podcast offers such valuable insights, especially for young people navigating their lives in design, and hearing that it’s not always a linear journey into the exciting world of design.

The series is now back in its fifth season, and kicked off earlier this month with design legend Mary Lewis, co-founder of Lewis Moberly, who joins a host of other big names, such as Brian Collins and Pentagram’s Paula Scher, in sharing her life in design so far.

Mary, in her first-ever podcast interview, shared deep insights into her life, from growing up on a farm in Shropshire, teaching graphic design, discovering adland, and going on to launch the ground-breaking design studio Lewis Moberly. “I was always fascinated by what went into brands to create them; the psychology that was involved really interested me,” reflects Mary during the podcast.

Her interview offers a unique glimpse into the thinking that has propelled her agency to have had such a significant impact within the design industry. “I’ve always been very self-motivated” reveals Mary, “I’m conscious of answering a brief, but I also have to answer to myself. That’s very important.”

Podcast guests this season

Catch up with Emily Rickard, CEO of BUCK, giving her take on the creative industries through the lens of production, fashion journalism, and reality TV, to leading BUCK where she works alongside some of the most talented artists in the world. “There’s a real curiosity built into the culture, which I think is wonderful,” she says, “everybody has the opportunity to learn; I’m still learning every day.”

Emily also points to BUCK’s work on the spectacular movie ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ as being a perfect tool to inspire the next generation of creatives (take a look here). “I’m really passionate about making sure that we continue to push diversity in our industry,” says Emily. “There’s so much untapped potential and talent out there,” she adds, recommending to young creatives that they should “find their own style” and “don’t be afraid to reach out to the companies that inspire you and see if there’s internships available.”

We also have Hamish Campbell, VP Executive Creative Director of Pearlfisher New York, sharing how he came to design fairly late but forged a path that led him to be approached by Pearlfisher to be part of their New York office. He also shares insights on how design students in the UK and the US differ.

Upcoming interviews promise even more valuable insights from industry figures such as jkr’s co-founder Ian Ritchie, Joy Nazzari, founder of DNCO, Joshua Breidenback, co-founder of Rice Studios, and Ekaterina Solomeina, co-founder of Future London Academy.

Subscribe and download ‘My Life in Design’ and please share so the podcast can help inform, educate and inspire young designers to achieve fulfilling careers in design.

One member focused on the development of new business in international markets:

• A realisation that there are too many agencies in the UK competing for the same work led one member to ramp up their work with international clients that ultimately enabled them to open a London office.
• The unique appeal of British design was noted as a valuable asset in international markets.
• There are cultural challenges, and things can be lost in translation, pushing people to speak to each other has been key in overcoming issues. Though the increase in remote working has also meant building relationships from afar has been easier than it was pre-Covid.
• The Department for Business & Trade have a wealth of resources and support and you can find out who to contact in each region here.
• There was a question around how to overcome a lack or experience in the market you’re entering. Answers around going back to the problem they need to solve and showing your expertise. Also, highlighting the fresh thinking you can bring to the table. 

Some other points were made in relation to new business:

• Investing in a dedicated marketing person has been key to one member being able to turn work away. If the marketing flywheel takes two years to get up and running smoothly, could a dedicated hire be the right way for your business to focus on marketing activity that will result in new business? There was mention of previously doing marketing in the gaps which presents all sorts of challenges.
• One member shared that they’ve found marketing much easier now they’ve repositioned and become more strategic – having a clear proposition and a great team to follow it through has led to their success. 
• This isn’t just something you do once and file it away, you’ll repeat this process of redefining your offer over and over. It’s also helped one member to have more confidence in their conversations with senior decision makers. 
• The trigger for repositioning was the risk around having too much work tied up with one client – if that work walks out of the door it’s very bad news.
• One DBA Expert suggested creating a marketing plan that you can sustain over time and that’s exactly what one member has done with their weekly newsletter that has a great reputation.
• Rather than solely focusing on differentiation, emphasis should be placed on being relevant to target audiences, a strategy deemed more effective in engaging potential clients by one DBA Expert.
• Re-watch last week’s webinar for expert advice on failsafe methods for new business success that Blair highlighted in the January Forum and you’ll find we covered emotional consistency in more detail. 

There was much, much more covered in the hour – you really had to be there. Do make sure you join us in our next DBA Members’ Forum on Monday 8 April at 4pm BST, look out for an email from me in a few weeks with more details. If you would like to attend, get in touch here. 

We’ve captured the conversation highlights from the all the Members’ Forums which have taken place and they can all be found here.

• In short, the methodology in the book suggests you shift your thinking from an annualised plan of attack, where you think you have all the time in the world to get things done and quarter four becomes a nightmare (!), to redefining your timeline to shorter periods to encourage high productivity.
• The ideal period he says is a 12-week period that is linked to a longer-term 3-year vision which is ‘scary’ and aspirational. Start with the vision and work back.
• Michael suggests using the energy you have at the end of your year, when time is tight and targets need to be hit, and applying that principle to a 12-week timeframe enables you to achieve more.
• It means you don’t lose track of what you need to do on a daily basis to achieve your goals. 
• Maintaining the energy and momentum over 12-weeks is easier than when you have an annual plan – hit your targets in the first 12-week cycle, you have the motivation and momentum to apply it again and achieve more. 
• Michael suggests starting with thinking about what you want your life to look like, an aspirational goal that is far enough away that you don’t think of how you’ll get there.
• Then taking an ambitious vision that gets you closer to that aspirational goal. Don’t limit yourself, choose something that scares you a bit, because if it doesn’t then that suggests you already know how to get there. An ambitious vision is one that needs you to think differently and creatively about what you do and how you do it. 
• Then you can think about your professional life, how your next 3 years will get you closer to that aspirational goal. Next, plan how each year will look and bring it back to 12-weeks that you measure and track constantly. 
• Things can slip off track if you’re not fully tied to your vision – so that really is the key and tied to your aspirational goal. 
• This methodology works with personal or business goals or a mix of the two.
• Working with the 12-week year at an organisational level aligns the team behind one vision and forces you to confront confusion and divergence, deal with it in the team and make sure your tactics are well resourced and realistic.
• You can buy the book here and Michael kindly offered DBA members a $1000 discount on the Accelerator Programme, reducing the price to $997. 

There was much, much more covered in the hour – you really had to be there. Do make sure you join us in our next DBA Members’ Forum on Monday 4 March at 4pm GMT, look out for an email from me in a few weeks with more details. If you would like to attend, get in touch here. 

We’ve captured the conversation highlights from the all the Members’ Forums which have taken place and they can all be found here.

• Blair gave us the top three habits he sees in businesses that can weather any storm. First up was marketing consistency. You need to know where your next client is coming from, even when times are good. You should be actively seeking new business, even when you don’t have the capacity to take it on, even saying no to good work because you don’t have the capacity.
• Blair used a flywheel analogy – it might be tough to get the momentum going at the start, but once on the move it takes much less effort to keep going. He thinks it can take 2 years to get it spinning well.
• So many businesses have a utilisation issue – they’re probably just a little bit too big. It might seem counterintuitive but turning down new business is a good position to be in. 
• One member asked about the best way to turn work away and Blair suggested remaining authentic and honest. ‘We’re simply not in a position to do this work at the moment, can it wait? Can I recommend someone else?’ More often than not, it will make them want you more. 
• His second insight was that principals are always involved in new business. As your business grows, you recruit people to take over many of the hats you once wore, but new business should be one of the last things, if ever, you fully step out of. 
• Third, and last, Blair discussed emotional consistency. Don’t let anyone see how badly you need the work. 
• Blair didn’t see a difference in these three core principles in smaller or larger businesses. He noted that as firms get bigger, there is more infrastructure built around new business and pitching which, in his opinion, is counter to how it should be.
• As an industry we need to focus our attention on warm leads, the ones that are consistently visiting our websites or reading our stuff. Do you follow up? 
• In answer to a question on how much to spend on marketing – have a listen to this. 
• Blair challenged the audience to be more specific about what they do and for whom – the age old positioning challenge. Though perhaps your business is the exception to this rule?
• And if you’re worried about the ‘bait and switch’ issue of clients buying you as an owner but the work being delivered by others, then take Blair’s advice (which he struggled to take for himself) and communicate well that you hire the very best people to do their work, and you have oversight of everything that leaves the studio.
• If you don’t already subscribe to Blair’s mailing list, sign up here. He’s kindly shared a free chapter of Pricing Creativity with DBA members and some helpful videos too. 
• For more expert advice, members can check out our webinar recording where we look at the four pillars of business success – watch here.

There was much, much more covered in the hour – you really had to be there. Do make sure you join us in our next DBA Members’ Forum on Monday 5 February at 4pm GMT, look out for an email from me in a few weeks with more details. If you would like to attend, get in touch here. 

In our January Members’s Forum, Blair Enns shared his insights into the top three habits he sees in businesses that can weather any storm. In this month’s meeting, Deborah will be shining a light on some DBA Members who are living this reality in their day-to-day work.

We’ve captured the conversation highlights from the all the Members’ Forums which have taken place and they can all be found here.