Design Brighton is a network of people from a variety of creative disciplines. We believe in the value of design. We promote this through a series of regular meetings and events where people can connect, inspire and create.
For the past few months, members of the Design Brighton committee (Gem Barton, Tim Mitchell, Lori Pinkerton-Rolet, Jim Stephenson, Frances Tobin, Paul Zara and me) have been working feverishly to set the organisation up and put on the first events.
In December we held our launch party, with a knees up at TOM (The Old Market) that was attended by over 130 people, eager to find out what we have planned for 2013.
— Kyle Bean talking at the January event.
Our first ‘inspire’ event took place last night, featuring two speakers. Deyan Sudjic OBE (Director of the Design Museum) discussed his education and career as a design critic. He charted the history of presenting design in a museum/gallery context. He explained how the Design Museum grew from its base in the boiler room at the V&A, to getting its own home at Shad Thames in 1989, right up to today where development of the New Design Museum at the Commonwealth Institute on London’s Kensington High Street are well underway. As Deyan puts it; “We see the new museum as being a centre for British design, a place where tomorrow’s designers can learn about the design industry and be inspired to work within the design sector.â€
— The new Design Museum on Kensington High Street
The 2nd speaker was Kyle Bean, a Brighton based image maker whose images combine concept and craft. He spoke about how honesty and artistry guide his work, shared some of his recent projects, and took us through the processes involved in finding a solution.
— Kyle’s ‘Soft Guerilla’ images for Cut Magazine.
The aim of our first talk was to inspire, and both speakers really did this. The sold out event was really well received, and we are now working on the program of events for the rest of 2013.
We have a Design Quiz scheduled for Monday 11th February and an illustration event in March, where Brian Grimwood will be talking to Alex Leith (Viva Brighton) about his work.
As part of the committee, I have been involved in all aspects of Design Brighton’s inception, particularly on the graphic design side of things. I created the visual identity and worked on the positioning and structure of the organisation. I have also designed the posters, flyers (both expertly printed by Generation Press) and a holding webpage for each event. I intend to talk in more detail about creating the Design Brighton identity in another post, so watch out for that.
Events are split into three types.’Connect’ events aim to bring Brighton’s creative community together, and offer an opportunity to network and meet new people.’Inspire’ events feature people talking about their work and inspirations, and ‘create’ events offer the chance for people to come together and make something.
The whole committee has worked really hard, and we are looking to keep the momentum going through the year. If you’re in Brighton and are interested in joining us, you can find out more information about the next event on our website: designbrighton.org. Come along and say hello.
