UK - A Track Record for Success

It is undisputable that the UK is recognised as a leader in for global innovation and the design industry. It is the versatility of talent that helps the UK produce an astounding variety of products and services, from interactive interfaces to corporate identities.

The nation’s famous designers include Jonathon Ive, the Senior Vice President of Industrial Design at Apple inc and the person renowned for designing the iPod. Another notable name is Thomas Heatherwick, who directed the construction of the UK Pavilion, known as the Seed Cathedral,  for the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai. Phil Pauley is also contributing to this international platform of designers with the Saudi Biome, a project that promotes ‘bringing the rainforest to the desert’ that critics have said could potentially be the largest BioDome in the World

To promote the design industry in the UK there is the annual London Design Festival. The festival is a cultural and commercial event that takes place in September that hosts ‘international exhibitions to trade events, installations to talks and seminars, from product launches to receptions, private views and parties’ (http://www.londondesignfestival.com/page/about). Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, claims that the festival is ‘the most vivid possible proof that London is the hub of the creative industries in the world’ (http://www.londondesignfestival.com/page/what-people-say-about-us).

With a rich tradition of excellence, and the ongoing innovations and designs that are present in the London Design Festival,  the UK is certainly a leading force for the design industry and global innovation.