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On Our Doorsteps: Local Design Activism

This touring exhibition and website coincided with the UK ‘Localism’ legislation (2012), forming new understandings of the re-emergence of ‘locality’ and its potential as a distinctive methodology in contemporary design. The project engages debates around co-design, collaborative knowledge and creativity, defining and exploring the social, cultural, economic and environmental benefits of varying interpretations and methodological processes of ‘design localism’. Such research engendered a touring exhibition platform on which exhibits were curated, dependent on the locality of the exhibition, providing a means of reforming, comparing and contrasting design methods in different localities. It also utilised a web-mapping and digital repository tool to enable the data-basing of exhibits as a ‘live’ process that took place at the exhibition venue.

The research project was instigated ‘locally’ in Brighton through a curriculum project that explored the theme of ‘design localism’, and included work of undergraduate and postgraduate students collaborating with community partners in the city. This resulted in new methodologies, social and cultural souvenirs, and sustainable products. REED PLC provided major sponsorship for the exhibition, resulting in a feature exhibit and a second leg of the tour to the UK’s largest design show, ‘100% Design’. As part of the London Design Festival (2012), the project mapped further actors and exemplars based in the UK and London, and formed part of an industry seminar series. The exhibition premiered product launches from leading designers, including Max Lamb, Hendzel + Hunt, and Dominic Wilcox, from companies such as the Farmers Market, and the launch of a training shoe from global sportswear brand New Balance. Participation in this exhibition led to invitations to exhibit in Ireland, Croatia, Korea, China and India.

The project featured in websites including ‘Core 77’ and ‘Scuola Italiana Design’ and in a feature article in ICON magazine (December 2012). SEE DIGITAL OUTPUT.