The Chartered Society of Designers - Annual Review (London, 1991)

Director's report 1991 saw a positive advance in the state of the CSD. Considerable progress was made in responding to the principal challenges for the Society as identified by Council at the end of 1990: • to enhance the Society's image and use its voice to promote the cause of good design • to achieve better services for members • to improve the management of finances and staff There has been a successful focus on delivering better services for members, on achieving improved coverage of the CSD, its policies and activities within the design media and on continuing the reorganisation of staff and finances within the CSD. The main achievements for 1991 are recorded elsewhere in this report. Particular successes have included: • meetings with government ministers and civil servants and the preparation of a design policy paper • to advance the development of the profession, the standards of design and the level of services to members • to develop and put into effect a policy on design education and continuing professional development • to increase the effectiveness of the Society's links with business and industry, both as principal users of design and also as potential sponsors of the CSD programme • to continue to develop an active membership recruitment campaign in order to strengthen the Society's overall voice We live in difficult times and the need for an effective representation of the interests of professional designers is greater than ever. As this report shows, the CSD made good progress with achieving its aims during 1991. The Society is now building on these successes in order to develop plans for the 1990s which will enable it, with increasing effectiveness, to represent the interests of a maturing and developing design profession throughout the rest of the decade. • a strengthening of links with the European Commission with the Brian Lymbery Director introduction of a coordinated European designer's response to the EC green paper on the legal protection of industrial design • the reorganisation of the membership committee and of the assessment arrangements • the initiation of a membership recruitment campaign • publication of the new Design Review magazine, and the redesign of the Society's newsletter, Preview • production of the a-z leaflet of member services and benefits • introduction of the Society's revised Code of Conduct • launch of a new Professional Indemnity Insurance scheme (jointly with the DBA) • launch of 'Developing Design Excellence', a research project exploring the provision and requirement for continuing professional development in the design industry, administered by the Society and funded by the Department of Education and Science PICKUP Programme • a strong, well-attended programme of events and training seminars, fulfilling the Society's commitment to continuing professional development and addressing topical issues in the design world • firm progress in organising 'Design Renaissance', the 1993 International Design Congress The impact of the economic recession on the Society's affairs during 1991 has been greater than was originally predicted. Over 300 members were temporarily registered in the retired category because of unemployment and every effort was made to support them, particularly through the information department and with concessionary rates to relevant events and activities. These problems make the Society's positive progress during the year all the more remarkable. There was a continuing steady but slow improvement in the Society's financial performance. The results for 1991 show that the income and expenditure account was at last close to breaking even once again, before providing for the costs of depreciation. The Executive Committee has been able successfully to continue the difficult task of enhancing the range of services which the Society offers to members, while at the same time managing a very tight budget. In all of this I have been greatly supported by the Society's committed staff, now 14 in number. They have coped well with the pressures and demands on them and are all determined that the Society should succeed in achieving its important aims for the future of the design profession in the UK. The Society is able to look ahead to 1992 with increased confidence although real financial growth will not be easy to achieve until the recession eases. Council has agreed four principal aims for the Society's work in 1992: The Chartered Society of Designers annual review 1991

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