Local leading lights from the creative industries were out in force at the launch of the new Gloucestershire Design Network (GDN). The evening event, which took place at the trendy D-Fly Bar in Cheltenham, attracted around 35 invited guests. Guest speakers included Emma Heathcote-James founder of GDN, Roger Proctor, Chair of the South West Design Forum, John Brewer, lecturer in Graphic Design at the University of Gloucestershire; and Richard Hudson, founder of Digitalks.

The GDN will work as a regional offshoot of the internationally recognised South West Design Forum (SWDF), which has raised awareness across the UK and abroad of the region’s excellence in design talent and business.

Budding designers from the University of Gloucestershire will have the opportunity to become involved in the organisation and take advantage of the training and networking opportunities available. The GDN website features local and national design-related news, jobs, information on forthcoming events and courses, as well as a discussion forum.

Emma Heathcote-James from GDN said: “The Forum has many exciting projects in the making, this evening we are thrilled to launch the Design Train and many projects are underway which will be of interest and revelence to Gloucestershire design graduates and those new to the industry including a ‘Buddy Scheme’ to partner new designers in the industry with established professionals"

Nick Sargeant, Associate Dean at the Univeristy’s Pittville campus said, “Our award-winning design courses are amongst the best in the country and we want to ensure that we continue to work closely with the industry particularly through work placements and our visiting lecture programme. The Gloucestershire Design Network is going to be a hub for creative designers to meet and we are excited to be taking an active role in this new initiative.”

Roger Proctor, Chair of South West Design Forum, described Gloucestershire as at the centre of one of the most important creative regions in the UK, and spoke of the need to demonstrate design’s contribution to quality and innovation in all sectors of the economy. With statistics proving that higher performing companies consistently spent more on design, there is every reason to feel optimistic about the future of the industry.

A highlight of GDN’s first meeting was the announcement that new members will get reduced rates when applying for places on the Design Train ’09 series of training days. These are day-long courses run by designers for designers, and delivered at a choice of venues across the South West by industry experts in partnership with universities. Forthcoming topics include Project Management, Digital Imaging, Leadership and Management, Sustainable Design, and Service Design.

For more information and to join (free) the new Gloucestershire Design Network (GDN), visit the website at www.gdn.org