The Design and Industries Association is a

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

whose object is to ''engage with all those who share a common interest in the contribution that design can make to the delivery of goods and services that are sustainable and enhance the quality of life for communities and the individual."''

20th century

Shortly before the

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

there was a growing awareness, among British designers, of the extent to which German industrial design had taken the ideals of the

Arts and Crafts movement The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and America. Initiat ...

(that had originated with

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

and others in Britain in the late 19th century) and had successfully moved these into the age of mass, mechanised, production. The German

Deutscher Werkbund The Deutscher Werkbund (; ) is a German association of artists, architects, designers and industrialists established in 1907. The ''Werkbund'' became an important element in the development of modern architecture and industrial design, parti ...

organisation's Cologne exhibition, held before the outbreak of war in 1914, had been visited by many of those designers, architects, retailers and industrialists who were later to found the Design and Industries Association.Rebels Against Commercial Ugliness, Peyton Skipworth, Apollo Magazine, Jan 2008 In March 1915 an exhibition of German manufactures was held at Goldsmiths' Hall in London. Shortly afterwards a meeting under the chairmanship of Lord Aberconway led to the foundation of the Design and Industries Association (DIA), with the express intention of raising the standard of British industrial design, under the slogan of "Fitness for Purpose". DIA promoted its ideals through lectures, journals and exhibitions. Exhibitions included: * 1920: ''Household Things'' - Whitechapel Gallery, London * 1942 - 1945: ''Design Round The Clock'' - travelling * 1953: ''Register your Choice'' - Charing Cross Underground Station The journals published varied through the period and included: * 1932: ''Design In Industry'' * 1933 - 1935: ''Design for Today'' * 1936: ''Trends in Everyday Life'' In its early years there was considerable tension between the attachment of some members to the principals of the

and the desire to promote the clearly 20th-century outlook of the

Modern Movement Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

. Having been heavily involved with the British government's Utility Scheme in the Second World War, DIA had campaigned for the greater involvement of government in the promotion of good design. Ironically, DIA itself was to be somewhat eclipsed by the foundation of the government funded Council for Industrial Design, now the

Design Council The Design Council, formerly the Council of Industrial Design, is a United Kingdom Charitable trust, charity incorporated by royal charter. Its stated mission is "to champion great design that improves lives and makes things better". It was instr ...

, in 1944.

DIA Today

Despite the predominance of the Design Council in the latter half of the 20th century, DIA continues its work today as an independent body, organising competitions, events and offering bursaries. In 1978 DIA, together with The Royal College of Art, The Faculty of Royal Designers for Industry and The Royal Academy of Engineering established the Sir Misha Black Awards to recognise excellence and innovation in design education.

Membership

DIA office bearers and members have included some of the most notable 20th-century British designers and manufacturers: * Lord Aberconway * Wenman Joseph Bassett-Lowke * Sir Misha Black *

Cecil Brewer Cecil may refer to: People with the name * Cecil (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) * Cecil (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Canada * Cecil, Albert ...

* Noel Carrington * Serge Ivan Chermayeff * Harold Curwen * Nanna Ditzel * Ambrose Heal * Charles Holden * Minnie McLeish * Harry Peach *

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (195 ...

Frank Pick Frank Pick Royal Institute of British Architects, Hon. RIBA (23 November 1878 – 7 November 1941) was a British transport administrator. After qualifying as a solicitor in 1902, he worked at the North Eastern Railway (UK), North Eastern Ra ...

* Jack Pritchard * Sir (Sydney) Gordon Russell * George Wilson-Crowe * Sir Lawrence Weaver * Hamilton T Smith irst director of Heals, designer

How to Choose the Right Association

Community – If the individuals engages in a community that is considered active then it can enhance the value of membership. Relevance – Consider the association’s relevance with oneself, this will ensure that it’s aligned with your personal interest with the design industry. Cost vs Value – Make sure to determine the fees against the benefits. This will ensure that the investment is worth it. Research – Doing research on the association’s reputation can influences one’s decision.

References

"Design and Industries Association." A Dictionary of Modern Design. Oxford University Press, 2004, 2005. Answers.com 13 Oct. 2008. http://www.answers.com/topic/design-and-industries-association "Nothing Need Be Ugly", The first 70 years of the Design & Industries Association. Plumber, Raymond. DIA London 1985

External links

The Design and Industries Association
{{Authority control Architecture groups British art Design institutions Organizations established in 1915