RDI Address 2021
Covid-19 has accelerated and clarified our times, asking questions of us all, of our structures and values and ways of being. The alignment of the pandemic with the climate emergency does not feel like a coincidence. From the personal to the collective, there is an opportunity to re-view, re-balance and re-frame our approach to the world and to each other. Through the development of products and experiences, systems and services, what is the role of the profession and practice of design and design thinking in facilitating positive change at this most fragile moment in our history?
Prior to the RDI Address, 9 new Royal Designers for Industry (RDI) and 4 new Honorary Royal Designers for Industry (Hon RDI) will be welcomed to the Faculty.
The title Royal Designer for Industry was introduced by the RSA in 1936 to promote the important contribution of design in manufacturing in industry, to encourage and reward outstanding practitioners, and to raise the profile of the design profession. Now regarded as the highest accolade for designers in the UK, it is awarded annually to designers of all disciplines who have achieved sustained design excellence, work of aesthetic value, and significant benefit to society. A maximum of two hundred British designers can hold the title and non-UK designers may receive the honorary title Hon RDI.
