Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Attracting and Retaining Design Talent Key Objective of Michigan Design Council
DETROIT –While it's only been a few days since the U.S. Department of Energy announced the creation of the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovations, the Michigan connection in that partnership is already pushing forward on an initiative it hopes will be a strategic move in the same direction.
That move, announced at the 2015 North American International Auto Show, is the Michigan Design Council, the formal membership of which is still being put together.
But that fact hasn't stopped the Michigan Design Council from announcing two specific initiatives it hopes will help attract and retain design talent in the state, which is already home to more industrial designers than any other in the U.S.
The first of those initiatives is a statewide design prize (as yet unnamed) to be organized by the Michigan Design Council. The Council plans to announce the winner of that design prize at the 2016 North American International Auto Show.
The second Michigan Design Council initiative is the creation of an area in Detroit where newly minted creative types can begin their careers, knowing there will be the kind of supports they need to succeed.
Organizers at the Michigan Design Council are envisioning a similar area in West Michigan.
"Grads don't have any place to go," said Jeff DeBoer, a vice president and principal at Sundberg-Ferrar. DeBoer is one of the key organizers of the Michigan Design Council.
More information on the Michigan Design Council, as well as the work of the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovations, will be announced in the near future.
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