FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 20 May 2025
PHOTO CALL: Wednesday 21 May, 4-5pm at EH9 Annfield, 94 Annfield Road, Dundee, DD1 5JH with Design Lives Here supporters.
Please contact elizabeth.day@leisureandculturedundee.com with any questions.
NEW SCHEME CONNECTS LOCAL BUSINESSES TO DUNDEE’S UNESCO CITY OF DESIGN STATUS
Supporter scheme, called Design Lives Here, launched by UNESCO City of Design Dundee showcasing individuals, businesses and organisations in the city
Website link: https://cityofdesigndundee.com/design-lives-here/
Socials: @designdundee
Design Lives Here is UNESCO City of Design Dundee’s new free supporter scheme which celebrates and showcases individuals, organisations and businesses in Dundee who champion design, work with designers and believe in the value of design. In short, this is an opportunity for workplaces to distinctly align themselves with Dundee’s UNESCO designation and show their audience that they proudly support design in the city.
Crucially, this scheme isn’t just open to traditional design businesses, but anyone who champions design within their work. Supporters include practicing designers, those running design centred businesses, but also those who support design through the way they work – such as hiring a designer for a rebrand, using a design company for a website, commissioning a designer to produce corporate gifts, or the implementation of design-thinking methods in decision making. Some have worked with an architect to redesign their office space, and furnished interiors with the work of designers. These and much more are all working styles this scheme champions!
All the Design Lives Here supporters have demonstrated a commitment to six charter principles:
- Practice responsible consumption and production methods
- Promote, champion and collaborate with local design talent
- Grow your knowledge and understanding of design by learning from others, locally and internationally
- Show a passion for design that engages people
- Support the local creative economy through the principles of community wealth building
- Raise awareness of UNESCO City of Design Dundee
Design Lives here supporters include local businesses, organisations and individual designers from across Dundee including:
- Specialist coffee-bar EH9 Espresso, whose new store on Annfield Road was designed by local freelance creative Camillo Atlas.
- Cohere Spaces, owners of the Flour Mill, an exciting and dynamic coworking and serviced office space right in the heart of Dundee’s city centre.
- Claire Grainger of Grainger PR, a public relations specialist working with clients across the culture sector including Joanne McFadyen, founder of pop-up design market Tea Green Events.
- Videogames developer 532 Design who create design-led sports games for mobile and web players, specialising in crafting immersive gaming experiences.
- Freelance illustrator and printmaker Lauren Morsley, whose designs are stocked in stores across Scotland, England, Germany and the USA.
Annie Marrs, Lead Officer at UNESCO City of Design Dundee said: “There are lots of brilliant businesses all across Dundee who are using design and working with designers every single day. This new initiative is a fantastic way to celebrate those businesses, organisations and individuals that are embracing all sorts of aspects of design.”
Design Lives Here is delivered by UNESCO City of Design Dundee and part-funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Identity and graphic design by Stein Design.
UNESCO City of Design Dundee is supported by a partnership between Leisure & Culture Dundee and V&A Dundee.
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