Design of the times (Dott)
Doors of Perception and Dott 2007
Doors of Perception's Director, John Thackara, is also programme director of Designs of the time (Dott 07), a year-long festival of social innovation and design which takes place in the UK during 2007.
Dott, an initiative of the UK Design Council and One North East, is about how an entire region might accelerate its transition to a less-stuff-more-people world.
Dott 07 is the first in a ten-year series of events, each in a different region or devolved nation of the UK. (Doors of Perception is engaged only to do the first Dott, Dott 07).
In Dott 07, communities across the region will explore new ways to carry out familiar, daily-life activities - supported by design.
People in a real street will explore how best to reduce their energy consumption, helped by designers.
People caring for elders will make media diaries as opportunity maps for service innovation. Some of these ideas will be developed into prototypes .
A school community will set out to integrate car-sharing and a “walking bus” service.
One inner city community will start growing food – and preparing meals together - tackling novel design challenges along the way.
Students right across the region will undertake design project to reduce the ecological footprint of 50 schools. They will work collaboratively with professional designers to do so.
Young designers from 30 countries will come to the region and work with local people on radical new forms of tourism: a twenty-first century B+B, wi-fi youth hostels, agri-tourism, and extreme sport nature parks.
For a spectacular event called Picture House, Dott 07 has invited celebrated new media artists to instal digital works at Belsay Hall, one of the region’s finest country estates.
The climax of Dott will be a two-week Festival, in October 2007, at which all the year's projects will come together to show what they achieved, and discuss what they learned. During the Festival the "Creative Community Awards" - or "The Commies" - will take place for the first time.
We are hopeful, too, that Doors of Perception 10 will be staged during this two week period.
Designs of the time is not about telling people in the North East of England how to live. On the contrary: its purpose is to enable local people - interacting with inspiring and visionary designers from around the world - to develop their own visions and scenarios for a prosperous and sustainable region.
Dott's most valuable legacy will be the people who stay behind, the projects they have started, and the design producer networks that develop as a result of its impetus.
Go to Dott07 site, sign up there for a free newsletter.
