DIGMA Launch.

[Sam Aquillano]

Derek and I had the pleasure of attending the Design Industry Group of Massachusetts (DIGMA) Launch event: Design Innovation and the Economy. It was an inspirational afternoon at Microsoft's offices in Kendall square attended by industry leaders, designers, and government officials; all with the aim of increasing the visibility and vitality of the design economy in Massachusetts. It was a great forum for Derek and I to pitch Design Museum Boston. Derek spoke about the opportunities in educating K-12 students about design through the museum and it's programs. I spoke about the power of case-studies to educate the public and industry leaders about design and how a museum could be the home for those stories. We received a great response, with many folks interested in getting involved. Thanks to Beate Becker, founding director of DIGMA, for the invite and all the support!

Read a nice summary of the event. Photos from the event. Excerpt from the article:

The new, as yet fledgling group, DIGMA, defines its mission as follows: to promote the Massachusetts design economy. In its first six months, it has focused on reinforcing the mantra that ‘design thinking and practice is integral to the competitiveness of the industries of the Massachusetts innovation economy.’ Yet, as it explained in its invitation to the November 6 gathering, despite a wealth of talent interlaced across the Commonwealth, design has often been absent from discussions of economic innovation.

To set the table for the morning discussions, Beate Becker, who directs DIGMA, provided a series of snapshots of the design industry cluster in Massachusetts. “There are currently some 44,500 people working in the design industry,” she said, “which represents about 30-40 percent of the creative economy cluster,” according to figures from 2007. Those numbers increased during 2008, she said. To increase visibility, Becker continued, DIGMA is beginning to work with partners to develop self-guided design tours and design exhibitions in shopping malls throughout the Commonwealth. Read more.

[Sam Aquillano]

Good catch! Noted!

[Danielle Perretty]

Hey-- I see Richard in that photo. Where are the tags, guys? ;)

It was a great event with DIGMA and I was happy to see Sam and Derek able to make an announcement on the Design Museum.