QUT’s School of Design hosted the Queensland Design Policy Summit (QDPS) on June 9 in Brisbane to brainstorm ideas for a new strategy.

The summit rounded out the ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS 2016), from June 4 to 8, which is also on at QUT.

Conference chair Professor Marcus Foth said now was the right time to revisit Queensland’s last design policy, the Queensland Design Strategy 2020, which had an initial four-year plan that ran out in 2012.

“What we want to do at the summit is look at what was good about that last strategy, what required improvements, and what we need in a new policy.
“It’s hard to have an age of innovation without designers … good design is the linchpin between ideas, commercial success and sustainable outcomes.
“Innovative businesses often have designers at the core of their success who can translate technical and engineering ingenuity to innovation and who bring ideas to life.
“The Queensland Design Policy Summit will focus on the role of design in four areas – business, science, education and cities – and include panellists who are experienced in these areas and eager to contribute to a new policy.”

Panellists will include Queensland Government Architect Malcolm Middleton, Queensland Museums director Professor Suzanne Miller, artist and engineer Natalie Jeremijenko (New York University), innovation coach Robert Geddes (Australian Institute for Commercialisation), digital strategist Cat Matson (City of Brisbane), and QAGOMA head of learning Terry Deen.

Queensland’s Minister for Innovation, Science and the Digital Economy, Leeanne Enoch, will also attend the summit and provide the closing remarks.