“At the product design and innovation conference held at ExCel London last May, Henrik Otto from Electrolux announced that all the best ideas come from designers under 30 years of age, and in many ways he is right,” says Rob Dolton, co-founder of Industrial Design firm Dolton & Dex.

This is the first in a regular series of interviews co-published by British Design Innovation (BDI) and Product Design + Innovation, in which BDI members air their views about the industry.

Simon Hobbs is owner and managing director of BDI member Canard Design, the product design and engineering consultancy based in Kibworth, Leicestershire. In this thought piece, Simon outlines how British designers can help lead the country out of the economic doldrums.

Gary Davis is co-founder of BDI member Petrel & Porpoise Design, the Leamington Spa-based corporate branding, graphics and marketing consultancy established in 1984. In this BDI opinion piece, Gary outlines his views on the importance of designers retaining “design integrity” when talking to clients.

Gus Desbarats is chairman of British Design Innovation (BDI) and founder chairman of award-winning international design consultancy TheAlloy, where he has directed multi-project relationships credited with delivering strategic change to clients including Bic, BT, Dixons, Hasbro, HP, Intel, M&S, Toshiba and Virgin Atlantic. Here, Gus introduces how Industrial Designers achieve customer acceptance through the identification of user needs and the direct conversion of these into actionable innovation plans.

Phil Gray is a national board director of British Design Innovation (BDI), managing director of Quadro Design Associates and visiting professor of new product design and development at Middlesex University. In this BDI Opinion piece, Phil delves into his 40 years’ experience to underline why today’s manufacturing businesses need to utilise the power of design.