Design Council

Established in 1944 to demonstrate the value of industrial design in reviving post-war Britain, the Design Council formerly known as the Council for Industrial Design is now an enterprising charity which works to improve people's lives through the use of design. Its founder was Hugh Dalton, the then President of the Board of Trade in the wartime Government. Its first major exhibition was 'Britain Can Make It' in 1946 with many more over the years. In 1972, the organisation changed its name to the Design Council and in 1976 it was incorporated as a registered charity by Royal Charter. Between 1949 and 1999, the Council published its own magazine entitled Design but it ceased publication after the summer issue of 1999.

Although not within the same governing body The Design Museum in Kensington, London, covers product, industrial, graphic, fashion and architectural design. The museum also operates as a registered charity and was founded in 1989 by Sir Terence Conran. It was originally located by the River Thames near Tower Bridge but later relocated to its present Kensington High Street site within a short distance of its kindred establishments namely the Royal College of Art, Victoria & Albert Museum, Science Museum, Natural History Museum and Serpentine Gallery.