Previous events

2008

June: Profit from process - the boring bits get interesting Simon White and Jon Hamm from our hosts Momentum argued at our most recent Designer Breakfast that planning + process enables your best creative work. They looked at how love and money can work together, providing much food for thought about research, creative instincts and account management. Click here to read more about this breakfast.

May: Help shape a response to the Government's New Talents for the New Economy report Chaired by Nico Macdonald, design strategist and writer the breakfast concentrated on New Talents for the New Economy, the Government’s new strategy for a world-beating creative Britain. We invited Government representatives and key design commentators including the RCA’s Jeremy Myerson to debate our response to it and explored how policies can help small design businesses connect with the tens of thousands of SMEs who don't use design. Click here to read more about this breakfast.

April: New business development Rebecca Caroe, business-to-business sales and marketing consultant for creative agencies, knows that designers’ strengths do not always lie in new business development. Her bunch was packed with advice on skilling-up small design businesses to work smart at getting more projects and making better profits. The audience’s mix of relatively inexperienced design-led entrepreneurs, creatives with years of doing it themselves without any support and new business professionals working in design, was rich and useful.Click here to read more about this breakfast.

March: Design thinking, creative thinking. Steven Overman, director of integration at IPG Nokia, says every challenge is a design challenge and the act of creating a business is an act of design. Steven shared his secrets and a series of ‘before and after’ examples that show just what ‘design thinking’ makes possible. Click here to read more about this breakfast.

February: How to turn design averse SMEs into your hottest clients. Frances Hinton is an expert in what keeps SMEs owner-managers awake at night. And it’s not design. The former Business Link design advisor has worked with hundreds of SMEs and even researched SME perceptions of designers for 2006’s Cox report. She says that what worries SMEs is money and people. Click here to read more about this breakfast.

January: Sir George Cox Sir George Cox spoke about the future for small design businesses in a slowing economy, offering upbeat observations and arguing that there is a vast untapped market for designers on their doorsteps. Click here to read more about this breakfast.

2007

December: What a difference a niche makes For our Christmas breakfast we enjoyed an entertaining presentation from character branding specialist Dan Good. Dan’s company, Absolutely Cuckoo, creates characters for the BBC and major greetings card publishers. It’s just about to go into a second year of successful trading, having signed three major animation deals in twelve months. But it wasn’t always like this...Click here to read more about this breakfast.

November: Creative partnerships A discussion with business coach, trainer and facilitator Claudie Plen on how good partnerships rely on shared values, shared goals and effective communication (that's internally and externally). So take the time to talk with your partner and make sure you agree what your brand is really about so you can communicate it with your employees and your customers. Click here to read more about this breakfast.

October: To collaborate or not to collaborate: a winning way to work or recipe for conflict? A debate with author and business development consultant Kevin Duncan, Loewy CEO Charlie Hoult, British Design Innovation chief executive Maxine Horn and Lesley Morris, Design Council skills supremo. Click here to read more about this breakfast.

September: The deep design debate With Michael Wolff, co-founder of Wolff Olins and critic of design by process and demographics. Click here to read more about this breakfast.

July: From agency life to top of the games With Theodora Manzaris, creative director of the benchmark Athens Olympics

June: Selling your business and buying it back (twice) British born Eugene Bay on selling and buying back his Amsterdam based agency, VBAT, first to Young & Rubicam, then to WPP

May: New business clinic Sales experts Graham Rittener of In House Network and Cathy Verrieres of BABS, together with business development consultant, Kevin Duncan. Chaired by Madelaine Cooper

April: Working with writers A joint event with 26. The Writer's Neil Taylor and designer Rob Andrews of R&D&Co on the five things they hate about working with each other!

March: Sophisticated psychology v simple straight talking John McConnell and Paul Foulkes Arellano, two commercially successful designers with different approaches to client relationships

February: Refocusing your business Consultant Frances Hinton on taking a step back from the everyday. With case histories from Anita Brightley-Hodges of Still Waters Run Deep and Amanda Tatham of Tatham Design

January: What design can learn from advertising Freddy Baveystock, a former advertising planner with St Lukes, describes what he's brought to its sister company, design agency, The Nest

2006

December: Merry Christmas With Brian Webb of Trickett and Webb, doyen of Christmas cards and festive badges

November: A virtual success story Designer and commentator, Adrian Shaughnessy on the commercial strategy behind virtual consultancy, This is Real Art

October: The business of awards Multi-award winning designer and former D&AD president, Michael Johnson of Johnson Banks, on his experiences of winning and judging design competitions

September: British design in 2020 An interactive workshop With futurist Rohit Talwar of Fast Future. With John Corcoran of Wire Design for the Design Council

July: Building your brand Jonathan Mercer and Kate Fishenden, principals of Brand Guardians on branding’s most difficult project – defining your own.

June: Creative and commercial relaxed question and answer session with Aziz Cami of top WPP agency, The Partners

May: The power of people Recruitment consultant, Kimberley Kapner training consultant, Fiona Rassell and executive coach Gabriella Goddard in an informal HR clinic

April: Small is beautiful Joe Ferry, head of design at Virgin Atlantic, on the company’s policy of working with small design businesses

March: Client advocate Designers’ friend Former Pentagram partner, John McConnell, on seeing both sides of the client/designer relationship

February: A 10-point plan for successful client relationships With Pam Frazer from Business Link for London

January: What’s your problem? Consultants Rachel Smart and Alan Arnett advise in an expert clinic