design foundation

The Design Foundation is a not for profit organisation established to present agIdeas International Design Week annually. Founded by Ken Cato in 1991 and run by a Board of Directors, agIdeas seeks to encourage excellence in design and promote design driven innovation. The event is endorsed by Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI), the world’s most prestigious industry body, and its members.

agIdeas is organised by a committee of young designers under the aegis of Ken Cato, past AGI president and past AGI Education Director. Ken is the founder and chairman of the Design Foundation. The committee provides a core group of students each year with an exceptional opportunity to develop the skills necessary to stage a world class design event. These young people act as ambassadors to visiting designers and establish networks around the world from which many have gained employment and work experience.

Philosophy - Design is Difference

Through agIdeas International Design Week the Design Foundation contributes to the promotion of design-driven innovation by
• Helping business better understand how design can contribute to value creation and become a basis for competitive advantage
• Building awareness of good design within the general public so they are more demanding of design and in turn drive sector reform and increase competitiveness
• Supporting the professional development of designers, both established and emerging and helping them to integrate design business models into their practice thus building a more vibrant and professional design industry
• Strengthening the academies by providing design educators with cost effective professional development based on exposure to design innovation from an industry perspective
• Enhancing the calibre of the design workforce by motivating the best students to consider design as
a career option
• Building the reputation of the host city as a design centre

agIdeas provides inspiration for those who make it a priority to provoke our thinking, stimulate our senses, fire our imaginations and show us how to make our businesses more profitable. Ken Cato, Chairman, Design Foundation

Celebrate the Difference within Design

Since 1991 agIdeas has demonstrated that design excellence is inspired by creativity in the broadest sense. For this reason the agIdeas program explores a diverse perspective of the creative industries and celebrates what this diversity has to offer.