The International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID) announced the election of Dr. Brandon Gien from Australia as the new President for the 2013-2015 term at the close of its XXVIII General Assembly on 19 November 2013 in Montreal, Canada.

Dr. Gien is the first Australian to hold this post in the organisation’s 55 year history and will lead an international board of directors for a two year term.

“It is with a pounding heart, a head bursting with fresh ideas and an unwavering passion for design that I embark on a journey to lead this organisation,” stated Dr. Gien. “There is without doubt a design renaissance happening around the world, where the profile and importance of design is shifting to a new level. Design is now being understood and embraced as a driver for positive change in areas of business, industry, government and more importantly, at a societal level.

We must ensure Icsid continues to be a leading player in promoting the value of professional design in a world that needs it more than ever. Most importantly, we need to reinforce this message with authority, credibility and above all – dignity.

It is vitally important that we place even more emphasis on our profession and leverage the leadership role industrial designers are playing in pushing the boundaries of design into corporate strategy and design-led innovation.

I look forward to working with a new board that will bring fresh thinking and help explore a new definition of industrial design and formulate a new model to engage with professional organisations in these exciting and rapidly expanding areas of design

I have very high aspirations for this term and the Board members joining me, to design the roadmap ahead for Icsid to ensure this organisation matters today as much as it will in 50 years time.”

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