Our Sponsors

Serif launched in 1987 and built up a reputation for quality and reliability based on an award-winning range of software for PC – low-cost alternatives to high-end publishing and graphics packages.

However, in addition to being locked into Windows, years of development meant the software was becoming bloated, hard to maintain and unable to exploit the capabilities of the latest hardware.

Instead, the focus of development switched to a next-generation suite of lean, super-fast apps for creative professionals using Mac, Windows and iPad. The change meant throwing away all the old code and starting from scratch and it took almost five years until Affinity Designer, the first Affinity app, was released in 2014.

Affinity Photo followed in 2015 and the launch of Affinity Publisher in 2019 means Serif now boasts a full creative suite of applications covering photo editing, graphic design and desktop publishing. Affinity apps have won some of the biggest awards in the industry, gained plaudits from reviewers, and been adopted by over two million customers worldwide.

Serif employs around 85 people at its HQ in Nottingham, UK.

In 1932, when vehicle suspension engineer George Carwardine invented a spring, crank and lever mechanism that could be positioned with the lightest of touch yet would maintain its position once released, a blueprint for the first Anglepoise task lamp was born. The Anglepoise lamp has subsequently achieved iconic status and its engaging, anthropomorphic form is recognised and admired all around the world. From the creation of the Original 1227™ lamp, to the development of extended collections by esteemed industrial product designer Sir Kenneth Grange, to recent collaborations with renowned designers Paul Smith and Margaret Howell, incomparable British design remains at the heart of this progressive British brand. Today, Anglepoise lamps can be found in homes and of offices, restaurants, bars and hotels in more than 50 countries.

More than ever, we need to support our young designers and future talent but we must do so by encouraging creativity with a social conscience. Design has the power to make a positive impact on our world so if we want entrants to remember one thing when putting together their entry it is this quote from our friend and creative genius Sir John Hegarty: ‘Will the planet thank you?’

It’s been a tough year for all students and those in the early stage of their career but the last 12 months have hit those who are economically and socially disadvantaged the hardest. We particularly welcome entries from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds.

Creative Conscience inspires, trains and rewards creatives to apply their talents to socially valuable projects, promoting sustainability, freedom, social health and wellbeing.

We are a global movement that improves the communities we live and work in, helping to transform the wider world. We promote socially valuable, human centred design that enables and inspires people to change their lives and the lives of those around them for the better.

We do this through our platform, events, education, talks, webinars, workshops, membership model, with our annual global awards scheme and through partnerships and collaborations, all with the aim of providing inspiration and practical tools to create positive impact.

Some of our recent events have focussed on mental health and the benefits of creativity on wellbeing. Research we have undertaken has found that purpose driven creativity can lead to positive health rewards.

Our award scheme encourages young creatives to become the change makers the world needs and beyond the awards, we aim to bring some of the brightest and imaginable projects to life. We provide the tools, contacts and advice, encouraging the creators and their projects to create real, tangible impact in the world.

We are a charitable incorporated organisation, built by a community and founded by Chrissy Levett in 2012. We encourage, recognise and reward creative thinking from around the world, across the creative spectrum, developing concepts and projects that are in line with our aims.

“Working with New Designers is a natural partnership for Creative Conscience as we too put young creatives at the heart of everything we do through our work in creative education, workshops, webinars, awards scheme and events.

At this difficult time, we believe it’s vital for young designers to have a platform to showcase their work and shine and thanks to New Designers, 3,000 students will have this opportunity. We are honoured to be one of the sponsors this year, and through our award we aim to inspire them all to apply their creative talents to transform the world.”

Chrissy Levett, Founder

DCA is a world-leading product design and development consultancy operating globally from our headquarters in the UK. We help global brands and start-ups, improve the success of their product innovation. Over the last 60 years, our work in the Medical, FMCG, Commercial and Transport sectors allow us to adapt a unique set of disciplines to address almost every type of design challenge.

The combined experience of our researchers, industrial designers and engineers provide a deep understanding of the consumer, brand experiences, technical feasibility and sustainability. In the last 10 years, this has resulted in our clients being granted over 1700 patents and receiving 100 design awards.

Much of our work in FMCG is dedicated to product dispensing formats and structural packaging. We are experienced in developing innovative concepts in a broad range of formats from simple card structures to aerosols and complex digitally connected devices.

Ford of Europe is responsible for producing, selling and servicing Ford brand vehicles in 50 individual markets and employs approximately 45,000 employees at its wholly owned facilities and consolidated joint ventures and approximately 59,000 people when unconsolidated businesses are included. In addition to Ford Motor Credit Company, Ford Europe operations include Ford Customer Service Division and 19 manufacturing facilities (12 wholly owned facilities and seven unconsolidated joint venture facilities). The first Ford cars were shipped to Europe in 1903 – the same year Ford Motor Company was founded. European production started in 1911.

“The highest value in a company is its people. To get in touch with the best educated and most innovative designers, we support this event. If not here, where could you find your next generation talents?”

Amko Leenarts, Director Design, Ford of Europe

When Habitat opened its doors, there was a clear mission to make great design accessible, and with that, the British public’s relationship with furniture and homeware was forever changed. More than 50 years later, in an ever-changing home and furniture market, Sainsbury’s and Argos are well placed to continue the heritage of Habitat and future-proof this great British brand.

The Habitat Design Manager Andrew Tanner Graduated from the University of Brighton in 3D Craft and exhibited at New Designers in 1997. The Habitat Design Studio houses over 20 designers from across ceramics, illustration, furniture, lighting, graphics, typography and print. Eleven of the creatives in the studio all showed at New Designers which is why we are proud to sponsor the New Designers Exhibition for its 5^th consecutive year.

We’re makers, creators, crafters and shakers.
We’re forward thinkers, wordsmiths and dreamers.
We love the magic of making people happy
And we’re serious about creating the TA-DA!

“New Designers has most certainly fuelled our creative studio in many ways at Hallmark. We all have a direct or indirect association with the event as exhibitors, employees, sponsors, workshop hosts, judges and visitors. We understand the significance of New Designers as a great showcase for UK design talent and value our sponsorship of the event wholeheartedly.”

Eve Gray, Creative Development Director

We’re the John Lewis Partnership, a continuing experiment to create a better way of doing business. We’re driven by the extraordinary vision and values of our founder, John Spedan Lewis, who created our model of employee-ownership almost 100 years ago. He believed businesses would be more successful if employees were at the centre of everything they did. His vision means that today we’re more than employees, we’re owners of our business. That’s why we’re called Partners.

The John Lewis Partnership is the UK’s largest employee owned business and parent company of our two cherished retail brands – John Lewis & Partners and Waitrose & Partners. Everything we do is powered by our unique purpose, which puts the happiness of our Partners at its core. Our Partnership Values define how we work. Every one of us is committed to offering our customers quality products, great quality food and outstanding service, because for us, it’s personal.

John Lewis & Partners is passionate about the role design plays in responding to the changes in how we are living in our homes and the inspiration creativity can bring to our lives. The Home Design Studio at John Lewis & Partners is delighted to be sponsoring New Designers again this year & to have this opportunity to connect with designers at the very start of their career. We believe these connections have the potential to evolve into great working relationships in the future. Over half of the designers in the Home Design Studio exhibited at New Designers which makes this an especially personal and special event for us to be a part of.

Twin brothers, Antony and Richard Joseph, grew up in a family with a long history of design and manufacturing. The family business specialised in the production of glass components and the brothers spent part of their summers working in the factory as well as creating products in a workshop at home.

Having both trained in product design, the twins embarked on their early careers – Antony as a freelance designer and Richard as a design engineer at Dyson. As a sideline to their jobs, and with the support of their father, they utilized the capabilities of the factory in Birmingham to develop their own range of functional glass chopping boards.

But what started as a fun project, soon became the seed of a new business idea and, in 2003, the Joseph Joseph brand was born.

Whilst glass chopping boards were just the start, the brothers were also designing other innovative kitchenware products and this gradually developed into a broader range of housewares, including cookware, cleaning tools and waste management.

A core, problem-solving approach quickly became a key foundation of the brand and this was combined with a distinctive design aesthetic to create some of their most iconic kitchenware.

“From humble beginnings, the business has now grown to become an award-winning international housewares brand, sold in over 100 countries across the globe and with offices in London, New York, Paris, Dusseldorf, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

The whole Joseph Joseph team share the brothers’ enthusiasm for innovation and are passionate about bringing problem-solving products to as many households as possible.

We feel strongly about supporting fresh, new design talent and helping grow the design industry within the UK.”

Chris Pearce, Senior Design Manager

As a constant pioneer in British engineering, Kenwood has always combined a deep love of good food with a complete understanding of how people like to cook and eat. Ever since the first Kenwood product was launched in 1947, we have been the kitchen partner of cooks the world over. This has led to the design of products that have not only provided consumers with the iconic Kenwood Chef since 1950, but also multiple solutions to the challenges faced in today’s kitchens. Kenwood was founded on the guiding principles of quality, innovation and design. These principles remain steadfast today at the very heart of our company and our products. Our design excellence is what sets us apart. We quietly and efficiently take care of things – reliable, trusted, durable – supporting, encouraging and building confidence, and allowing the cook to focus on being creative.

“The Kenwood Design Office understand the challenges of being a new emerging designer starting out in their careers. We’ve all been there and appreciate that any support can benefit our futures. We’re also keen in promoting those passionate about our Company’s industry.”

Seán Sweeney, Senior Industrial Designer

As one of the UK’s home shopping pioneers, with over 50 years of experience under our belt, Lakeland offers an unrivalled collection of creative kitchenware, practical time and effort saving ideas for the home, and inspiring gifts from all over the world. Our Buyers search for innovative products that make life easier, before putting them through a rigorous selection and testing process to ensure they meet our exacting standards.

From everyday utensils and preserving essentials, to never-seen-before cookware and chore-busting ideas, if they’ve made it into our range, you can be sure they’ll be long-lasting and offer great value for money. We’re so confident of this that every item we sell is backed by our 3-year guarantee – if you’re not delighted with your purchase or our service, please tell us so we can put it right. It’s this dedication to superb service that has gained us such a loyal customer following over the years.

Founded in the early 60s, we’re still a family-owned business with the same strong values of quality and customer care now as when we first started. From selling plastic bags for home freezing from the Rayner family garage in Windermere, to over 4000 kitchen and home products today, Lakeland has grown to the extent that we now send out thousands of parcels a day from our Kendal despatch centre, and we have stores nationwide, stretching from Aberdeen to Truro, with more in the pipeline.

If you visit any of our stores you can be assured of a warm welcome, and when you call our friendly team in Windermere, you’ll always receive good advice and excellent service – our Customer Service team know the products inside out. We really hope you enjoy shopping with us and that you’ll love our products as much as we do.

Liberty is a movement dedicated to discovery, animated by arts, culture, design and the pursuit of beauty. Liberty London is famed for its original curation, directional design and celebration of craftsmanship. In the spirit of our founder, Arthur Lasenby Liberty, we remain unapologetically eccentric and committed to bringing good design to all.

“90% of our Design Studio are New Designers alumni. We are excited to be supporting New Designers for the first time and to discover and support young and emerging talent.”

Mary-Ann Dunkley, Design Director

Founded in 1972, Pentagram continues to be one of the world’s most influential design studios.

Comprising of twenty-five collaborative interdisciplinary designers working together as equals, partners’ work spans graphics and identity, architecture and interiors, products and packaging, exhibitions and installations, websites and digital experiences, advertising, and communications.

With offices in London, New York, Austin and Berlin, Pentagram collaborates with an international network of photographers, illustrators, writers, researchers and manufacturers.

“Since Pentagram began in 1972, we have always believed in the strength and power of the student experience. We are still practising educators and designers, and have all benefitted hugely from education – it has helped shape us both as individuals and as practitioners. Pentagram is delighted to support new New Designers, as it plays an important part in the design industry, nurturing those at the very start of their journey and launching the careers of many of the UK’s most talented young designers.”

Domenic Lippa, Partner

Renowned for its diverse range of fabrics, wallcoverings, trimmings and accessories, generations of experience and distinctive British design are the foundation of the Romo brand. Founded in 1902, in Nottinghamshire, UK, Romo is a family run business that has grown from humble beginnings to become a worldwide leader of interior textiles. Romo Group products are sold through an international network of interior designers and retailers in over 70 countries.

Since establishing its first in-house design studio in the 1980s, Romo has continued to evolve and expand. The Romo Group now houses six established, in-house fabric and wallcovering brands; Romo, Villa Nova, Kirkby Design, Black Edition, Mark Alexander and Zinc Textile, each with their own unique character and style.

Using both innovative technology and traditional techniques, Romo’s talented in-house design teams create exceptional printed, woven and embroidered fabric designs to suit a range of projects from domestic interiors to contract developments, as well as original wallcoverings, trimmings and accessories.

The future for The Romo Group is one of excitement and innovation. By combining our collective knowledge built up over generations with a fresh, innovative approach to design, we continuously come up with new ideas and designs for six individual brands, always keeping the needs of our loyal customers at the forefront of our ambitions.

“The Romo Group is committed to nurturing creative talent, employing many emerging designers across our six distinctive fabric and wallcovering brands.

The New Designers exhibition has consistently provided a fantastic platform for us to find new talented designers that are now creating imaginative designs in several of our in-house design studios. This injection of fresh talent is helping drive our brands to new heights of creativity.

Providing a stepping-stone for emerging designers and nurturing the skills of design graduates is in line with the company’s dedication to developing careers. After such challenging times, we feel it is now more important than ever to support up and coming designers striving to embark on a career in a field they are passionate about.

Romo is honoured to be a part of such an inspiring event and support the best emerging creative talent that the UK has to offer.”

Emily Mould, Design Director

Sanderson Design Group is an international luxury interior furnishings company that designs, manufactures and markets wallpaper and fabrics together with a range of ancillary interior products.

In 2019, we joined the Design for  Diversity pledge. Co-established by  Rukmini Patel and Kate Watson-Smyth,  showing the Design For Diversity  Pledge is an open acceptance that the  design industry, and our business, can,  and will, do more to promote diversity  within its workforce.

Silentnight is the UK’s largest and most trusted manufacturer of branded beds, mattresses and sleep accessories. With a wide consumer profile, Silentnight’s mission is to use its passion, product knowledge, exceptional quality and sleep expertise to provide sleep solutions for all the family.

Stannah is a world-leader in lifting products supplying stairlifts, passenger lifts, escalators and moving walkways, vertical platform lifts, goods and service lifts. It is one of Britain’s leading engineering companies and remains an independent, family owned and run firm. The company’s experience of the lift industry is unsurpassed, originating in cargo lifts in the 1860s. In 1975, Stannah designed the first affordable, quick-to-install and easy-to-use stairlift and has since sold over 600,000 stairlifts worldwide.

Stannah is run today by fourth generation joint chairmen Alan and Brian Stannah, who launched the revolutionary Microlift and Maxilift in the 1960s and the Stannah stairlift in the 1970s. Today they are supported by the fifth generation of the family – Jon, Patrick, Alastair, Nick and Helen – who are proud torchbearers for Stannah’s long-held family spirit and traditions.

Stannah now operates in more than 40 countries and has 12 subsidiaries overseas in countries including Holland, Italy and America.

“When people think of our company they often don’t realise that we have actually been around for over 150 years, always in the business of lifting and moving people. Our founder Joseph Stannah was a great supporter of education in engineering:

“It is undoubtedly the duty of every engineer to instruct their share of the rising generation, but it is also their duty to do it in such a way as shall conduce most to the general prosperity of the future”
Taken from Joseph Stannah’s letter to The Engineer, 1 February 1889

That doesn’t mean we are continually looking back though. We launched our Joseph Stannah Foundation in 2018 to support and promote engineering and related subjects as a career. Design is an inherent part of that. Working with New Designers allows us to continue Joseph Stannah’s vision 150 years down line and to look ahead to the exciting developments of the future.”

Libby Strutt, Group Communications Executive

The Conran Shop is the home of considered design and curated living. Offering a unique and distinctive blend of design classics and future collectables its innovative edit has inspired and excited visitors for generations. With a heritage spanning over 50 years, the Conran name has established itself as a brand synonymous with all areas of design.

The Marandi Foundation is dedicated to providing young people with access to opportunities that allow them to excel and reach their full potential. The Foundation seeks to empower those who may not otherwise benefit from such opportunities by providing them with the tools and support needed to accelerate their route to success.

Since 1973, The Conran Shop has been committed to supporting the design community. From events and panel discussions to building long-lasting relationships with up and coming designers and makers, as well as established industry names. The Conran Shop continues to champion innovation whilst ensuring the next generation can access its resources, experience and knowledge.

For over 90 years, wilko has been the go-to place for great value products that are both durable and on-trend, offering families affordable ideas for inside and outside the home to make their everyday just that little bit better. Little wins, we call them.

To help deliver those little wins, our buyers and designers are always looking to produce quality at affordable prices, making sure we always have product solutions that help families find stylish, affordable and useful touches for the home and garden. From cosy cushions and on-trend dinnerware that make the house a home, to handy storage and innovative gardening tools that make life easier, wilko has everything to help get those little jobs done!

Search online at wilko.com or come in and visit us at one of 400 wilko stores nationwide and find a little win or two of your own!