Top designers to address national 'Déanta' conference in GMIT Letterfrack

As part of Irish Design 2015 (ID15), a national year-long programme loring, promoting and celebrating Irish Design in every form, GMIT Letterfrack is hosting a one-day conference on Friday, 30 October 2015, titled Déanta: Irish Design from Concept to Manufacture to Market.

The open event will be addressed by a cross-discipline selection of designers who will share their experiences of bringing designed products to market. While primarily aimed at young designers Déanta will be of interest to all interested in Irish design.  The event will function as a gathering of professional designers, design educators, and
researchers, and provide an opportunity for discussion and debate around issues relating to the Irish design industry today.

The conference aims to provide a forum from which to learn from the experiences of professional designers who have developed a product from an initial concept to completion and which has been launched onto the retail market, in Ireland or internationally. This interaction is an opportunity to inform future design practice.

Keynote speakers at the event are award-winning Irish designers/design consultants Peter Sheehan of Peter Sheehan Studio, and Seán Mc Nulty, MDat Dolmen.

Throughout the day there will be opportunities to meet withrepresentatives from Enterprise Ireland, the Crafts Council of Ireland and the Institute of Designers of Ireland who will advise on design ideas and funding opportunities.

A retail discussion will also be held with an opportunity to meet with online retailers Jonathan and Mark Legge of Makers and Brothers and the Irish Design Shop. To add to the richness and variety of the event there
will be a screening of two films; Maker is a feature-length documentary on the Maker Movement and its impact on society, culture and economy in the US, and the film Today which won Best First Short Drama at this
year's Galway Film Fleadh, directed by Connemara native Tristan Heanue.

“Déanta is a significant event on the ID15 calendar. It is a wonderful opportunity for designers to gather and benefit from the knowledge and experience of some of the best representatives of the design industry. Déanta is not only a design conference but a cultural event also, and we are delighted to host this in the magnificent setting of GMIT Letterfrack in the heart of Connemara.”  says Susan Rogers, Déanta Conference Co-ordinator and lecturer, GMIT Letterfrack.

Full details and tickets for the Déanta Conference, including anoptional conference dinner, are  available at
www.gmitletterfrackconference.ie To find out more about Irish Design 2015 go to www.irishdesign2015.ie