Design History Society
Officers’ Reports for AGM 2010
pp.
Chair’s Introduction……….. 2
Treasurer’s Report……….4
Journal Report………. 6
Membership Report……….9
Essay Prize Report……..10
Research Award Report……...11
Student Representative Report……..12
Teaching and Learning Officer’s Report……..13
Secretary’s Report………14
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DHS Officers Reports for AGM 2010
Chair’s Introduction: 2009-10, and planning ahead to 2012
This report to the AGM summarises the activities of the Design History Society during
the year since our meeting at the DHS Annual Conference in Hertfordshire in
September 2009. Officers of the Executive Committee, as Trustees of the Society, report
on their roles and activities since 2009 and also, in part, outline their role-defined aims
for ongoing work.
Since our last meeting in Hertfordshire in 2009, the Executive Committee has happily
reached full capacity, with new Membership Secretary and a new Teaching and Learning
Officer. Both have been very welcome colleagues and have joined and commenced work
for the Society with considerable energy. We have also been very fortunate to have in
post a highly committed Treasurer, who initially doubled as Secretary as well. The work
of the Society in supporting and promoting the teaching and study of and research in
Design History has continued through these changes. The Chair and Deputy Chair
collaborated with collegiate associations – the AAH and the SAHGB – in a joint
response to HEFCE’s REF consultation. This can be accessed via the Society’s website.
As a nominating body, the Society will continue to contribute to the REF process,
endorsing relevant applications to chair the REF sub-panel where our subject will be
assessed, and in nominating panel members.
In the spirit of collaboration, the Society continued work with the RCA, sponsoring the
annual Reyner Banham lectures: this May, Alice T. Friedman, of Wellesley College,
presented her paper on “American Glamour: Philip Johnson, Eero Saarinen, and MidCentury Modern Architecture”. The Society has also collaborated this year with sister
organisation the ICDHS (International Committee for Design History and Design
Studies) in support of their 7th Conference to be held in Brussels later this month. The
Society has sponsored one keynote speaker, the conference reception and has awarded 5
bursaries in support of student speakers. Next year’s DHS conference may also offer an
opportunity for liaison with Fundacion Historia del Diseno, in Barcelona, though this is
yet to be confirmed.
There have been two new and exciting initiatives this year: the Teaching and Learning
Workshop and the Regional Seminar Series. Both events will be sustained through
regular meetings and promise to bring together new networks of teachers and
researchers of design history. The DHS facebook network grows, as does our association
with postgraduate student events; our website has been renewed and the Society will
soon progress to publishing its newsletter as a pdf for easier, more sustainable and,
hopefully, wider circulation.
The Society’s aims for 2010-2011 include:
Journal: Editorial Chair and Society Chair
 overseeing the smooth transition of the Journal from the current to a new
Editorial Chair/Secretary by end of 2010;
Chair, in liaison with Treasurer
 working towards a business plan to establish a fixed administrative assistant and
premises and a programme of public events and /or awards that continue the
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DHS Officers Reports for AGM 2010
constitutional aim of the Society to promote and support teaching and learning
and research in design history;
Secretary
 formulating a strategy for archiving the DHS papers and arranging for and
establishing a permanent home for a DHS archive;
Essay Prize Officer
 enhancing the promotional activities around this award to attract increased
applicants;
Student Representative
 enhancing postgraduate work in design history through further research seminar
series and conference;
Teaching and Learning Officer
 continuing with the newly launched, and very attractive, Teaching and Learning
Workshop;
The next year promises exciting work for the Design History Society and I look forward
to working with my colleagues on the Executive Committee. Furthermore, I look
forward to meeting, and working with the Society Membership where possible. Many
thanks go to the Society membership for its commitment and to my colleagues on the
Executive Committee for their collaboration. My special thanks go to Eleni Bide, who
worked through the Executive Committee: from Secretary to Secretary + Treasurer and
finally to the role of Treasurer; her commitment to maintaining the work of the Society
has been outstanding.
Dipti Bhagat, Chair, 1 September 2010
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DHS Officers Reports for AGM 2010
Treasurer’s Report for Financial Year ending 31 December 2009
I assumed the role of treasurer in late January 2010. During the previous financial year
the Society did not undertake any large, one-off projects which required extra funding
(such as the rebranding which took place in 2008). Expenditure was confined to the
Society’s ongoing commitments, as shown in figure 1. Several items for which funds
were committed do not appear in the 2009 figures, as payment arrangements were
made in the following year. These included legal and professional fees, and awards. The
accounts for the 2009 conference have not been finalised, and these should also appear
in next year’s figures.
Trustees' expenses
£ 1,331.19
£ 405.97
Stationery, postage etc
£ 5,206.50
PhD Award/Research grant
Newsletter expenditure
PhD scholarship
Oral History Project
Miscellaneous
£ 668.73
£ 7,816.00
£ 2,084.50
£ 2,590.11
Figure 1. Expenditure 2009. Total: £20,103.1
Despite the financial constraints many higher education libraries are now facing, the
income generated by the Journal of Design History continued to grow, reflecting the
excellent work of the editorial board and Oxford University Press. The income
generated by the Journal in 2010 has also grown, and is expected to stand up well in a
difficult market.
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DHS Officers Reports for AGM 2010
income
£ 56.36 £ 2,763.00
Subscriptions received
Journal DH profit share
Bank interest
£ 34,823.00
Figure 2. Income 2009. Total = £37,642.36
The Society has also maintained the funds in its reserve, in keeping with its reserve
policy.
Account name
Scottish Widow’s Treasury 60 Day’s
Notice Deposit Account
Abbey Business Account
Abbey Reserve Account
Balance Year End 2009
£65,056.91
£437.56
£34,627.94
The above figures show that the Society has available funds to invest in extra projects to
further its constitutional aims of promoting the teaching and study of and research in
design history. It is hoped that many of the new projects already in train, such as today’s
teaching and learning workshop, will flourish and provide a focus for funding. In
addition, the Society also has sufficient funds in the medium term to employ a general
administrator to assist with the tasks carried out by the executive and make the Society
a more productive institution. Any such administrative post may also entail the cost of
property rental to ensure that the Society has permanent, secure and accessible office
space to utilise.
The schedule to the statement of financial activities, as prepared by the Society’s
accountant, can be made available to members of the Society. Please contact me if you
require a copy, or if you have any other questions regarding the accounts, at
eleni.bide@thegoldsmiths.co.uk.
Eleni Bide, Treasurer, September 2010
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DHS Officers Reports for AGM 2010
Journal Report
The Journal of Design History, published four times a year by Oxford University Press
by agreement with the Design History Society since 1988, is in its 23nd year.
(www.oxfordjournals.org/jdh). The back archive is accessible on-line to individual
members of the Society.
In 2009 total circulation of the Journal increased to 3342 sites (3193 in 2008)
including 543 (547 in 2008) full-price JDH institutional subscriptions, 1926 (1806 in
2008) institutions as part of consortium agreements and 654 (595 in 2008) gratis or
discounted subscriptions in developing countries. However, personal and DHS
individual membership subscriptions fell for the second year in a row from 245 to 219.
Circulation remains roughly equally spread between Europe, North America and the
'rest of world'.
On-line usage increased dramatically for the third year running, with 59,832 full text
downloads of articles (41,000 in 2008). 1673 individuals have signed up for electronic
notification of contents (1570 in 2008). A shift to on-line access has continued, with
87% of subscribing institutions on-line access only. While subscriptions involving
receipt of a printed copy have remained pretty stable, they remain fewer than 800.
While JDH circulation grew less in 2009 than in immediately preceding years,
circulation and income have performed well compared to most humanities journals.
Income to the Society from members subscriptions and a 50% share of profits was up
substantially at over £39,000 for 2009 (received by the Society as income in 2010; see
Treasurer’s Report for details). OUP projects that revenue estimates for 2010 will be
met (providing the Society with income in 2011 at or near current levels.) Anticipated
restrictions on library expenditure have yet to impact on this Journal but may curtail
further increases for a time and even lead to reductions in DHS income from 2012.
Oxford University Press Journals have so far been successful in maintaining consortium
sales levels and JDH-specific institutional subscriptions have remained stable. The
decline in individual membership, however, is a matter for concern which needs to be
addressed, and offering a lower-cost option with on-line access only could help reverse
this trend (if it includes full access to the back archive, important for authors and
lecturers.) OUP has now made available technology which will permit e-re publication of
extracts from the journal to professional and/or student audiences, the Society can now
consider how to best exploit these possibilities to boost involvement (e.g. via Facebook)
and membership.
Oxford Journals, the DHS and the Editorial Board have made new efforts in 2009 to
add value to the Journal. Following the move to a larger and more open format in
2009, from the beginning of 2010 the JDH now appears full colour in print as well as
on-line, with no charge to authors for the reproduction of colour originals. This decision
was made to aid the Journal in competing for authors. The inclusion of colour cover
thumbnails has also added to the attractiveness of our popular review features. To speed
implementation, the Society made a one-off contribution toward the additional costs
incurred, as colour in print had not been in included the 2010 budget.
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DHS Officers Reports for AGM 2010
Thanks to an increase in submissions of some 25% and active commissioning of reviews
and other features by editors, average issue size has increased slightly. We make
increasing use of e-publication before print to maintain currency. Publication in the
Journal remains selective, with publication of about one-third of submissions, which are
received from a wide range of geographical and disciplinary locations. At least four
double-blind referees reports are required for submissions, processed by a electronic
manuscript management system which facilitates refereeing by widely spread editors
and referees. JDH features include shorter papers on ‘re:focusing’ design’ and
‘re:viewing design literature,’ a series of short articles concerned with ‘archives,
collections and curatorship’ (overseen by Reggie Blaszczyk) and practice, as well as a
expanded range of reviews and review articles commissioned by Deborah Sugg Ryan.
JDH Special Issues continue to play a role in shaping the field of design history and
extending involvement in the editorial process. A special issue in press re-assessing
design historiography was published in 2009, issues on the design of uniforms and on
emigrés in design history are in preparation, and calls for papers have been issued for
issues on Victor Papanek and on design for the Olympics. Proposals for Special Issues
may be made for consideration by EB, which also invites proposals in priority areas of
development for the subject.
The JDH Editorial Board comprises eight influential scholars who are selected in
agreement with the Design History Society from annual applications to serve terms of
five years, complemented by co-options for balance and continuity. The Society
welcomes applications from around the globe to join the EB from scholars of any
relevant specialism. Nine people applied to join the EB in 2009, with four
appointments. A list of current EB members is attached. The Journal is currently
recruiting further new EB members including a new Chair of the Editorial Board, a
Managing Editor and a Reviews Editor.
Tim Putnam, Chair and Editorial Secretary, Journal of Design History Editorial
Board, September 2010
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DHS Officers Reports for AGM 2010
JOURNAL OF DESIGN HISTORY:
1. Editorial Board Members
ex-officio (DHS
Chair)
Dipti Bhagat
d.bhagat@londonmet.ac.uk
London Metrepolitan University
Reggie Blaszczyk
reggie.blaszczyk@gmail com
Rutgers University–Camden &
University of Pennsylvania
Cheryl Buckley
cheryl.buckley@northumbria.ac.uk
University of Northumbria
Kjetil Fallan
kjetil.fallan@ifikk.uio.no
University of Oslo
Javier Gimeno
Martinez
javier.gimeno@arts.kuleuven.be
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Yuko Kikuchi
y.kikuchi@chelsea.arts.ac.uk
University of the Arts London
Peter McNeil
Peter.McNeil@uts.edu.au
University of Technology Sydney and
University of Stockholm
Tim Putnam
arcanhac@mac.com
University of Portsmouth
EB Chair
Deborah Sugg Ryan
deborahsuggryan@mac.com
University College Falmouth
Reviews Editor
Artemis Yagou
artemis@yagou.gr
AKTO art and design Athens
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DHS Officers Reports for AGM 2010
Membership Report
There are 197 active members at present. 25 of these are from the Editorial Board and 15
are institutions (although many more Institutions subscribe to the Journal of Design
History).
However, there are 61 expired memberships, which have not been renewed this year. It
seems that this large number of non-renewable memberships is caused by a variety of
reasons. One is the popularity of the Journal and its uptake by many libraries, making it
not such a desirable addition to membership benefits. Another is the fact that there is no
reduced rate for the annual conference for members this year. This means that the
benefits of being a member are now limited.
Efforts are being made to address this lack of members (which it seems is something
that is happening to other Societies). More activities are being planned by the Society
and moves are taking place to link with other practice-based societies (e.g. St Bride
Institute) to organising events.
OUP is following up lapsed members to find out why they are lapsed and particularly
what sorts of activities they might find interesting that could encourage them to re-join.
A new membership leaflet has been produced to encourage people to join. The
procedures for joining the society on line have been complicated resulting in some
people not managing to join, however this has now finally been resolved and a smooth
simple procedure is now in place.
Bridget Wilkins, Membership Secretary, August 2010
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DHS Officers Reports for AGM 2010
Essay Prize Report
The updating of the website and the call for entries in two newsletters and on the
Facebook page ensured that this year there was adequate publicity for the prize.
Disappointingly, however, the low number of entries remained the same. This was
discussed at the most recent executive meeting and a more direct canvassing of
potential proposers and entrants will be instigated next year. Neither of this year’s
winners is able to attend the Brussels conference to receive her prize and alternative
arrangements have been made. The names of the winners will be announced at the DHS
reception at the conference and the benefits of the prize will be outlined in the hope that
attendees will be encouraged to consider submissions for next year.
As last year there were 5 BA entries and 4 MA. The topics of all essays submitted fell
within the broad definition of Design History. On the whole the standard was higher
than last year, demonstrating good levels of research and wholehearted engagement
with topics.
BA essays were submitted by the Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Dun
Laoghaire (1); Institute of Technology, Dublin (1); University of Brighton (3). MA essays
were submitted by the V&/RCA (2), University of Brighton (1), Bard Institute, New York
(1). The University of Brighton essays were read by two external readers to ensure
impartiality of assessment. This was the first year that entries from outside the UK and
Northern Ireland were accepted and it was encouraging to receive two entries in this
category. The proposal to accept overseas MA entries as PDFs may need to be reexamined due to the difficulties in e-mailing large numbers of illustrations.
Unlike last year no key themes emerged, and there was an interesting range of topics,
including poster and advertisement design, furniture design, 19th century ceramics,
international exhibitions and various aspect of textile histories.
I am very grateful to those who agreed to second read essays and to provide expert
second opinions on the submissions. I would like to thank Elizabeth Darling, Linda
Sandino, Glenn Adamson, Louise Purbrick, Lou Taylor, Grace Lees-Maffei, Nic Maffei
and Bridget Wilkins for their help this year.
The winners of the DHS Essay Prize this year are:
MA entry: Alice Dolan (V&A/RCA): The Adorned Print: print culture, female leisure
and the dissemination of fashion in France and England c.1660-1779.
BA entry: Ness Wood (Brighton): ‘It’s so New-Fashioned’: Hille, from tradition to
modernity.
These details will be entered on the Essay Prize page of the DHS website and summaries
by the winners will be published in the newsletter.
Jill Seddon, Essay Prize Officer, September 2010
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DHS Officers Reports for AGM 2010
Research Award Report
The Research Award has been restructured this year. Previously, there were two rounds
annually (application deadline January 15 and September 15) with £1,500 awarded in
each of the rounds. We have now consolidated the application process, setting a single
annual application deadline of January 15, with a total award amount of £3,000. It is
intended that this sum will be divided among three or more deserving applicants. The
objectives in focusing the award into one annual round were: maximizing quality of
recipients; streamlining administration (judging and payment); and concentrating our
efforts in publicizing the award. There is no geographical or chronological limitation for
applicants, but proposed subject areas must be firmly based in the history of design
(rather than art and architecture, for example).
We received nineteen applications for the 2010 award, of which five were given funding:
The Graphic Program for the Argentina ’78 World Soccer Championship
Marta Almeida, Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires
Aniline, a History in Five Registers
Dr. Annapurna Garimella, Art, Resources & Teaching Trust, Bangalore
Politics of the Handmade: Designers and Design in the I.C.A.’s Southeast Asian
Handicraft Program, 1955-1961
Jennifer Way, University of North Texas
Negotiations: Modernity, Design and Visual Culture in Ireland 1922-1992
Dr Linda King and Dr Elaine Sisson, Institute of Art Design and Technology, Dublin
Alternative Art Deco: Western Modernism in an Indian Modernity
Varun Shiv Kapur, independent scholar, New Delhi
The judging was done by a panel of three members of the executive committee. Reports
from each winning applicant will be included in upcoming issues of the DHS newsletter.
Applications are currently being received for the next round of the award, the deadline
is January 15th, 2011.
Glenn Adamson, Research Award Officer, September 2010
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DHS Officers Reports for AGM 2010
Student Representative Report
 New Initiatives
In the October 2009, together with research students from the Royal College of
Art/Victoria & Albert Museum we held the first ‘Dialogues in Design’, a postgraduate
seminar series. The DHS provides funding for refreshments and travel expenses for
speakers outside London. ‘Dialogues in Design’ brings together research students from
the RCA and other UK institutions in order to foster research networks and connect
theoretical, historical and material object-based research related to the history of
design. Speakers undertaking both thesis and practice-based research from universities
including Oxford, Warwick and Queen Mary, London are amongst those to have
presented.
‘Dialogues in Design’ records each event online. There have been six seminars, on
themes including ‘Amateurism’, ‘Designing Craft’, ‘Latin Representations of the Other’
and ‘The Postcolonial Body.’ In addition, in June 2010 we held an event entitled
‘Afterlife’ that invited speakers to discuss opportunities after finishing the PhD. As with
all ‘Dialogues in Design’ events, this was sponsored by the DHS and was open to all, and
have proved popular and lively forums that perform the much-needed activity of
bringing students researching in the field of design history together.
We are now planning events for the academic year 2010-2011 with a view to a
conference in 2011.
http://dialoguesindesign.wordpress.com
 Committee Activity
I delivered a paper at the 2009 DHS conference Writing Design: Object, Process,
Discourse, Translation, and wrote up a report on 2009 DHS conference, ‘Writing
Design’, included in the DHS newsletter. I have also written a report on the ‘Dialogues
in Design’ seminar series for the newsletter. In September 2010 I am leading a
workshop as part of the DHS Teaching Design History event.
Together with Torunn Kjolberg, and with thanks to Tamara Mazurenko, the online
resources section of the DHS website has been updated, and the list of current students
continues to be so.
Catharine Rossi, Student Representative, September 2010
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DHS Officers Reports for AGM 2010
Teaching and Learning Officer’s Report
I joined the Design History Society’s Executive Committee as the Teaching and Learning
Officer in the autumn of 2009. This is a new role for the Design History Society where
we have an opportunity to help support and shape pedagogic practice in the field of
design history.
As an early career lecturer and PhD student I have approached the role as a learner,
rather than as an expert, with the aim of providing supporting arenas for reflection,
debate and exchange of learning and teaching practices within design history. The
collaboration with the Society’s Student Representative – Cat Rossi – has therefore been
key.
In my particular role my areas of activity have been centred on:
1) Developing the Society’s website in terms of teaching and learning resources in
conjunction with the Student Representative. This work is ongoing.
2) Instigating an online forum/blog on issues relevant to teaching and learning in
design history (www.teachingdesignhistory.blogspot.com).
3) Developing the series of Teaching Design History workshops in collaboration
with the Society’s Chair. The interest generated in the workshop demonstrates
the manifest need for this form of event. The aim of these workshops is to provide
opportunities to network and share practice, as well as to support pedagogic
scholarship relevant to design history. It is also hoped that these events will serve
to raise the profile of the Society and increase membership. The event itself also
serves as an opportunity to shape the role of the Learning and Teaching Officer in
response to the issues raised during the day. These will form the basis for future
events and shape the development of web-based resources.
Aims/proposals for future activities:
1) Establish the Teaching Design History workshop as either a bi-annual or triannual event. It should be noted that the considerable interest generated by the
first workshop means the administrative duties are too extensive for more
frequent events.
2) Further develop the Teaching Design History Network (online forum). This has
not yet found its ideal ‘format’. The completion of my doctorate, which means I
will concentrate more on teaching, will enable this to develop further.
3) Develop learning and teaching resources in relation to a) the development of the
journal’s and OUP’s improved online access and services; b) upload recordings
and reports from events to website.
Torunn Kjolberg, Teaching and Learning Officer, September 2010
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DHS Officers Reports for AGM 2010
Secretary’s Report
I joined the Executive Committee in July 2010. The former Secretary became the
treasurer in January 2010, so the DHS was without an official secretary for six months.
This unsurprisingly means that there was a lull in secretarial activity, especially with
respect to long-range projects.
Work continues on the development of a strategy for formally archiving papers relating
to the DHS. Many thanks to Jill Seddon for her work on this task.
Job descriptions and handover notes have been created for several Executive
Committee positions. These documents have been useful in recruiting new members to
the Executive and have assisted new officers in the assumption of their roles.
Charlotte Nicklas, Secretary, September 2010
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DHS Officers Reports for AGM 2010