WHO: Design for Diversity

www.designfordiversity.eu

WHERE: London, England

WHAT: The only creative agency in the UK to integrate design, marketing, diversity and accessibility.
 
WHEN: Since 2005

HOW: A chance meeting between designer Tony Malone and diversity consultant Linda Bellos led to the realization that their separate businesses had many similarities and crossovers and ended with the merger of their companies.

WHY: Three little words: corporate social responsibility. Malone explains that there is not only a growing demand for marketing to be inclusive but, he says, more and more organizations are realizing that “good design and good diversity can also increase profits.”

WHICH: DfD has provided design and diversity consulting services to a wide range of clients in both the private and public sectors, such as Barclays Bank, The Metropolitan Police Service, The Royal Ballet, The Imperial War Museum and The Home Office.

STATS: DfD’s 5 partners and 2 associates are as diverse as their projects. Malone, for example, is partially deaf but emphasizes that “while I do not actually label myself as deaf or young or white, it is part of my experience I can draw upon.”

WOW: Bellos was created an Officer of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2007 New Year Honours List for her services in the field of diversity.

WHAT’S AHEAD: Design for Diversity is a proud sponsor of the Various Voices Festival 2009, a European choral festival whose aim is to celebrate music and diversity.

LOGO: Malone calls it “an interesting lesson in typography” because it uses five variations of typeface: decorative, body, display, serif and sans-serif. “Conversely, if talking about diversity, this can be broken down into five areas: religion, race, sexual orientation, gender and disability,” Malone explains. “Our logo is simply an aesthetic balance of these groups, working together to become something sophisticated, interesting and authoritative.”