Europe has long enjoyed the status of leader in the design industry. With many of the world’s most important national professional designer organisations, most-recognized design schools and the head offices of many international design companies, the rest of the world has often looked to Europe for setting standards, new technologies and for a large part of the recorded history of design. But the world is changing. Production has moved largely East and South, but not only production. The market for design consumption is becoming worldwide with increasing demand in South-East Asia, China, the Middle East and China. This market will grow explosively in the coming decades, directly impacting designers everywhere. Work itself has changed for designers. Practice is now increasingly global. With global sourcing, the capacity to co-create across time zones, and the mobility of the workforce and the consumer, the industry is evolving at a dizzying pace. With regional and global considerations in mind, ico-D will cover five topics specific to the European context. We hope these topics will broaden where you sit now on things, to inspire thought, reflection, and action for future:

- Public Design Policy: Regional, National, and Local Considerations

- Metrics + Data: Conveying the Value of Design by Measuring It

- Sustainability: Capacity-Building for Designers

- Globalisation: Positioning Design to Face the Changing Global Economy

- Cooperation: Pooling Resources to Address Common Challenges