IRISH DESIGN 2015 REFLECTIONS
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Several short films were produced throughout the year by ID2015 and hosted on our YouTube channel, Facebook page and blog – most notably our launch film Our Future is in Our Hands, which had over 6,500 views on YouTube, and The Vitrine Project, a promotional film for Liminal – Irish design at the threshold’s Dublin run, which gathered over 43,000 views on Facebook and YouTube in just two days. Starting fresh with new accounts in October 2014, over the course of 2015 the total social media following grew to more than 33,0001, with over 28,000 page views on the blog and an additional 100,000 unique users on the website. Total social audience reach2 exceeded 3.6 million, attracting influential followers and interactions with design publications Dezeen, Domus, The Inspiration and We Heart; international design events including London Design Festival, Chicago Architecture Biennial, Tent London and Dutch Design Week; institutions such as London’s Design Museum, Tourism Ireland, the Design Council and The Victoria and Albert Museum; and Irish media including RTÉ, IMAGE, Lovin’ Dublin and The Irish Times. The power of social media to connect and to inspire interest in design, as well as to publically support the Irish design community, has been undeniably successful in increasing the impact, reach and understanding of the ID2015 message in Ireland and around the world. The communications programme for ID2015 was supported by our appointed PR service providers – Elevate PR for the Irish programme and Sandford PR for the international programme, supplemented by the fashion specific expertise of PUSH PR for LFW February 2015 and Wolves PR for LFW September 2015. Alex Calder, ID2015 Communications Officer, spearheaded the digital communications activities in particular and the promotional programme was supported by the DCCoI communications team on DCCoI projects presented as part of the overall ID2015 programme. The significant Irish presence at high profile events around the world during 2015, as well as the level of activity at home, placed Irish design and designers in the spotlight, creating a greater awareness and appreciation of the wealth of talent and innovation in Ireland. We need to maintain momentum and build on the impact of the year-long programme through continued engagement with partners, the design community and the general public in order to create a lasting legacy from this landmark Irish initiative. We look forward to the next chapter in the development of Ireland’s vibrant design sector.
1 As at December 2nd 2015.
“The power of social media to connect and to inspire interest in design, as well as to publically support the Irish design community, has been undeniably successful.”
2 Reach figures only available for Facebook and Twitter.