New Designers Online

www.newdesignersonline.co.uk

This is a good idea, badly executed. Each year hundreds of graduating and recently-qualified designers from across a range of disciplines including fashion, showcase their work at the Business Design Centre in Islington. Newdesignersonline is intended as the online showcase for these folk, but it is all a bit disappointing. It claims to offer "the most comprehensive online directory of new design talent... an unrivalled resource for the industry." Wow, that might get you excited but to search anything on this site, including the direectory, you must register. And, the cheeky people at the commercial organisation behind this, Upper Street Events, will only allow you to opt out of further mailings - not good web practice! Designers themselves pay £58 + VAT a year to be included on the website. We didn't want to register so contacted the organisers who gave us code to access the site - so we know there is a functioning directory but with most entries we perused there was minimal info on the designers. Come on, you can do better - you're charging the designers for inclusion and you aren't even making it attractive or easy for folk to use the website.