Trends and tradition: Negotiating different cultural models in relation to sustainable craft and artisan production

If the identity of ‘design’ as a practice is contested then the relationship of design and designers to craft and craft practices can be hugely confused. This lack of clarity can encourage non-design based organisations to promote the use of ‘trend forecasting’ as a panacea to the design dilemma associated with craft production for non-traditional markets. Consequently fashion sensitive trends become perceived as the driving force of design-led consumption. In this context how do we understand what ‘trend forecasting’ is and becomes when used in this manner? How does it contribute or not to the sustainability of local design cultures?

This paper examines how these challenges have been interrogated and experienced through practice at Masters Level at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. It seeks sustainable strategies for design and craft drawing on a diverse range of examples to illustrate contemporary artefacts realised from a diverse range of projects, sources and geographical locations.