The Manchester Design Symposium brings the world of design to the city in a series of presentations from leading thinkers and practitioners.

This year's event will explore the complex relationship between design and the economy, bringing to question whether the UK's place at the top table of world design is under threat as emerging economies invest more in their 'knowledge economy' - and whether design and innovation has the potential to power the UK out of a recession.

Renowned graphic designer and writer, Adrian Shaughnessy is leading the six-speaker line up at this year’s Manchester Design Symposium on March 21st 2012.

Famed for his best-selling book, How to Be a Graphic Designer Without Losing your Soul, Shaughnessy cofounded publishing company Unit Editions and has written numerous books on design. He also spent 15 years as creative director of design studio Intro which he also cofounded.

Shaughnessy will be joined by Morag Myerscough founder of Studio Myerscough and renowned for her work in the integration of graphics within architectural settings. Myerscough has produced many award-winning schemes including wayfinding and environmental graphics for Westminster Academy and the Kentish Town Health Centre, which won a RIBA award and was shortlisted for the World Architecture Festival and the Stirling Prize.

Dave Kirkwood will talk about the 3hundredand65 project, the first graphic novel to be crowd authored on Twitter. It has attracted over 230 volunteer writers and celebrity Tweeters, including Stephen Fry, and support from professional poets, writers, artists, bands, musicians, Professors, Olympians, and DJs across the UK.

Jason Smith founder of Fontsmith is also joining the line up. Fontsmith was established in 1999 and is responsible for the design and development of numerous high quality typefaces for the likes of Channel 4, the Post Office and UEFA.

Founder and director of publishing platform It's Nice That and agency INT Works, Will Hudson and designer Vera-Maria Glahn, cofounder of digital art and design studio Field, complete the speaker line up. Malcolm Garrett, renowned for his graphic design work for artists including Simple Minds and Duran Duran, will join all the speakers for the event’s panel discussion.

The event will be chaired by Professor David Crow, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for internal communications and Dean of the Faculty of Art and Design at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU). 

The Symposium, led by the Design Initiative, was established in response to calls from the city to see and hear inspiring designers bringing challenging ideas into focus. Its purpose is to ensure that Manchester remains at the forefront of design debate and creativity.

As well as attracting world-class speakers from Britain and Europe, the event is open to design professionals, students and business people from a wide area including graphic and web design, typography, publishing, fashion, illustration and branding.

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