The West of England Design Forum and Kinneir Dufort are thrilled to bring Kerning The Gap to Bristol. Kerning The Gap is a collective of like-minded people who want to see more women in design leadership roles, hear their voices and be inspired to create change.
This kick-off event, is an introduction to KTG, a panel discussion, a place for ideas generation, and an opportunity to network with likeminded people.
We’re delighted to welcome their founder, Nat Maher to this first event. Nat’s daytime job is MD at award winning brand consultancy Good, a design business that has 100% gender equality in its management team. Nat will talk about her aims and ambitions for the movement. Joining Nat, is Merle Hall, MD at Kinneir Dufort, and Emma Hopton, Chair of WEDF and freelance graphic designer and design educator.
70% of graphic design students are women; yet only 11% are Creative Directors. Girls consistently out perform boys in all spectrums of education, yet only 18% of the board of FTSE 250 businesses are women. The Drum’s 2015 list of the top 100 ‘designerati’ features 13 women.
We welcome anyone who is passionate about promoting equality for women in the world of design!
Meet the panel:
Nat Maher
Nat joined Good, the award winning brand consultancy, as Managing Director to head up their London studio in 2014, having previously held the position of Group Communications Director at equally decorated brand consultancy Elmwood, where she was responsible for all internal and external marketing activity for its six studios in London, Leeds, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore and Melbourne. She previously held the position of Communications Director at the Design Business Association, the industry trade body, and is a regular speaker on the subject of the value and measurement of design.
Merle Hall
Merle joined Kinneir Dufort as Client Director in 2009 bringing a wealth of Design Consultancy knowledge in Strategy, Branding and Innovation across Consumer Brands. She has worked globally with organisations such as Unilever, Coca Cola, Beiersdorf, Sony and Mars over her 18 years’ consultancy experience. In the Summer of 2016 Merle successfully completed KD’s second MBO (Management Buy Out) with her business partner Craig Wightman, and became Managing Director of Kinneir Dufort. Merle is committed to creating a best-in-class balanced and empowered team with equality at its heart.
Emma Hopton
Emma is a freelance graphic designer who has spent her career to date spilt equally between industry and education. Choosing to stay in the South West after her own graduation she has worked for some fabulous companies with great clients both local and global. She has also had the privilege of working with some incredible students who have gone on to become successful designers and design business owners. In January 2017 Emma became the Chair of the West of England Design Forum.
18:30 — 20:30 (arrive from 5:45pm for drinks)
Wednesday 3rd May