Latvian Designers’ Society (LDS) is a professional organisation of the creative design industry, which has been uniting representatives of various design fields since 1987. The LDS aims to promote the development of design, identify and preserve its values, facilitate the cooperation of all Latvian designers, identify and protect their interests and rights, and educate and inform the public about the design industry.
LDS is also a platform for designers to develop, collaborate and empower themselves.
As of May 2023, the LDS has 250 members, 3 of whom are natural persons, professional designers, and 7 jurisdictional members, companies with a contribution to Latvian design and entrepreneurship.
The Latvian Designers’ Society actively participates in the development of Latvian national cultural policy, in the preparation of design-related legislation, government and local government decisions, represents designers in state and local government institutions, advocates the public need for quality design and delegates representatives to expert and jury commissions, councils and other institutions where design, culture and other issues of importance to society are decided.
Since 2020, the LDS has established a Council of Experts of its members.
The LDS Expert Council invites professionals from different fields of design who are active in their area, follow global trends and have a high professional reputation among their peers. The LDS Expert Council or a specific expert is asked to join when there is a need for a broader engagement of views or an active public stance.
The tasks of the LDS include improving the quality of design education in Latvia by participating as professional experts in the definition and development of design education standards, accreditation of educational programmes, national examination boards, etc. LDS supports the continuing education of professional designers by organising lectures, courses, conferences and seminars, promoting the development of professional design criticism and design theory, ensuring the circulation and accessibility of international and local information in all areas of design, and educating the public about design news and current events.
LDS organises professional certification of designers and issues certificates for design practice in specific design fields, which guarantee the high professional performance of the designer to the cooperation partners.
The Latvian Designers’ Society cooperates with other professional creative organisations and other institutions in Latvia, such as the Latvian Council of Creative Unions (LCCI) and its members (founded in 1988 and comprising 10 creative unions and more than 3000 individual members), the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and its members, the Latvian Union of Civil Engineers, the Latvian Union of Architects, the Riga City Architect’s Office, the Patent Board of the Republic of Latvia, as well as the Ministry of Culture and the Design Council of the Republic of Latvia.
LDS actively exchanges information within the Architecture, Construction and Design Professional Media Alliance framework, and has established a collaborative design information portal DesignWanted (Milan, Italy).
The LDS organises professional certification of designers and issues certificates of
LDS was a member of the World Design Organisation WDO from 1991 to 2021.
Shortly, LDS will develop closer cooperation with the European design organisation BEDA, as well as design organisations from neighbouring countries.