Danielle Townsend, is a designer, educator, and strategist dedicated to supporting early-career graduates and the development of the wider sector as a centre of excellence in design. Holding a position as a Board Director at Institute of Designers inIreland, (IDI) and working as an independent design and education consultant, she leads projects aimed at elevating the design sector’s professionalism, enhancing academic standards, and bridging the gap between industry and design education for graduates.Together with former IDI president Kim Mackenzie-Doyle, Danielle co-founded The New Now graduate platform. This platform serves as a dynamic talent directory tailored for individuals in the early stages of their careers. It facilitates interaction with potential employers and offers crucial support as these new creatives navigate their future professional journeys.With a background as Director of Programmes and Head of Department, Danielle has developed, authored and taught on design degree programmes across Ireland. She has been an external examiner, visiting lecturer, and panellist in many programme validation panels. Danielle is deeply committed to fostering self-directed and speculative design projects, particularly those that contribute to advancing typographic standards. She holds positions as an assessor and member of the International Society of Typographic Designers (ISTD), a member of the archive panel for 100Archive (2022-2024), and she steers and assesses the IDI Graduate Awards.Her keen interest lies in exploring the intersection of creative leadership and entrepreneurship within the realm of design. She has led several panel discussions at various design conferences. Continually advocating for the design sector, Danielle actively engages in projects and initiatives that align with her passion for advancing the field of commercial design in Ireland. Recently invited to represent the sector at the government forum for the Commercial Creative Sector through the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE). She is leading work on the development of the three strands of the Roadmap – Data (through the development of nationwide research strategy), Skills (through the development of a Professional Accreditation Programme) and Enterprise (through the development of graduate opportunities) on behalf of IDI. She is an experienced graphic designer having led numerous commercial projects and is passionate about making and creating and, when possible, engages in educational programmes as a learner as a commitment to life-long learning.