Simone LeAmon steps into the role of chief executive officer of the Design Institute of Australia, bringing her vision of design as a cultural, economic and civic force that shapes how the nation lives, works and imagines its future.

Strong in her conviction that design is woven into the way Australia lives, LeAmon speaks with energy about giving design a presence in the national conversation without separating it from life itself. She calls it a national asset, something that shapes how Australians live, learn, connect, move and imagine. “Design influences everything from the environment to public services to the objects that we use and we hold,” she says. “It’s indispensable to Australia’s economic, social and cultural future.”

The incoming leader wants the DIA to give the design community a platform worthy of its value. “My vision has always been that the DIA should be the national voice that design deserves,” she says. This means communicating the true breadth of design, beyond glossy artefacts and aspirational objects. “So much design work is led through ethics and sustainability principles,” she says. “It’s become a far more nuanced conversation.”

That nuance, she believes, is the future of how we talk about design in Australia. “Designers have this enormous responsibility,” she says. “They’re on the frontline trying to deliver better outcomes, better services, shaping the world we’d love to live in.”

Shaping culture, not just objects

Her decade at the National Gallery of Victoria proved how deeply the public connects to design when given the story behind it. “The enormous appetite that the public has to engage with design was one of my biggest takeaways,” she recalls. “Design is not an abstract concept. Our environment and everything we engage with on a daily level has been designed by someone.”

She says audiences become intrigued when they learn to see design as intentional, not accidental. “The world around doesn’t just happen,” she says. “It’s intentionally conceived. And when you put design to work in a very deliberate way, you can deliver outcomes more creative, more interesting, more agreeable.”

She wants to carry those ideas into the DIA, where design will be celebrated as cultural practice as much as professional practice. “Design contributes to our cultural life,” she says. “So I would really love to talk about design as a cultural practice, how we are shaping culture through the things we are designing, and how it is impacting Australian life.”

LeAmon believes Australians are living in what she calls a design age. “People are more engaged with design than ever,” she says. “It can be aspirational, but it’s also about the grit of everyday, and that can be just as compelling as the verified design we might be used to.”

Uniting a profession of 380,000 people

Australia has 380,000 designers across disciplines from furniture to digital, interiors to policy, fashion to product. Uniting them means first making sure they understand what the DIA does. “Most designers don’t realise what the DIA does,” LeAmon says. “They work quietly behind the scenes consulting with government on policy settings, working on industry standards, education pathways, even creative economy initiatives.”

This quiet work shapes the conditions designers work within, from recognition to employment frameworks. “It takes a lot of work to ensure the professions are protected, that these occupations are recognised,” she says. “That has a massive impact on how the profession is valued by government, planners, industry and the public.”

She is determined to make that work visible. “I’m absolutely committed to ensuring that the broader design community is aware of what the DIA does,” she says. She also reminds us that DIA’s advocacy is driven almost entirely by volunteer designers. “These are design professionals who give their time in a really selfless way to ensure that the profession is represented to the government,” she says.

Carrying forward an 80-year legacy

Founded in 1939, the DIA holds one of the longest legacies of design advocacy in the country. LeAmon regards that history as both extraordinary and instructive. “It’s an extraordinary achievement for any member organisation to reach an 80-year milestone,” she says. “They survive through the support of their members, not government.”

She points to names like Marion Hall Best, Grant Featherston and Fred Ward who helped shape both Australian modernism and the DIA’s foundation. “These were designers we now refer to when we think about Australian design history,” she says. “They were instrumental in ensuring a membership organisation was advocating and distinguishing the work of designers.”

LeAmon sees her role as amplifying that heritage while preparing for the next era. “The time is right for the DIA to not tread so quietly,” she says. “It’s time for a stronger presence in the industry.”

She finishes with a personal reflection. “I’m still registering this extraordinary position I’ve arrived at,” she says. “But when I think about my career, it has always been about championing the value of design, and I couldn’t think of a better position at this moment in time.”