Insight Out

Designer Joanne Riddle felt her business was heading nowhere.  But after gaining a place on the Insight Out programme in December 2005, her business plans were transformed.

Insight Out North East has been created by the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) and runs in five other UK regions. It helps North East based designers, fine artists, photographers and architects in the early stages of their career develop skills to progress a business idea. For the first time scientists are also invited to apply.  The five-week programme is run by NESTA, DigitalCity and the University of Teesside.  Successful applicants can apply for an award to develop their business, with the total budget going up to £5,000.

Joanne, 30, from Stockton, was one of ten graduates from the region chosen to develop their business or product idea.  She is a surface inventor and Director of Fuzzy Bridge and a lecturer at Stockton Riverside College where she teaches several disciplines, including Textile & Surface Design.

Joanne said: “Before the programme I felt quite down about my business, I thought it was going nowhere.  Then I found out about the Insight Out programme through Business Link.  Getting on the course gave me something to aim towards, and that would help me focus my business.”

The Insight Out trainers encouraged Joanne to develop a plastics-based idea, Formal Element, which she had previously filed a Patent Pending for. She was keen to develop this idea further and resubmitted the Patent Pending as a result of the programme.

In a five-week period Joanne went from having one of the worst business plans to presenting one of the strongest. On the final day of the course Joanne delivered her presentation to a panel of business experts and the NESTA Creative Pioneer Director, at the University of Teesside's Centre of Enterprise. The panel were so impressed with Joanne's work that she was nominated one of the overall winners and awarded £5,000.

Joanne said: “The news of my amazing result was wonderful.  It was not about the money, but the achievement and the things that I had overcome as I had travelled the journey of this amazing course."

Joanne’s patented business concept, Formal Element, allows colour to be infused into plastic surfaces, creating a highly durable waterproof finish that can be used both indoors and outdoors.  With the help of DigitalCity, she’s exploring how digital technologies can help to develop Formal Element.

DigitalCity are currently seeking submissions for next year’s Insight Out programme. For further information please call Judith Wilkinson on 01642 384330 or email: jude@thedigitalcity.org. The deadline is Friday 27th October.

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