International Council of Design
The International Council of Design (ICoD) is a global, non-profit organization that unites design professionals, national associations, design schools, and design promotion groups from around the world. It is based in Montreal, Canada, and the current President is Melike Taşcıoğlu Vaughan.
What it is and how it started
ICoD began in London in 1963 as the Icograda (International Council of Graphic Design Associations). Over the years it grew into a multidisciplinary design body and, in 2014, changed its name to the International Council of Design to reflect a broader scope beyond graphic design. It serves as a member-based network that coordinates international design practices and ethics.
Who belongs and how it works
The Council brings together more than 120 member organisations from more than 50 countries. Members include professional design associations, design education institutions, and design promotion bodies. The Assembly of Members is the highest decision-making body. The organization also connects design media through the International Design Media Network (IDMN). ICoD maintains affiliations with major international groups such as UNESCO, ISO, WIPO, ECOSOC, and others, helping promote shared standards and collaboration.
How ICoD operates
ICoD organizes various in‑person gatherings to foster cooperation, knowledge sharing, and collective action. These include Platform Meetings (PMs) held annually, Regional Meetings (RMs), Special Meetings (SMs) for promotion and valorisation activities, and General Meetings (GMs) for governance and policy. The General Assembly (GA) and Annual General Meeting (AGM) occur in alternating years. The organization also helped form the International Design Alliance (IDA) with Icsid and IFI, and supports ongoing collaboration across design sectors.
Design as a profession and its code of conduct
ICoD emphasizes that design is a true profession with responsibilities to society. It publishes codes of conduct and best-practice guidelines for individual designers and for design organizations. A major update, the Professional Code of Conduct for designers, was released in 2020 and includes a lexicon and guidance on ethics, new technologies, intellectual property, and professional practice. A Spanish translation was released in 2021 to widen accessibility.
Publications and history of knowledge
The Council has a long tradition of design publications. Icographic (launched in 1971) ran until 1978 and offered international perspectives on graphic design. Iridescent, the Icograda Journal of Design Research, appeared from 2009 to 2011. A later journal, Communication Design, Interdisciplinary and Graphic Design Research, ran from 2016 to 2019. These publications helped document design thought and education across borders.
Key milestones and recent developments
The organization has held many landmark events, including the early congresses in Zurich (1964) and Bled (1966), the creation of student seminars, and joint congresses with other design bodies. The Secretariat moved from London to Brussels (1999–2005) and then to Montreal, where it remains today. In 2013, ICoD celebrated its 50th anniversary. A major milestone was the Montreal Design Declaration in 2017, signed by numerous international organizations to advocate for design’s role in addressing global challenges. Since 2011, the International Design Alliance (IDA) has coordinated joint activities among Icograda, ICSID, and IFI, with ongoing regional and global meetings. The 2020s have seen many meetings shift to virtual formats in response to global events, and ICoD has continued to advance its platform meetings, regional engagements, and design education initiatives.
Looking ahead
ICoD remains focused on advancing design as a profession, fostering international collaboration, and supporting member organisations with education, policy, and professional standards. Through its platforms and networks, it aims to empower designers worldwide to contribute to sustainable, culturally meaningful, and socially responsible design.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 07:27 (CET).