History of ATDA

The Australian Textile Design Association

The Australian Textile Design Association (ATDA) was formed in Melbourne in 1994 to represent and promote Australian textile designers. It was committed to professionalism, originality and design excellence.

Objectives of ATDA

To serve the membership by:

Promotion of Australian textile design
Development of a code of professional practice
Involvement in design education
Education of designers and industry regarding copyright
Provision of seminars and workshops
Provision of information on fee and pay structures for designers.

ATDA had an executive committee which met once a month. It also held bimonthly events relevant to the textile industry.

One of ATDA's achievements was the publication of a booklet on copyright issues for the textile industry. This booklet provided information for both designers and industry and was available free of charge to members (This booklet has been republished as a DIA Practice Note). ATDA became involved with and supported the Victorian Design Awards (est 1995). These awards had four major categories, one of which was textile design.

Initial ATDA actions were:

The collation of a current design register for print, weave and knit designers
A unified fee structure and base rate
A drafting of standard contracts for commissions, freelance agreements, copyright ownership and reproduction rights, indemnity, confidentiality agreements, orders and confirmation for briefs.
Ongoing education on copyright issues.

In 1998 ATDA amalgamated with the DIA and SIDA to improve the level of service that it was able to offer its members.

ATDA Presidents