In order to inspire and enhance corporations' design activities, IdcN provides advice and consulting services. The Design Office Portal Site offers an online database of design offices that work within a wide range of fields in the Nagoya region. The 7th floor houses the Design Lab, where various design offices are leased, and available upon inquiry, to design-related companies, offices and the design departments of companies looking to attain new business. Small and medium-sized companies included in the industrial development program issued by the City of Nagoya and IdcN can apply for grants-in-aid.

In order to strengthen the design capabilities of the next generation and enhance design-oriented consciousness among citizens, IdcN offers practical and full-fledged seminar and training programs targeting corporate managers, business people and designers, as well as the general public. Offering opportunities such as OJT for design-related individuals at home and abroad and field training for design students, IdcN supports the development of human resources.

We cooperate closely with designers, companies and design organizations both in Japan and abroad and facilitate active exchange like information sharing. In addition to running seminars and lecture programs by distinguished designers, as well as holding exhibits that spotlight superb design and noteworthy activities, we introduce Japan's design activities by participating in overseas design conferences and exhibitions.
IdcN welcomes world design conferences, board meetings, seminars and other design events, such as ICSID(*1), ICOGRADA(*2) and IFI(*3). In response to Nagoya's certification as a member of UNESCO's Creative Cities Network(*4) in the design category, IdcN, in cooperation with the City of Nagoya, Nagoya Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Council of Chubu Design Organizations, is proactive in developing projects.

• *1: ICSID: Currently, WDO: The World Design Organization
• *2: ICOGRADA: Currently, ico-D: International Council of Design
• *3: IFI: The International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers
• *4: The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) was created in 2004 to promote cooperation with and among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development. The Network covers seven creative fields: Crafts & Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Music and Media Arts. The City of Nagoya was appointed as a "City of Design" in October 2008.

Today design is expected to function as not only a product creation tool, but also a management resource that can, as represented by brand image strategy, succinctly express policies and ideas. Design is used for effective differentiation, strategic focus, and ingenious management solutions. IdcN is prepared to meet the wide variety of our clients' requests by leveraging resources like design information and a workforce utilizing our national and international networks. We help provide comprehensive design services for event and exhibit planning as well as posters, corporate identities, signage and products.

In order to improve and expand understanding and awareness of design, as well as to promote design activities, IdcN organizes seminars and exhibitions, focusing on particular fields and themes. The Design Gallery provides a superb location for IdcN's temporary exhibits as well as for initial introductions of new products by companies, designers and groups.

As an integrated design base, IdcN gathers and dispatches design information at home and abroad; IdcN publishes books on local design practices and products, has created a database and design portal site as a resource, and introduces domestic and international design activities at international design conferences.

IdcN Inc. owns the 1st subterranean floor to the 7th floor of the Design Center Building at NADYA Park. (*1) The Shopping Mall CREARE, which we operate, occupies the 1st subterranean floor to the 4th floor of the same building complex. We handle the leasing of the Design Lab, which holds design offices, as well as the Design Gallery. We also manage NADYA Park, which is jointly owned by three entities: the City of Nagoya, IdcN Inc., and Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation.

• *1: NADYA is an acronym for Nagoya, Design, Youth and Amusement. NADYA Park was developed as one element of an urban land-use and redevelopment plan, a hub for exchange and the dissemination of information about culture, business, and amusement related to the design of Nagoya City life. The complex includes the Design Center Building, focusing on design and cultural life, and the commercially oriented Business Center Building.