Design and the Economy

Jan 1, 2016
2 min read

Above is a video about design and the economy from the Design Council website

When thinking about the design economy first I decided to look at the definition of economy so I could more closely relate my findings. I found that economy is:

The set of fundamental information that affects a business or an investment's value. Various economic factors need to be taken into account when determining the current and expected future value of a business or investment portfolio. For a business, key economic factors include labor costs, interest rates, government policy, taxes and management.

Economy in relation to Design I looked at a report by the Design council which looks at the value and contribution of design on the UK economy. From this report I found that:

In 2013 £71.7 billion (in GVA) was generated by the design economy

Between 2009-2013 the design economy increased by 27.9%

Approx. 580,000 people are directly employed in the UK’s design industries

The design economy if the 9th biggest employer in the UK

“The design economy is creating thousands of jobs... contributing billions to our economy. It is vital that it is recognised and supported in order for this growth to continue.” – John Mathers, Design Council Chief Executive

Design is woven in the economic processes as it both shapes and determines it. The economy is beginning to realise that design is a required strategic factor. In addition, the socio-economic framework of the profession is changing: trends like increasing urbanization, climate change, demographic changes and globalization on the one hand, and technological innovation in nanotechnology, robotics, genetic engineering, neurobiology and communication technology on the other, are producing new specialist standards, which are opening up new vistas and require a new degree of responsibility. Designers of today and tomorrow who want to be successful at a high creative level must be able to reflect and present their role within such social developments, economic processes, and technological innovation.

From looking at both the Design Council and KISD website the information shows me that design plays a very important role in the economy and without it we wouldn’t have a lot of the technology and products that we have today. Design has become a very major part of the economy and we need a variety of designers to keep developing the economy. Both of the websites talk about how much of a contribution design makes and also the amount of jobs this creates.

Websites:

http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/what-we-do/design-economy

https://kisd.de/en/study/areas-of-expertise/design-and-economy/