Design Industry Insights 2010

The results are in. The Design Council's survey, which involved extensive interviews with over two thousand designers, was completed towards the end of 2009. 26th March 2010 saw the launch of the official findings on the size and shape of the UK design industry.

It has been five years since the last survey of its kind, and in the interim the economy has seen some extreme fluctuations. So how has the design industry fared through all of this turbulence?

The main headlines are that 'design is holding up remarkably well in tough conditions', with the total earnings of the industry up by 15% in real terms since 2005 - in spite of the recession.

The Design Council says:

'The UK design industry has grown since 2005, despite the recession. There are 232,000 designers, 29% more than in 2005 and earnings have increased by £3.4bn.

The combined budget of in-house teams and fee income of freelances and consultancies is £15bn. Collectively in-house design team budgets are down 34% since 2005, but the number of in-house design teams in the UK has increased by 10% to 6,500 suggesting that employers are holding on to creative employees despite downward pressure on budgets.'

More on the Design Council's website here.

The research was launched with a series of short debates at the RSA, nicely compered by the acid-tongued Simon Waterfall, and broadcast live here. The motions were:

'Recessions are good news in disguise for designers'

For the motion: Tom Dixon

Dixon argued mainly from his own experience - in which recessions have largely been kind to him. Previous economic dips have gifted him extra studio space, made for cheaper central london property, and improved his export business with a weak £.

 

Against the motion: Mandy Merron

Merron argued that the collateral damage will be immense in spite of some positive effects. The industry is fragmented, with many small, young businesses - a third of which won't live past 4 years. A healthy industry needs long-term players - one instance where size really does help. True that reduced budgets have enforced improvements in business practices, but in theory it shouldn't take a recession to improve business practice. And cutbacks in training mean that the industry could see a delayed skills shortage some years hence.

The Public vote:
For: 40%
Against: 60%

The verdict: Recessions are not good news (disguised or otherwise)

'Networks are fine but they won't keep me in business'

For the motion: Shan Preddy

Preddy almost argued against herself - agreeing that networks (whether design support, informal, into other industries) were important, but never the whole story. She suggested that good marketing and good client relationships are the most likely to keep a designer in business. 

 

Against the motion: Callum Lumsden

Lumsden suggested that networks, however informal, are the most natural way of building and maintaining relationships. They are, contrary to the cliche, not a cyncial concept, but things of integrity that take years to build. As well as maintaining existing client relationships, they are crucial (as long as you network with people who have a different business interest) as a way of finding new business.

The Public Vote:
For: 41%
Against: 59%

The verdict: Networks are crucial for keeping designers in business

'Tighter finances mean more on the job training and that's a good thing'

For the motion: Mike Dempsey

Like Dixon, Dempsey argued very much from his own experience - as a designer whose training has come mainly from life, being self-motivated and on-the-job. As someone who professes not to see a difference between work and life, learning for Dempsey happens all the time. Echoing Michael Wolff's trinity of essential qualities for a designer (or anyone), 'curiosity, appreciation, imagination' - he suggested 'if you're looking for a nice green, go to the park not the pantone book.'

 

Against the motion: Brian Webb

Webb argued that designers need all sorts of skills that they can't learn just from sitting by 'x' in the office, pointing out the reason most small businesses don't live past four years is probably that they can't afford to professionalise. He compared the design industry to architecture on CPD: 13% vs 33% - although admitted that letterheads don't fall down and kill people.

The Public Vote:
For: 46%
Against: 54%

The verdict: On the job training isn't enough to run a professional practice