The new year began with news of the knighthood of Apple’s much-admired designer Jonathan Ive, an event that seems to be symbolic of how design is gaining widespread credibility as an effective innovation and business strategy in the U.K. The Design Council, a British charity that researches and promotes design as an engine for economic advancement and the public good, has recently published a paper, “Design for Innovation: Facts, figures, and practical plans for growth,” citing how the U.K. design industry has expanded despite the challenges of difficult financial times in recent years. (It is available online as a PDF).
The Design Council published the paper to coincide with the release of British government’s Innovation and Research Strategy for Growth in December. The Design Council’s report includes findings from the organization’s surveys that paint an impressive picture of the growing design industry in the U.K.:
- It is a sector of about 230,000 employees nationwide, making it the “largest design industry in Europe”
- Since 2005, the industry has grown 29%, despite the economic crisis that began in 2008
- In a Design Council survey of 503 U.K. businesses, those that saw “design as integral are twice as likely as others to see rapid growth”
- U.K. firms rank “design” as a more important factor driving business success than “research and development” or “marketing.” (For the curious, “quality of staff” and “financial management” were ranked first and second; “design” ranked sixth)
- In an ongoing survey of 1,500 U.K. companies, the proportion of firms that saw design as integral to business doubled (to 30%), in the years following the banking collapse of 2008
The publication goes on to list seven action steps that the British government can take to leverage the design industry in its quest to boost innovation. These are (in summary):
- Build a stronger bridge between design and technology industries via cross-disciplinary centers devoted to technology and innovation
- Expand programs that offer support for small to medium-sized businesses that want to make design an integral element of their future growth
- Strengthen links between universities and the design community
- Work with partners to develop an “effective and consistent means of measuring the impact of design”
- Promote the nation’s design strengths and ensure that design is supported in technology clusters
- Develop a toolkit and coaching program to help the government become a design leader in creating new design-related services and public policies
- Create new design-centric open innovation competitions “that address major societal challenges”
These tips could work in nations and communities outside the U.K. In fact, many of the examples of successful design-based innovation tactics cited in the introduction to the Design Council’s report are global, including those from the United States and Asia. Perhaps designers and governments in these and other areas of the world could be inspired by the new paper as well, and adapt and implement some of the Design Council’s strategies, too.
Image: Andy Field (Hubmedia)/Flickr
