Just under half of all UK design businesses work in digital and multimedia design.
The discipline is still relatively young – more than half of digital and multimedia design businesses have been operating for under six years – but appears to be performing well. More digital and multimedia businesses reported growth in demand for their services than any other discipline and they also experienced above average increases in fee income/budget over the last year. Design businesses that offer digital and multimedia design often combine this with work in communications design.
Download a PDF factsheet full of facts and stats on digital and multimedia design industry in the UK
Size of digital and multimedia design sector
What percentage of UK design businesses work in digital and multimedia design?
Overall 48% of design businesses in the UK work in digital and multimedia design. 20% of design businesses work both in digital and multimedia design and communications design.
What percentage of UK design businesses work solely in digital and multimedia design?
Overall 19% of design businesses in the UK work solely in digital and multimedia design.
- Design consultancies 12%
- Freelance designers 22%
- In-house teams 1%
Profile of design businesses working in digital and multimedia design
What proportion of design businesses in each region work in digital and multimedia design?
The South West and the West Midlands have the highest proportion of digital and multimedia design businesses of all the UK regions and countries, the North West has the lowest.
- East 51%
- East Midlands 51%
- London 40%
- North East 35%
- Northern Ireland 30%
- North West 23%
- Scotland 51%
- South East 49%
- South West 57%
- Wales 37%
- West Midlands 57%
- Yorkshire and the Humber 47%
- UK 48%
How long have design businesses working in digital and multimedia design been operating?
Just under half of digital and multimedia design businesses have been in operation for less than four years.
How many designers work in in-house digital and multimedia design teams?
Almost 70% of in-house digital and multimedia design teams employ fewer than five designers.
How many designers do design consultancies working in digital and multimedia employ?
Three-quarters of digital and multimedia design consultancies employ fewer than five people.
Financial performance of design businesses working in digital and multimedia design
What is the fee income/budget of design businesses working in digital and multimedia design?
83% of design businesses working in digital and multimedia design have a fee income or budget of less than £100,000.
How does the financial performance1 of design businesses working in digital and multimedia design for the last year compare with the year before?
41% of design and multimedia businesses have seen their financial performance improve year on year.
How has demand for digital and multimedia design changed over the last three years?
61% of digital and multimedia design businesses consider that demand for their services has increased over the last three years – this figure is higher than for any other design disciplines.
Clients of design businesses working in digital and multimedia design
Which industry sectors are digital and multimedia design businesses working in?
Just under half of digital and multimedia design businesses work for clients in the finance and business services sector.
What percentage of digital and multimedia design businesses work in the public, private and third sectors?
Almost all digital and multimedia design businesses work in the private sector compared to only half that work in the public sector.
Job market for design businesses working in digital and multimedia design
What percentage of digital and multimedia design businesses are recruiting?
35% of design businesses working in digital and multimedia design recruited at least one designer last year ( all design businesses– 31% ) What percentage of digital and multimedia design businesses have made redundancies over the last year? 6% of design businesses in digital and multimedia design made redundancies last year ( all design businesses–
7%).