Product and industrial design businesses account for just over 10% of the UK’s design businesses.
The discipline is well established in the UK. Over a third of product and industrial design businesses have been operating for 15 years or more, although the number of in-house design teams and freelance designers working in product and industrial design has fallen since 2005. Product and industrial design businesses record higher fee incomes/budgets than other disciplines but reported lower levels of growth in demand for their services. In terms of recruitment, product and industrial firms are 6% more likely to have taken on new designers in last year than the national average for design businesses.
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Size of product and industrial design sector
What percentage of UK design businesses work in product and industrial design?
Overall 11% of design businesses in the UK work in product and industrial design. The number of design consultancies working in product and industrial design has remained stable since 2005, but there has been a noticeable decrease in the number of freelance designers and in-house design teams working in this discipline.
What percentage of UK design businesses work solely in product and industrial design?
9% of design businesses in the UK work solely in product and industrial design.
- Design consultancies 11%
- Freelance designers 8%
- In-house design teams 16%
Profile of design businesses working in product and industrial design
How long have design businesses working in communications design been operating for?
Just over a third of product and industrial design businesses have been in operation for more than 15 years.
How many designers work in in-house product and industrial design teams?
In-house product and industrial design teams are on average larger than in-house design teams working in other disciplines.
How many designers do design consultancies working in product and industrial design employ?
Just under 90% of product and industrial design consultancies employ less than 10 designers.
Financial performance of businesses working in product and industrial design
What proportion of design businesses in each region work in product and industrial design?
The North East has more than double the average proportion of product and industrial design businesses.
- East 11%
- East Midlands 13%
- London 9%
- North East 25%
- Northern Ireland 19%
- North West 11%
- Scotland 12%
- South East 9%
- South West 12%
- Wales 16%
- West Midlands 13%
- Yorkshire and the Humber 10%
- UK 11%
What is the fee income/budget of design businesses working in product and industrial design?
Product and industrial design businesses have higher than average fee incomes/budgets.
How does the financial performance1 of design businesses working in product and industrial design for the last year compare with that of the year before?
The financial performance of product and industrial design businesses is broadly in line with the national average across the disciplines.
How has demand for product and industrial design changed over the last three years?
Compared to other disciplines, product and industrial design businesses have experienced less growth in demand.
Clients of design businesses working in product and industrial design
Which industry sectors are product and industrial design businesses working in?
Product and industrial design businesses work across a range of sectors, most commonly in manufacturing.
What percentage of product and industrial design businesses work in the public, private and third sectors?
Product and industrial design businesses are less likely to work in the public and third sectors than other UK design businesses.
Job market for design businesses working in product and industrial design
What percentage of product and industrial design businesses are recruiting?
37% of design businesses working in product and industrial design recruited at least one designer last year ( all design businesses – 31% )
What percentage of product and industrial design businesses have made redundancies over the last year?
10% of design businesses in product and industrial design made redundancies last year ( all design businesses – 7% )