The East Midlands

The East Midlands is home to 6% of UK design businesses. According to Labour Force Survey data there are just under 10,000 designers in the East Midlands, an increase of 12% since 2003.

Communications designers are under-represented in the region compared with the UK average, but this is balanced by a higher-than-average proportion of digital & multimedia firms.

Download a PDF factsheet full of facts and stats on the design industry in the East Midlands


Number of designers and design businesses in the East Midlands

How many designers are there in the East Midlands?

There are 9,8751 designers in the East Midlands. This is an increase


How many design businesses are there in the East Midlands?

There are 4,333 design businesses in the East Midlands. Design businesses in the East Midlands account for 6% of the UK total.

  • Design consultancies 648
  • Freelance designers 3,295
  • In-house design teams 390


Profile of design businesses in the East Midlands

What disciplines do design businesses in the East Midlands work in?

Communications and digital & multimedia design are the most common disciplines in the East Midlands.

How long have design businesses in the East Midlands been operating?

Over a third of design businesses in the East Midlands are less than four years old.

How many designers do in-house design teams in the East Midlands employ?

60% of in–house teams in the East Midlands have fewer than five designers.

How many designers do design consultancies in the East Midlands employ?

Most design consultancies in the East Midlands employ fewer than five designers.


Financial performance of design businessses in the East Midlands

What is the annual fee income/budget for design businesses in the East Midlands?

The East Midlands has a smaller than average number of design businesses with fee income/budget in the £50k–£100k bracket.

How does the financial performance3 of design businesses in the East Midlands for the last year compare with the year before?

The proportion of design businesses in the East Midlands reporting substantial fee income/budget increases is double the UK average.


Clients of design businesses in the East Midlands

What industry sectors do design businesses in the East Midlands work in?

East Midlands design businesses do more work for clients in the manufacturing sector than the average UK design business.

How big are the clients of East Midlands design businesses?

Only 4% of East Midlands design businesses work mainly for large clients.


Job market for design businesses in the East Midlands

What percentage of design businesses in the East Midlands are recruiting?

32% of design businesses in the East Midlands recruited at least one designer last year (UK average – 31%).

What percentage of design businesses in the East Midlands have made redundancies over the last year?

8% of design businesses in the East Midlands made redundancies last year (UK average – 7%).

 

Notes

1

Source: Labour Force Survey 2008, excludes those working in a managerial capacity.

 

2

Source: Labour Force Survey 2003 and 2008.

 

3

Financial performance is fee income for design consultancies and freelancers and budget for in house design teams

 

Data sources

All data is drawn from the Design Council’s Design Industry Survey conducted from September to November 2009, unless otherwise specified.
More detailed information on the methodology for this survey can be found in the document ‘Design Industry Research Survey Glossary and Methodology’ on the Design Council’s website.