The West Midlands has the fourth highest concentration of design businesses in the UK – 8% of the UK’s design businesses are based in the region. The number of designers working there has increased by 40% since 2003.
The West Midlands is dominated by communications design – 70% of design businesses in the region work in this discipline; a further 57% work in digital and multimedia design – both of these figures are higher than the UK average. Financially, West Midlands designers have come through the recession well, with comparatively few saying their fees have decreased in the last year, and higher-than-average numbers saying their financial performance has remained stable.
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Number of designers and design businesses in the West Midlands
How many designers are there in the West Midlands?
There are 12,8831 designers in the West Midlands. This is an increase of 40%2 on 2003.
How many design businesses are there in the West Midlands?
There are 7,099 design businesses in the West Midlands. Design businesses in the West Midlands account for 8% of design businesses in the UK.
- Design consultancies 648
- Freelance designers 5,931
- In-house design teams 520
Profile of design businesses in the West Midlands
What disciplines do design businesses in the West Midlands work in?
70% of design businesses in the West Midlands work in communications design.
How long have design businesses in the West Midlands been operating for?
The proportion of relatively new design businesses in the West Midlands is slighty higher than the UK average.
How many designers do in-house design teams in the West Midlands employ?
86% of in-house design teams in the West Midlands employ fewer than 10 designers.
How many designers do design consultancies in the West Midlands employ?
80% of design consultancies in the West Midlands employ fewer than five designers.
Financial performance of design businessses in the West Midlands
What is the annual fee income/budget for design businesses in the West Midlands?
The majority of design businesses in the West Midlands have an annual fee income/budget of less than £50k.
How does the financial performance3 of design businesses in the West Midlands for the last year compare with the year before?
38% of design businesses in the West Midlands improved their financial performance over the last year, compared with 17% who reported a decrease in fee income/budget.
Clients of design businesses in the West Midlands
What industry sectors do design businesses in the West Midlands work in?
35% of design businesses in the West Midlands work in the public sector.
How big are the clients of West Midlands design businesses?
Only 2% of design businesses in the West Midlands work for large firms.
Job market for design businesses in the West Midlands
What percentage of design businesses in the West Midlands are recruiting?
29% of design businesses in the West Midlands recruited at least one designer last year (UK average – 31%).
What percentage of design businesses in the West Midlands made redundancies last year?
6% of design businesses in the West Midlands made redundancies last year (UK average – 7%).