The content of the Value of Design Factfinder is based on two pieces of Design Council research. Design in Britain 2005–06 is based on the Design Council’s National Survey of Firms and provides evidence of how businesses use and understand design, and how it impacts on their performance. In addition, the Value Added Research 2007 provides details of how businesses add value to their offer, use design to do so, and how this impacts on performance.
Design Council research found that design can directly and significantly improve sales, profits, turnover and growth. Using and valuing design brings bottom line benefits, and those who understand and act on this insight have a competitive edge over the rest.
For example:
- Rapidly growing businesses are nearly six times as likely as static ones to see design as integral.
- Shares in design-led businesses have outperformed the FTSE 100 by more than 200% over the past decade.
- For every £100 a design alert business spends on design, turnover increases by £225.
- Businesses that add value through design see a greater impact on business performance than the rest.
