How UK businesses use design
The headline
This report tells you what types of design UK businesses are using, and where in their business they tend to apply it.
These findings point to some key conclusions.
Firstly, if you want to grow rapidly, use design. Businesses that are growing rapidly are more likely than the rest to use almost all types of design.
Only one in ten rapidly growing businesses don’t use any kind of design. Among all businesses, this rises to three in ten businesses.
Secondly, UK businesses tend to apply design to areas of their businesses that are consumer or client-facing. They’re less likely to use it to improve things internally.
We also have regional figures on what types of design businesses use and how.
The details
What types of design do businesses use?
Communications design is the most commonly used service. It’s used by 52% of all UK businesses, and by 61% of rapidly growing ones.
This demand is matched by supply. According to The business of design , 61% of UK design consultancies offer communications design services (such as branding, graphics, corporate identity and print).
Rapidly growing businesses tend to be more avid users of design than the average. For example, they use more digital and multimedia, interior and exhibition and service design than the average business.
A third (32%) of businesses don’t use any design services. Interestingly, 40% of businesses where turnover hasn’t increased in the past year do not use any type of design.
It’s also significant that only 11% of rapidly growing businesses fail to use any type of design in their business.
Larger businesses are more likely to use design. 85% use at least one type of design, compared to 66% of small businesses.
Use also differs between sectors. Manufacturers are most likely to use at least one type of design (80%), followed by:
- Property, finance and business services: 73%
- Retail, wholesale and leisure services: 67%
- Primary industry, construction, utilities and communications: 49%.
Where do businesses apply design?
Half of UK businesses apply design to externally facing functions, such as corporate communications and branding (50%) and marketing (48%).
It’s fair to assume that, in these contexts, they see design’s role mainly in terms of making their business appeal to those outside it, such as customers and suppliers.
Fewer businesses apply design to areas that aren’t so obviously consumer facing, such as new product development (28%), internally facing functions (19%), business planning (16%) or research and development (12%).
Again, larger businesses are more likely to apply design across a range of different areas of their business. Only 7% don’t use design in any of the areas surveyed.
The sectors we surveyed vary in how they apply design in their business:
- Manufacturers are most likely to apply it to developing new products (54%).
- Retail, wholesale and leisure services businesses favour marketing (66%).
- The primary industry, construction, utilities and communications sector is most likely not to apply any kind of design (36%).
For more information on the UK design industry, see The business of design .