How well is the value of design communicated?

The headline

When a business works with a design agency, they’re content that the value of design is being communicated to them.

They’re slightly less convinced that the design industry as a whole does this job well, though overall satisfaction rates are still very high.

Surprisingly, the most pessimistic view here is held by designers themselves. Two in five feel they don’t explain the value of their services well.

The details

Do businesses think the designers they work with are good at explaining the value of design?

UK businesses are overwhelmingly (96%) convinced that the designers they work with explain the value of their services.

Do businesses think the design industry is good at explaining the value of design?

One in eight UK businesses think the design industry communicates the value of its services well (81%).

Overall, businesses think the industry is slightly less effective at this than the individual agencies they work with.

Businesses in the retail, wholesale and leisure sector are the least convinced. A third (31%) think the design industry communicates its value ‘not very well’ or ‘not well at all’.

How well does the design industry think it explains its value to businesses?

The UK design industry has mixed views about its ability to explain the value of design to businesses. Nearly three out of five (59%) think it’s done well, but 38% don’t agree.

The business of design research gives more insight into these issues from the point of view of designers.