Design Economy 2021 – Introductory Paper

This series of papers sets out a methodological proposal for Design Economy 2021: Design Council’s flagship programme of research assessing UK design. Previous iterations of this research have focused predominantly on the economic significance of design: on the numbers of designers and design firms, on the use of design in business, and on the financial value generated for the UK economy through design activity. The scope of Design Economy 2021 goes beyond this, looking at the social and environmental value of design as well as the economic; looking at how design is used and understood in the public sector, as well as by businesses, and the public understanding of design. It also has a greater emphasis on investigating issues of equality, diversity and inclusivity in design, including across the UK’s nations and regions. Further, Design Economy 2021 will be not only backward-looking, a snapshot of design as it is today, but forward-looking, in setting out a positive vision of where design might be in 2050, and what it will take to get there.