Designing a Future Economy is Design Council’s 2017 report investigating the skills used in design, the link between these skills and productivity and innovation, and how they align with future demand for skills across the wider UK economy. It is an unprecedented study testing a new methodology as well as definitions of design.
Why it matters
Stagnant productivity and growing automation are putting pressure on living standards and job security at the same time as the UK is planning its exit from the European Union. Whilst solving the UK’s productivity puzzle won’t be easy, we know that skills are crucial to economic performance.
In our 2015 Design Economy study we found that design workers are considerably more productive than the average UK worker and we wanted to better understand the role design skills might play in boosting the UK’s economic performance, particularly given the opportunities and challenges being brought by the fourth industrial revolution.
For the first time, Designing a Future Economy systematically maps the skills associated with design in the UK and measures the economic value those using these skills generate.
To learn more and download the report, please visit: Design Council
