New research from the Design Council highlights how globalisation is generating a threat of increasing international competition for designers, but creating opportunities for those taking on new markets. Worryingly, it also revealed that many of the designers surveyed did not know what action to take to enter new markets.
Entitled UK Design - Buying and Selling for a Global Industry, the research by the national strategic body for design was carried out among nearly 300 designers facing international competition.
It reveals that the design industry faces more intense competition than ever, with 64 per cent of designers surveyed asserting that competition from overseas has increased over the last three years in the UK.
The findings show that eight out of ten designers surveyed are up against overseas competition for UK business. More than half (56 per cent) say the main competition for this work is from Asia, with digital and multimedia designers singling out India (52 per cent), and product and industrial designers mainly concerned about China (42 per cent). A narrowing gap in quality between home-grown and overseas design is one reason cited for design buyers looking abroad, as clients become less willing to pay premium prices for UK design.
By contrast the figures show a strong performance for the UK design industry, with 98 percent of UK clients still buying British. Two thirds of designers surveyed, however, say that they expect competition in the UK market to intensify over the next three years.
More than six out of ten of the designers surveyed have changed their services in response to the international challenge. Measures taken include broadening the range of disciplines they provide, offering more strategic and conceptual design services, and focussing on niche areas. Seventy-nine per cent of designers who have made changes of this kind say it has made them more competitive internationally. Additionally, around four out of ten have increased their staff's design and business skills.
As well as providing competition, the overseas market has led to increased opportunity for designers, and 82 per cent of designers surveyed say the reputation of UK design is beneficial in winning overseas work. However, the survey revealed that many designers are leaving international opportunities to chance with almost half of those who have taken on overseas clients saying that they did so in response to unforeseen circumstances.
The survey revealed that in addition to a lack of planning, there is some unwillingness to explore the overseas market. Half of the designers surveyed who have not yet worked abroad say they don't intend to do so, while around a third of designers say that they do not know what actions they would need to take to enter new overseas markets.
Design Council Chief Executive David Kester said: "This research shows that designers cannot afford to be complacent in today's globally competitive industry and that they need to mount a more strategic approach to international competition in the future. The Design Council is working on several fronts to make sure that UK designers stay ahead of the game, including focusing on the development of high-level skills and encouraging businesses to capitalise on creativity."