Number of UK Designers Increases by a Quarter

The number of designers in the UK has grown by a quarter over the past five years, according to new research from the Design Council.

Early analysis from the Design Industry Research survey, which is set to be released in full next year, shows that there are 232.000 designers in the UK, up from 185.500 when the research was last undertaken in 2005.

However, the total number of consultancies in the UK has declined from 12.450 in 2005 to 10.800, and the proportion of larger consultancies has also fallen, suggesting that the employment increase must be attributable to growth among smaller consultancies.

The number of freelance designers has grown by 39 per cent, and the number of designers in consultancy employment has grown by 35 per cent, but the number of in-house designers has grown by just 8 per cent.