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UK designers: white, (mostly) male, 38 and multiplying

Graphic Design

Posted by Patrick Burgoyne, 30 March 2010, 15:53    Permalink    Comments (14)

The Design Council has published its latest survey of the UK design industry. Numbers of designers have grown nearly a third since 2005, are 60% male, 93% white and most likely to be 38 years old.

The Design Council estimates that there are now 232,000 designers employed in the UK. Astonishingly, this is up 29% on 2005, the date of the last survey. The number of freelancers is up nearly a third and now represents 65,900 individuals. 82,500 designers work in consultanices and 83,600 work in-house.

There are now 10,800 UK design consultancies (a decrease of 13% compared to 2005).

In terms of discipline, communications design dominates, with 62% of all designers working in that area. Only 11% of designers work in product and industrial design, which is still coonsiderably more than fashion and textiles' 2%.

Geographically, London and the south-east dominate – 40% of UK design businesses are located there. Next comes the rather unspecific 'east' at 10%, west midlands at 8% and Yorkshire & Humber, north west, south west and Scotland all at 7%.

The financial figures reveal just how small most design businesses are in the UK. An astonishing 49% of all UK design businesses are described by the Design Council as having 'a fee income/budget of less than £50k' per year. A further 24% earn between £50k and £100k – so that's 73% earning under £100k a year. Only 3% earn £1 million or more.

And design studios are small in terms of numbers too. Almost 90% have 10 or fewer designers. 70% employ between one and four designers. Businesses are also quite young – 37% have been going three years or less. 60% six years or less.

Demographically, designers are 60% male, 93% white and, on average, 38 years old. The survey compares these figures to architects, software professionals and 'artists & literary professionals'. In gender terms, design doesn't come off badly – 84% of architects and 86% of software professionals are male. Ethnically it is worse though - 11% or architects are from an ethnic minority, 16% or software professionals and 9% of 'artists & literary professionals'. However, according to the last UK census (2001) the country is 92% white, so design is only slightly off the average.

Fears of the recession decimating the industry do not seem to have materialised. A third recruited at least one designer last year and just over half experienced either no change or increases in income.

In terms of where the work is coming from, just under half of UK design businesses do some work within the public sector, which, on the surface, rather goes against the oft-heard accusation that designers have overwhelmingly become tools of consumerism. However, this figure only tells us that they do some work in that sector, it doesn't tell us what proportion of their overall work it represents.

Only 7% do work for clients outside the UK but 69% claim they are facing increased competition from overseas.

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14 Comments

What a great survey, a really interesting read.

Invariably us designers spend much of our time stuck behind a computer screen; we don't often get the chance to see the bigger picture. So it's fantastic that the Design Council do get out there, investing their time and expertise in 'seeing' the industry for us, and then letting us know that, well, it's doing alright.

Without going into the actual figures and what they mean for us all, I'm just grateful to the Design Council that we have them. Oh, and it's nice to know that I'm not, quite, average.
Marc Atkinson
2010-03-31 15:48:34

pigeon holes
Graphic Design Manchester
2010-03-31 16:16:51

Well being a 38 year old white male working in the design industry I feel suddenly less of an old fart :)
John
2010-04-01 13:27:43

"232,000 designers employed in the UK. Astonishingly, this is up 29% on 2005"

Does anyone else feel that this growth is pretty unsustainable?
David
2010-04-01 13:46:37

Only the bad designers are unsustainable. Being 36, made me feel young all of a sudden...
Dan Frydman
2010-04-01 15:49:13

...but...throughout my 5 years at design uni (in London) we were always 60% female students...how can this be?
Bird
2010-04-01 16:21:41

Wow I feel very young and a minority group at 27 and a being woman... well a girl. ;)

I do mostly meet men (with beards) in the industry - maybe that should be the next survey? How many designers have beards, and how many glasses? I think that could be interesting... especially us designers who started off without glasses and have had to invest due to lack of focus?
OkJo
2010-04-01 17:23:14

Well I'm 35and working in japan feel better about coming home on day and not being over the hill afterall
Phil
2010-04-04 02:16:39

going from previous 'assumptions' I've encountered - roughly 45 of that 60% Bird mentions will now be refered to as 'artists' instead... I think it would be highly important to include contact lense wearers in the glasses/beards survey, you know, so we don't discriminate?

Looking forward to really bucking the trend in a couple of months when Graduation looms and my Brunel degree has to stand up to the tests of the real world!
Epencil
2010-04-04 20:19:21

Female, 31 graphic designer - and i must say its quite a good to hear 40% female this is very good for an industry that used to be so inaccesible to women and much better than some, it makes me feel confident I won't be the unusual candidate. I also feel rather young now.
emily
2010-04-06 12:41:07

Asian, (Shock, horror) 36, stubbley beard because i cant be arsed shaving, no glasses, GSOH.

:)

great survey tho.
number8
2010-04-06 15:26:19

"49% of all UK design businesses are described by the Design Council as having 'a fee income/budget of less than £50k' per year"!!!

It seems Freelancers who have created a company to trade under might be creating slightly misleading figures here, unless nearly half the UK design companies are verging on bankruptcy given average salaries and office rent costs!!
Rick
2010-04-06 15:28:12

They should also survey how many design industry workers like Jack Johnson and the Red Hot Chili Peppers: 99.5% I reckon based on my time spent freelancing...
Dave
2010-04-09 11:26:31

Interesting survey, it actually helps me out loads with my current brief. I have to design a paper toy of the "typical Graphic Designer" so white, male and 38 years old he shall be! Thanks CR :)
Grace
2010-04-13 15:17:50

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