The Growing Value of Design: UK Design Economy in 2026

One thing we always tell our client partners is that design isn’t a one-off creative activity, it’s a strategic way of thinking and navigating a complex issue, and the evidence shows businesses are increasingly adopting this mindset.

The report highlights that two thirds of the gross value added (GVA) created by the design economy is generated by designers working outside specialist design agencies, with around 80% of designers now working in non-design industries. Whether that’s healthcare, financial services, or energy technologies, more businesses are recognising the strategic importance of design, designers and their approach.

By embedding design capabilities, design thinking isn’t isolated to the output of commercial products and services; it’s applied strategically across all operational functions. From streamlining production, through to building robust internal frameworks, design becomes a culture for innovation across the entire business, and adds value across all of its processes.

The report provides case studies that showcase the real impact design has in adding value to products and services, and one case study is particularly close to our own work.

Leeds-based Microneedle Solutions is developing vaccination patches and applied design thinking to their innovation processes to consider the usability, manufacturability, and the overall patient experience. The result was a product that, according to economic modelling, will save the NHS between £20 and £50 per vaccination, and offer up to 97% efficacy.

This approach is exactly what we bring to the table with our MedTech projects – and our wearable sensor designs for EnMovi are a great example. By bringing design in early, alongside engineering and clinical expertise, we ensure products become intuitive and easy to use, while building a stronger commercial case for adoption.

What appeared on the surface as a science and engineering story was ultimately underpinned by design, which played a central role in its success.

According to the report, the design economy’s total export value was £88.2bn in 2022, with 80% of this export value attributed to design services, establishing the UK’s reputation as a global leader in design.

The international demand has also proven to have increased substantially, growing from £56bn in 2019 to £71bn in 2022, representing 17% of total UK service exports. That’s the equivalent to around 77% of the value of the UK financial services exports. This surging demand reflects how the UK is increasingly recognised globally for its design thinking and strategic problem solving.

It’s not only design services that are in demand overseas. Design economy goods exports (physical products such as consumer tech and furniture) reached £17.8bn in 2025, up 36% since 2020. Consumer tech products and hardware account for almost half of this (£8.7bn, up 50% since 2020), and 96% came from businesses outside the design industries. For product businesses, design is part of what international customers are buying.

Looking ahead, more international businesses will turn to our expertise to combine innovation with technical excellence to create better products, services, and systems. As a consultancy, we have seen this firsthand through an expanding platform of international client partners seeking our design capabilities to drive their growth.

Despite a general increase in design employment, over the years there has been a disappointing lack of improvement in diversity, particularly in the representation of designers who identify as women and designers from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Across the overall design sector, women only account for 25% of designers, dropping to just 9% in product and industrial design. Black designers represent 2% of the workforce, compared to 5% of the wider UK working population, while disabled designers account for 16% compared to 18% nationally.

These are staggering statistics for a sector that prides itself on human-centered processes and user understanding. In our experience, we’ve found working alongside people from diverse lived experiences and allowing them creative leadership makes for better, more inclusive products and services that deliver better experiences for people and communities.