The UK design industry – an overvieW

• The UK has the second-largest design sector in the world and the largest design industry in Europe. 

• The UK is recognised for the high quality of its designers. It is one of the most established design industries in the world, building on design and innovation dating back to the Royal Society of Arts’ support of open innovation in the mid-18th century and the great industrial designers and innovators of the first Industrial Revolution, including Stephenson, Brunel and Telford. 

• The UK applies for the most trademarks within Europe and ranks fourth in the world for number of applications.

• The UK ranks fourth in the world for design exports and exports 50 per cent more design than it imports. Ninety per cent of British design businesses say their main competition comes from within the UK.

• The UK has an internationally acclaimed infrastructure that includes strong cultural assets such as the Design Council, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Design Museum and world-class courses at universities.