News & Events

Design industry 'not high-profile enough'

Date posted:

21st May 2008

The design industry is not well-represented in government, it has been claimed.

A report from the Associate Parliamentary Group for Design and Innovation has criticised the design industry for not having a high enough profile in the government, it has been reported.

According to Design Week, the study found that, despite the government being particularly interested in the creative industries, only 22 per cent of MPs were "very familiar" with the Design Council and some 50 per cent had never heard of the Design Business Association.

Joanne Shaw, the report's author, told the magazine that more should be done to change this.

"No-one in the sector is actually lobbying on behalf of design. It is far more likely for a design organisation to get a meeting with a minister if they get the support of an MP first, and MPs are more likely to be in their positions in the long term," she said.

Research from the Design Council in 2005 found that around 185,500 people work in design in the UK, with 62 per cent of designers aged under 40.

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