Some facts on statistics for design in the UK. I have looked at freelance, in house, and designers in Yorkshire and the Humber. From The Design Council. The 10% higher average for this area is good news because when I graduate this is the area I will be looking for jobs in. Freelancing is something I want to look into for when I have worked for an agency and have gained some contacts and experience. The stats are quite scary but I'm not put off by the figures.
Profile of freelance designers in the UK
What disciplines do freelance designers work in?
Just over 60% of freelance designers work in communications design
and just under half work in digital and multimedia design. The number of
freelance designers working in product and industrial design has
decreased by 13% since 2005.
How long have UK freelance designers been operating for?
A significant proportion of freelances have not been in business
long. More than 40% of them have been operating for three years or less
and approximately one in ten freelance designers have been operating for
less than 12 months.
Where are UK freelance designers based?
London and the South East are home to the largest proportion of freelance designers.
Financial performance of freelance designers
What is the collective fee income of freelance designers in the UK?
The total annual fee income of UK freelance designers was estimated
to be £3.6bn for the last financial year. This is a 22% increase
(adjusted for inflation) on 2005.
What was the fee income of UK freelance designers for the last financial year?
Almost 60% of freelance designers have an annual fee income of less than £50k.
How does the fee income of freelance designers for the last financial year compare with the year before?
More than a quarter (26%) of freelance designers experienced a
decrease in their fee income last year compared to 38% who experienced
an increase.
Has the size of freelance designers’ client base changed over the last three years?
More than half of freelance designers have increased the number of clients that they work for over the last three years.
- 55% have experienced an increase in the number of clients
- 22% have experienced a decrease in the number of clients
- 18% have experienced no change in the number of clients
How do freelance designers expect their fee income to change over the next year?
Freelance designers are optimistic about their financial prospects for the year ahead.
How much of freelance designers’ fee income comes from new clients?
On average, 44% of freelances fee income for the last financial year
came from new clients. By comparison, 35% of design consultancies’
annual fee income for the last financial year came from new clients.
Clients and competition for UK freelance designers
What percentage of UK freelances work for the private, public and third sectors?
Just under half of freelance designers work for public sector clients.
One in five work for clients in the third sector.
Which industry sectors do UK freelance designers work for?
Freelance designers are most likely to work for clients in the business services and financial sector.
Where are freelance designers’ main clients located?
Freelance designers are less likely than design consultancies or
in-house design teams to do work abroad. Almost all freelance designers
work predominantly for clients based in the UK.
- 95% of UK freelance designers’ main clients are based in the UK
- 4% of UK freelance designers’ main clients are based in the EU
- 1% of UK freelance designers’ clients are based outside the EU
Where does freelance designers’ competition come from?
Less than 10% of freelance designers’ competition comes from overseas.
- 89% of UK freelance designers say their main competition comes from within the UK
- 4% of UK freelance designers say their main competition comes from within the EU
- 7% of UK freelance designers say their main competition comes from outside of the EU
How has competition for freelance designers changed over the last three years?
The majority of freelance designers say that competition for work has increased over the last three years.
- 21% of UK freelance designers say there has been no change in their competition
- 70% of UK freelance designers think competition has increased
- 10% of UK freelance designers think competition has decreased
Number of in-house design teams and in-house designers in the UK
How many in-house design teams are there in the UK?
There are 6,500 in-house design teams in the UK (in businesses with 100 plus employees). This is a 10% increase since 2005.
How many designers work in in-house design teams in the UK?
There are 83,6002 designers working in in-house design teams in the UK. This is an 8% increase on 2005.
Profile of in-house design teams in the UK
What disciplines do in-house design teams work in?
Four fifths of in-house teams work in communications design, an increase of almost 20% since 2005.
How big are in-house design teams?
Just under two thirds of in-house design teams employ fewer than five designers.
How long have UK in-house design teams been operating?
UK in-house teams are well established; more than half have been operating for 15 years or more.
How big are the businesses3 that in-house teams are based in?
In-house design teams can be found in businesses of varied sizes.
How many of the businesses that have in-house teams are in the public, private and third sector?
A third of in-house design teams work in the public sector. Very few third sector businesses have in-house design teams.
Where do in-house design teams sit within a business?
Half of in-house design teams are based within another department, most commonly marketing or communications.
What percentage of in-house design teams undertake work for external clients on a commercial basis?
One in five in-house design teams report undertaking commercial work for clients outside their own business.
Why do businesses have in-house design teams?
The most common reason for businesses to have in-house design teams
is to ensure cost effectiveness. This has become more important for
businesses over the last five years.
What industry sectors are in-house design teams part of?
In-house design teams are most commonly based in public sector organisations and manufacturing businesses.
Financial position of in-house design teams
What is the value of the collective budgets of UK in-house design teams?
UK in-house design teams’ budgets have a total value of £3.8bn – this
is a decrease of approximately 34% (adjusted for inflation) since 2005.
How did UK in-house design teams’ budgets for last year compare with the year before?
Just over a third of in-house design teams saw no change in their budget over the last financial year.
How do UK in-house design teams expect their budgets to change next year?
More than 40% of in-house design teams do not expect their budgets to change significantly in the coming year.
Job market for in-house design teams
What percentage of in-house design teams recruited staff last year?
31% of in-house design teams recruited at least one designer last
year. This is in line with recruitment levels for design consultancies
(also 31%) but 20% down on 2005 figures when 51% of in-house design
teams had recruited over the previous year.
What percentage of in-house design teams made redundancies last year?
9% of UK in-house design teams made redundancies last year compared to 7% of all design businesses.
Number of designers and design businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber
How many designers are there in Yorkshire and the Humber?
There are 13,4351 designers in Yorkshire and the Humber. This is an increase of 56%2 on 2003.
How many design businesses are there in Yorkshire and the Humber?
There are 6,056 design businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber. Design
businesses in the Yorkshire and the Humber account for 7% of design
businesses in the UK.
- Design consultancies 756
- Freelance designers 4,613
- In-house design teams 585
Profile of design businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber
What disciplines do design businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber work in?
72% of design businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber work in communications design. This is 10% higher than the UK average.
How long have design businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber been operating?
35% of design businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber have been
operating for less than four years, this compares to 25% who have been
operating for more than 15 years.
How many designers do in-house design teams in Yorkshire and the Humber employ?
More than two-thirds of in-house teams in Yorkshire and the Humber employ fewer than five designers.
How many designers do design consultancies in Yorkshire and the Humber employ?
Design consultancies in Yorkshire and the Humber are smaller than the national average.
Financial performance of design businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber
What is the annual fee income/budget for design businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber?
There are more design businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber earning over £50k threshold than the average UK region.
How does the financial performance3 of design businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber for the last year compare with the year before?
41% of design businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber increased their fee income/budget over the last year.
Clients of design businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber
What industry sectors do design businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber work in?
Yorkshire and the Humber has a higher than average proportion of design businesses working in the manufacturing sector.
How big are the clients of Yorkshire and the Humber design businesses?
13% of design businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber work with large firms.
Job market for design businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber
What percentage of design businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber are recruiting?
28% of design businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber recruited at least one designer last year (UK average – 31%).
What percentage of design businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber made redundancies last year?
5% of design businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber made redundancies last year (UK average – 7%).
