Says Sir Bazalgette, “Not only are the Creative Industries themselves likely to grow as a proportion of our economy, other industries rely on creative disciplines – such as Design and Advertising – to thrive. The cultural and creative sectors are the engine of the UK’s international image and soft power.”

This assertion to growth is reflected by design industry trends, as found by the DBA’s Annual Survey:

Growth:

• Average gross income generated per head has grown by 3.8% to £89,992 (up from £86,700 in 2016). (NB this figure includes freelancers as well as permanent staff to give a realistic representation of how income is earned)

• 67% of agencies are expecting an overall rise in gross income over the next 12 months, with 18% expecting a rise of over 10%.

• Income from overseas clients has grown 3% in a year, up from 20% of overall income to 23%.

• Many agencies are looking to ‘staff up’ over the coming 12 months, with 56% of agencies planning to expand their workforce.

Confidence levels:

• Over three quarters of respondents have a positive outlook on their business’ health: 77% reported that business was ok or doing great and growing compared to 65% after the EU Referendum vote in 2016.

• And the number of businesses that are concerned about business health or are struggling to stay in business has dropped: Down from 17% in 2016 (post Referendum) to 9.5% in 2017.

• In a further sign of confidence, a majority of staff are likely to receive pay rises in the coming year: 79% of senior staff, 81% of middleweight, 83% of junior.

Says DBA CEO Deborah Dawton, “We are seeing that in the current economic and political landscape both Business and Government are placing ever greater value on design’s intrinsic capabilities to solve complex challenges and deliver competitive advantage. As confidence in design investment grows, so should the confidence of the industry itself grow and despite difficult trading conditions, it’s heartening to see this being translated into a positive business outlook by DBA members, as demonstrated by the findings of our Annual Survey Report.”

The 2017 DBA Annual Survey Report includes analysis by Esther Carder, Partner at Kingston Smith and is published exclusively for DBA members. 

The report analyses in detail design agency fees, salaries, utilisation, income, recovery rates and benefits to enable DBA members to benchmark their businesses as well as helping them to develop pay and benefits strategies to attract and retain the best talent.

If you’re not yet a DBA member and would like to join to access the Report’s findings, call the membership team on 020 7251 9229 or email membership@dba.org.uk 

“The DBA Annual Survey Report is essential in helping us to benchmark what we pay our staff and what we charge clients, in order to remain competitive.” Andy West, Director, MultiAdaptor

The Report is supported by Pegasus Systems.

DBA Design Effectiveness Awards 2018 | shortlist

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For full information about the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards, including winning case studies from 2017 please click here.

Mark van Iterson, Director Global Heineken Design, Heineken International

“What’s really special about Heineken, is that design innovation is in the DNA of the company.”

“For a beer brand that never changes its recipe, since over a century that’s always been the same, then design, designing the brand, innovating around the brand, creating the experience around it is of huge importance to keep it engaging and interesting and develop added value.”

“I think creative people will lead the concepts of the future, they will develop the propositions of the future, so I think more and more companies will see the value [of design].”

Mark Curtis, Founder and Chief Client Officer, Fjord

“Design thinking on its own is not enough. We call it the rule of three: Design thinking, design doing and design culture.”

“A rise in the number of clients in the last few years, asking us ‘please can you help us set up a design outfit?’”

“I’ve had numerous conversations with CIOs and CMOs, who are saying ‘I don’t actually understand where design should sit in the organisation. Who owns design?… all terribly important questions.”

“If it isn’t attached to the mother ship, it isn’t going to succeed.”

“If you’re going to embed a design culture in an organisation, you actually need to get the hearts and minds of the back office people as well.”

“Design thinking is really about a number of things – at its core I think its about putting the end user at the centre of a process for thinking about how to make sense of things.”

Ron Burrage, Sr. Director, Head of Global Design, The Hershey Company

“If design is embedded early on, I think you’re going to end up with a better consumer experience in retail and at home.”

“Design culture is everybody working together to get to the best result.”

Design: driving transformation in business will take place in London on Thursday 12 October. View the full line-up of inimitable design leaders speaking and book your ticket.

• Ron Burrage, Sr. Director, Head of Global Design, The Hershey Company
• Mark van Iterson, Director Global Heineken Design, Heineken International
• Louise Smith, Head of Design and Transformation, Royal Bank of Scotland
• Mark Curtis, Founder and Chief Client Officer, Fjord
• Jon Denham, Vice President Disruptive Innovation & Design, ConAgra Foods
• François Lenfant, General Manager Healthcare Experience, Global Design at GE Healthcare
• Judith Stracey, Chairman, White LogisticsTestimonials Panel
• Oliver King, Director/Founder, Engine Service Design
• Jeremy Bassinder, Exec Partner – Consumer Products & UKI iX Leader for Consumer Products, Retail and Travel & Transport, IBM
• Luke Mansfield, Vice President, Innovation, Global Beverage Group, PepsiCo