Revitalising our economy through design

In 1944, Winston Churchill’s wartime government founded the Design Council to help revive the postwar economy through the promotion of good design. The country was exhausted after years of conflict, but it had acquired a wealth of technical knowledge in plastics, aviation, radar, and computing.

Churchill recognised that to compete internationally, Britain needed to transform this expertise into high‑quality, desirable, and useful products — and that design was the key to doing so. From the success of the Jaguar E‑Type to the miniskirt and Concorde, this policy proved remarkably effective.

Since then, Britain’s design community has flourished. The Design Council — still running today — estimates there are 1.6 million designers in the UK, and that the industry contributes nearly £300 billion to the economy. More than 1,500 design courses are now available to students, and our design schools remain the envy of the world. Once focused solely on industrial design, the Design Council now covers an enormous spectrum of disciplines — from branding and digital design to inclusivity and sustainable innovation.

Yet, all is not well. A recent Economist article placed creative arts degrees at the very bottom of its chart for return on investment, suggesting that many students would have been better off not pursuing a degree at all. Graduates often repay only a fraction of their student loans before the remainder is written off — a poor outcome both for individuals and for the public purse. As the UK economy struggles to grow, creativity is too often seen as expendable. Many designers now find it hard to secure well‑paid work. In architecture, for example, the architect’s role — once central from concept to completion — has been eroded. Today, construction companies often take the plans and build to a price, cutting quality as they go. That may be economical, but it’s not better. We have stopped valuing design and designers.

As in 1944, design remains a vital component of the strategy needed to revitalise our stagnating economy. Yet its status, and therefore its impact, has declined — ironically, because of its success. Design is now so widespread and commonplace that it is often defined by its outputs rather than its enduring principles. Poster design thrived in the 1950s, and digital design flourished in the 1990s, but technologies and cultures evolve — and AI is now reshaping the landscape once again. The medium in which designers work may change, but the principles of design remain constant, and they must be protected and applied.

The UK stands at a crossroads. We must rebuild our economy sustainably and efficiently, using fewer resources. We already possess world‑leading technical capabilities — in areas such as small modular reactors, quantum technologies, and advanced computing. To capitalise on these strengths, design must take centre stage once more — but the design industry itself must also evolve.

AI will inevitably take over the back‑end tasks of design. That’s a positive shift: humans can then focus on the front‑end work — applying design principles to create and plan truly new products and services. AI excels at pattern recognition and recombination, but it cannot imagine or desire. Only humans can conceive of new worlds and understand what we truly value.

This transformation begins in education. We must shift away from narrow, medium‑specific courses — such as those centred solely on social media — and instead focus on broad, adaptable design methodologies and principles. Graduates with this foundation will be able to navigate and shape a rapidly changing industry. They will not only practice design but also lead it — managing design within companies and influencing strategy from the middle tier to the C‑suite.

Industry, too, must rediscover the central role of design — not as an afterthought, but as an integral force throughout every process. Steve Jobs exemplified this by placing product designer Jony Ive at the heart of Apple’s success, leading to the creation of the iPhone — one of the most successful products in history. British businesses must do the same.

With the right relationship between design and industry, and with design recognised once more as a strategic discipline, British enterprise has every capability to lead the world — turning its immense creativity, skills, and knowledge into an unbeatable competitive advantage.

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