Design Council says UK design is paying

Research into the 31 public companies which produced Millennium Products claims their share prices have grown on average at twice the rate of the Financial Times All-Share Index, from December 1995 to December 1999.

Published in Design in Britain – the Design Council’s annual guide to British design – the findings confirm the effectiveness of the design industry in the UK, with 35 per cent of businesses saying design is “integral” to their operation, up from 24 per cent the previous year.

Among the companies to have seen their value rise significantly in recent years as a result of having nominated Millennium Products are Cambridge Antibody Technology, BTG and Drew Scientific. Others are drawn from the telecommunications, electronics, software and health sectors.

Other results show 73 per cent of businesses with more than 200 staff say design, creativity and innovation have brought them better product and service quality, while 71 per cent of companies believe e-commerce is the most important factor in how they will be run in the next three years. This is an increase of 7 per cent on the 1999 figure.