Report says design boosts growth

Companies that actively use design dramatically outperform those that do not, claims a Design Council report out tomorrow.

The study, which tracked UK quoted companies for a decade, reveals that a group of 63 organisations identified to be ‘effective users of design’ outperformed the FTSE 100 index by 200 per cent.

Companies were selected for their performance across design awards such as British Design & Art Direction and the Design Business Association’s Design Effectiveness Awards and include many of the UK’s leading brands, such as Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC, Tesco, Boots the Chemists, Easyjet and Shell.

Design Council deputy chief executive Harry Rich says he hopes the study will encourage investment into design-led businesses and bolster companies’ intentions to invest in design.

Ultimately, he adds, he would like to see ‘someone in the financial sector launch a fund around design-led businesses’.

On the strength of the report’s findings, the Design Council has asked the FTSE Group to calculate an index that will measure the performance of design-led businesses more regularly.