Lecture One - The Business of Design.

UK economy

• 7th largest in the world
• 3rd largest in europe
• one of the most globalised countries - visual, social culture
• London is the largest financial centre equal with New York - trade, industry, finance

What is an industry sector?

•  goods
• producing segment of an economy
• an area of the economy where businesses share the same or a related product or service
• sharing common characteristics
• primary sector
• extracting products from the earth
• agriculture, mining, forestry etc
• basic industries, no societies can exist without them
• secondary sector
• the economy manufactures finished gods
• metal working, engineering, construction etc
• tertiary sector
• service industry
• retail, wholesale, transport, entertainment, administration, healthcare etc
• exist around the other industries
• quaternary sector
• intellectual activities
• government, culture, education, law, research
• builds on and informs the other industries
• These exist within any industry or culture
• allows for more in depth analysis of the economy as a whole, comparing and contrasting
• any economy can be divided into these sectors

Why do you need to be aware of economic sectors?

• helps us to make informed design decisions
• identify ourselves against competition
• current market, trends
• finding gaps in the market
• understanding relationships between sectors
• see where the money is, investments
• predicting future trends

The service industries

• an industry made up of companies and organisations that primarily generate revenue through providing often intangible products or services
• selling lifestyles, brand
• heavily involved in retail, transport and distribution as well as other service related businesses.

Public sector

• the part of the economy concerned with providing basic government, state or publicly owns services
• varies from country to country - structured, funded
• usually provides services that are free at the point of delivery and a non payer cannot be excluded
• these services are often to benefit the whole of society
• produces the idea of equal opportunities, open access
• centrally funded by the tax payer
• government departments - health, justice, foreign office, MOD, education, home office

Private sector

• not controlled by the state, run by individuals
• run to make a profit
• not owned or operated by the government
• where most jobs are held
• differs in countries where the government exerts considerable power e.g China
• driven by private enterprise and investment
• includes personal and corporate sector
• only accessed by payment

Third sector

• includes voluntary or non profit organisations
• a space between business and government, private sector can be used for the good of the public
• the presence of a large non-profit sector is sometimes seen as an indicator of a healthy economy in local and national financial measurements

Service industries

• creative industries
• education, health and social work
• financial and business services
• public administration and defence
• real estate and renting
• tourism
• transport and communication
• wholesale and retail trade

The creative industries

•  concerned with generation of exploitation and knowledge of information
• they may also be refereed to as the cultural industries or the creative economy
• activities related to creative work creation or production are carried out
• using skill, creativity and talent
• advertising, architecture, designer fashion, music industry, film industry, radio, post production, publishing, visual and performing arts, graphic design, animation etc
• "design is the thread that connects ideas and discovery to people and markets", The business of Design, the Design Council 2005
• design is becoming one of the main indicators of a healthy economy

Design and industry 2005

• 185,500 designers are generating £11.6 billion in annual turnover
• 62% of designers are under 40
• 31% of design businesses are based in London
• 59% of design companies employ fewer than five people
• Over 50% of UK design companies are related to work in communication and multimedia design

Working in the creative industries

• Three main types of companies working in the creative industries
• design studios/consultancies
• in-house design teams
• freelance design

Disciplines in the creative industries

• communication design
• graphic design and illustration
• retail and promotion
• publishing and editorial
• branding and identity
• information and way finding
• type and typography
• product and industrial design
• interior and exhibition design
• fashion and textile design
• digital and multimedia design
• web design and development
• interface design
• motion graphics
• games design
• special effects
• service design
• 50% of designers working in communication also work in digital and multimedia
• these are the two most integrated areas in the creative industries

Who is looking after our interests?

• financial, legal, creative levels, facilitate
• CBI - confederation of british industry, covers broad industries
• the design council - government funded but an independent body
• CSD - chartered society of designers, ethical concerns
• creative england - charitable organisation, encourage collaborations between different practices
• creative and cultural skills - links with education and industry
• creative coalition campaign - union, human rights, ethical

How the money flows through the government

• treasury and civil service, sits separate from the government
• work out funding
• local government, education, business and innovation, culture media and sport, international development
• social interest groups - student unions, creative unions etc push the money and opportunities up and feed back into the services and economy

Task - 5 examples of design working in different sectors:

This is a recruitment advertisement for the NHS. It falls primarily into the public sector as the NHS and health are one of the government departments that are funded by the tax payer and provide services for the whole of society. Regarding the industry sectors this falls into the tertiary sector as it is part of the service industry, it could also be considered to be part of the quaternary sector because of its government links. It also covers a selection of service industries: education, health and social work because of its topic and the creative industries because it would have been made by a designer for the advertising purposes. I think this piece is successful because the message of encouraging more people into the industry to work is very clear, the comparisons between the two halves is also very strong which gives a good persuasive edge that is needed.

Here is some packaging for the Savannah Bee Company. It is an example of something that fits with the private sector as it is a company run by individuals to make its own profit. It is part of the primary sector as honey is a product that is produced naturally and also the tertiary sector because it will be sold and the retail aspects. Because of this it is also in the wholesale and retail service industry and the creative industries because of it's packaging design. I think the design of this project works very well. The surfaces used to create it are all very natural which links nicely with the primary sector and I like how the honey is visible through the clear sides. All the necessary information is clearly displayed which makes it easy for the retail customer.

Next is an advert to help promote awareness of cruelty to children by the NSPCC. Because this is a charity advert, a voluntary or non profit organisation created for the benefit of the community it is in the third sector. I think it fits into the tertiary sector and quaternary sector because of its links with health and law. The education, health and social work is the main service industry that it fits with and again the creative industry because of the creation of the poster. I like the simplicity and use of white space in this composition as I think it helps to focus on the severity of the message it is trying to portray. I didn't read the hidden sentence straight away when looking at the poster, I don't think this is a serious problem though as the nature of the cause made me look longer until I found it.

These are some selected pages from a Fiat 500 brochure. It is initially part of the private sector as it is a privately run, for profit business. It also covers the secondary sector because of the engineering and manufacturing aspects and can also link with the tertiary sector because of the retail, wholesale and transport.  The service industries it falls into are very similar to these, for example, transport and communication, retail and trade and finally the creative industry where it falls into the category of editorial and publishing. I think the design of this is very successful, the images are very clear and detailed and how they are shot really appeals to the target audience. There is also all the necessary information you would need to know when buying a car and the visuals relate to this.

My final example is a corporate design for an acoustic music festival called 'Back and Forth Music Festival'. This is a private sector organisation driven by private enterprise and investment that is only accessed by payment to this organisation. It is part of the tertiary sector for entertainment and the quaternary sector for its links with culture. I would say it is in the wholesale and retail trade service industry, as well as the creative industry not only for its design aspect but also the music area. The design disciplines involved with this project are retail and promotion, information and way finding and branding and identity amongst others. I think the design of this whole set of work has been really successful, especially the branding and identity aspect as it is so constant throughout and makes for consistent recognition for the audience.