The document shows that the design business is not just about visual impact and improving every aspect of our lives, but it is also associated to clear and significant economic values. This is the first evidence emerging from the “Design Economy 2020” report published by Fondazione Symbola, Deloitte Private and Poli.design, with the support of Adi, Cuid and Comieco and under the patronage of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
From our position “upstream” of the supply chain, we also talk quite often about the contribution of equipment and technology to the visual and functional value of a product, and how technology can give birth to new shapes and solutions; therefore, we are interested in discovering what’s behind the curtain of the design world – not just furniture – in terms of business, competitiveness, access to dedicated training…
“The design industry in Europe includes approximately 217 thousand companies,” according to the report. “Italy, with almost 34 thousand companies, accounts for 15.5 percent of the entire EU design system, standing at the top of the ranking by number of companies, followed by Germany and France. The leading position of Italy, with 64,551 employees and an added value above three billion euro, partially results from the solid bond between design and “made in Italy”, but it is also characterized by an excessive fragmentation of the Italian business community. Due to such fragmentation, despite Italy’s leadership by number of companies, Germany and the United Kingdom have employment and turnover levels higher than Italy. The EU countries achieve a total sales volume of 27.5 billion euro, with Italy contributing with 14.8 percent, standing at number three after the UK (24.5 percent) and Germany (16.4 percent), but largely ahead of France (9.2 percent) and Spain (4.6 percent). The Italian industries that most relies on design are wood and furniture, fashion and apparel and automotive”.
As usual, business size is a key factor: in Italy, the gap between micro-businesses and big companies is huge. Individual professionals and micro-businesses (below 100-thousand-euro revenues) still account for more than half of the employment capacity (53.4 percent), while companies with revenues above 5 million euro have an 8.4 percent share on total employment. So, in Italy, most companies belong to the small and micro business categories.
The results of the report by Fondazione Symbola, Deloitte Private and Poli.design indicate strong geographical integration between design and “made in Italy” value chains, with significant benefits in terms of competitiveness, innovation and business culture. The Marche region boasts the highest level of specialization in the design of furniture and footwear. Then come Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto, with many design companies in the fashion, mechanical engineering, ceramic and furniture segments. In general, the distribution of companies seems to be concentrated in metropolitan areas: Milan alone hosts 14.5 percent of all Italian companies, while Rome is the second province in the ranking (6-5 percent), followed by Turin at number three with 5.2 percent. The top-four metropolitan areas in the ranking account for 36 percent of the total value generated by design in Italy, as they attract most design companies and professionals.
The design capital in Italy is Milan: Lombardy’s capital generates 18.3 percent of the total national output, while Turin and Rome, second and third respectively, account for 8 and 5.3 percent. In terms of employment, Milan has a 14 percent share on total employment. The second place goes to Turin, which in 2014 was recognized by Unesco with the title of Creative City for Design.
THE IMPACT OF “COVID-19”
The report also provides data collected through a number of interviews about the consequences of the sanitary emergency on the work of designers. 45 percent of individual professionals said they have never stopped working, as their activity is largely built on digital technology. However, most of them reported economic difficulties due to decreasing demand (68.2 percent) and cash flow problems (48.3 percent). The Covid-19 emergency had an impact on revenues according to 39.7 percent of designers, with 23.8 percent of respondents indicating a reduction by more than 50% compared to the same period of the previous year.
DESIGN AND SUSTAINABILITY: A GROWTH DRIVER
A survey by Fondazione Symbola and Unioncamere, involving about three thousand manufacturing companies, shows a tight link between design investments and growth in three areas: revenues, employment and export. The role of design as competitive driver seems to be even stronger when the company has a focus on environmental sustainability: green-focused and design-oriented companies show significant performance differences from other companies. The gap for companies investing in green technology and design, compared to the rest of the sample, is plus 22.6 points for employees (38.6 percent vs. 16 percent), 25.1 points for turnover (48 vs. 22.9 percent) and 13.5 points for export (38.6 vs. 25.1 percent).
TRAINING AND EDUCATION
Despite many differences and peculiarities, the Italian education and training system for design is an excellent organization including 18 universities, 15 Fine Arts academies, 15 legally recognized academies, and 11 authorized private institutes, for a total number of 242 courses across various education levels and specialization areas. On the whole, 8,244 designers are trained, 3,822 of them in universities.
