News & views

17 September 2026

By Mark Robinson, LBV Director, and founding Partner and Managing Director of Creative62

Britain’s design industry just hit a milestone that most business pages missed – it has overtaken retail as one of the UK’s biggest economic contributors. New analysis from the Design Council’s Design Economy 2026 report shows design added £136.7bn in Gross Value Added (GVA) to the UK economy in 2023, a 40% rise since 2019, almost double the 23% growth recorded across the wider economy over the same period.

That means that £1 in every £20 generated across the country now traces back to design, with the sector overtaking retail as a major contributor to UK GDP for the first time. Exports tell a similar story – design now accounts for 10% of all UK exports, underlining its reach well beyond national borders.

The trends driving this growth matter just as much. 71% of designers expect rising demand for green and sustainable design, while 91% now use AI weekly in their day-to-day work, though human judgement is still considered essential to good design. Confidence in the sector’s future is strong too – 60% of industry leaders plan to grow their design headcount in the year ahead.

For Leicestershire’s creative businesses, none of this is a distant London story. The East Midlands recorded a 33% rise in design GVA and a 25% jump in design employment since 2019, among the fastest growth rates of any UK region, with a particularly strong regional cluster in clothing design. Given Leicester’s deep-rooted textile and manufacturing heritage, local designers, makers and studios are well placed to turn that legacy into real growth and new investment as sustainability, AI and skilled talent continue to reshape the industry nationally.

This report isn’t just encouraging reading; it’s a mandate. Now is the moment to build on the momentum, bringing more creative talent, studios and commissions into the region, and turning a strong regional story into a genuinely thriving local creative economy.

Read the full Design Economy 2026 report for the complete picture, including regional breakdowns, growth clusters and case studies from across the UK here: https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/our-work/design-economy/#c10785