The growing economic impact of NYC's design industries

Titled “Growth by Design,” this report examines the cumulative economic impact of fields ranging from architecture and graphic design to industrial design, interior design and fashion design. It shows that New York has nearly twice as many designers as Los Angeles, the nation’s second largest design hub, and points out that design sector jobs in the New York metro area grew by 75 percent over the past decade—with large jumps in the number of New York-based interior designers (which increased by 223 percent), graphic designers (139 percent), industrial designers (127 percent), fashion designers (45 percent) and architects (28 percent).

The report also reveals that there are actual more firms in the city’s design sector than in any other creative industry, including publishing, film, music, advertising and broadcasting. However, the report concludes that the city’s economic development agencies could be doing more to support the growth of the city’s design industries. The vast majority of the designers we interviewed thought New York was far too complacent about its status as a design hub. The report shows that other major design centers like London and Milan go to much greater lengths to promote their designers and brand their products at both local and foreign trade shows.

Here is a link to the report:

http://www.nycfuture.org/images_pdfs/pdfs/GrowthbyDesign.pdf