Italia confirms its leading position in Europe in the design economy, i.e. the production system comprising companies and professional studios, but also self-employed workers, whose job it is to provide design services to public and private entities from very different sectors and fields. Not only manufacturing, in other words, but also healthcare, the world of services and commerce and, increasingly, public administration. The latest edition of the Design Economy Report, produced by the Symbola Foundation, Deloitte Private, PoliDesign and Adi (Association for Industrial Design), in collaboration with various partners, which will be presented this morning in Milan, dedicates a special focus to the latter.

A few numbers to understand the relevance of the sector in question: at European level, the design economy counts about 295 thousand companies, reads the Report, which shows figures for 2024, with a total turnover of €31 billion, an increase of 3.2% compared to 2023 and 23.8% over the three-year period. Employment reflects the dynamism of this industry, with over 356 thousand people employed, i.e. 4.8% more than the previous year and 16.1% more over the three-year period.

Italia also holds the record on the number of companies and employees within the European Union, with 54 thousand operators and 76 thousand people employed, equal to 21.5% of the European total, with an annual growth rate of 9.8%, almost double the EU average (+4.8%) - followed by France (14.9%) and Germany (14.0%) - although it registers a productivity per employee lower than the European average. These three countries - not by chance those with the most deeply rooted and advanced industrial systems - concentrate more than half (51%) of the European design industry's turnover: Italia has the highest share (20% of the EU wealth produced), followed by Germany (17.6%) and France (13.4%). In Italy, the design economy generated added value of 4 billion, 33% of which was concentrated in Lombardy, which also accounts for 28.7% of total employment. This is followed by the wealth produced by Emilia Romagna (13.3%), Veneto (10.9%) and Piedmont (10.3%).

Behind these numbers are, as mentioned, interesting elements of evolution at European and Italian level in particular, as Domenico Sturabotti, director of the Symbola Foundation, explains: "Design is entering public administrations, with the aim of improving the offer and usability of services by citizens or even in some cases to design standards". Moreover, the spectrum of industrial supply chains that turn to design is widening: in France and Germany, the more technological sectors, such as automotive and aerospace, are emerging, while in Southern Europe the more traditional manufacturing sectors, such as furniture, fashion and food, prevail. The map of European design is also being somewhat redrawn, with the emergence of new countries such as Greece and Latvia, which are recording very high growth rates.

Another new element to report is the growing need for design professionals to strengthen themselves in order to be more competitive: 56.2% of the design organisations surveyed in the study are considering adopting strategies to support their growth, including collaborations or, in some cases, M& A operations.