Our prosperity depends on better design

Last week at the National Building Museum, I had the pleasure of listening to Jim Eyre, one of the founders of the London-based Wilkinson Eyre Architects. Over the years, Wilkinson Eyre has unveiled futuristic designs for gardens in Singapore; skyscrapers in Guangzhou, China; and a number of innovative UK projects. One of the firm’s projects in the UK was the Gateshead Millennium Bridge linking Newcastle and Gateshead, which was part of a massive drive to regenerate the waterfront area after a period of tough transition in the 1980s. The impressive bridge, along with other new developments like the Sage Gateshead, helped to energise communities and businesses in Newcastle and Gateshead.

Newcastle’s new look and energy are a perfect example of the benefits of quality design. More than just creating art or architecture, collaborations between designers, business leaders and government officials can revitalize a community and an economy. A good design eye can be the first step toward kicking off a recovery.

The east end of London is going through a larger urban transformation thanks to the 2012 Olympics. Carefully crafted parks, facilities and new transportation have already made a huge impact on the lives of Londoners and businesses in the area. Just west of the Olympics in the Shoreditch area is an area fondly called by locals “Silicon Roundabout” or Tech City. It is home to several hundred digital companies that have located there to harness young creative talent that can give their companies the competitive edge. Despite the economic challenges there is a real buzz in the community that knows they can design what consumers want and need.

Our Prime Minister has encouraged UKTI to go and shout about the benefits of US firms being part of the Tech City phenomenon. He has also been highlighting UK manufacturing successes. Jaguar Land Rover is one of those that has been adding thousands of new manufacturing jobs thanks to a focus on more stylish and customer-focused design: the new Evoque model is a smaller, fuel-efficient SUV that has been designed for a new target audience.

One of the leading advocates for cutting-edge British design is Sir James Dyson. His company Dyson employs around 400 staff in research and development of its products in the UK. They made their mark first with bag-less vacuum cleaners, and now with blade-less fans. He has been encouraging young students to get involved in design as our companies need such skills to beat their rivals. We should never try to compete in a race to the bottom—cutting wages to cut prices—but competing by producing better designed products is a real opportunity that we can be positive about.

Perhaps the ultimate story of new product lines making a big impact is Apple. The company cut through competition by making functionary products beautiful. The chief designer, Jonathan Ive, is British and was knighted in the New Years Honours list—Her Majesty The Queen’s way to recognise those who make the biggest impact to society. I hope that Sir Jonathan’s well earned honour will encourage the next generation of UK designers that help enhance UK businesses. We have great businesses that can compete globally if they can apply design principles to make their processes, products and services the best they can be.