Designs on job growth

Rhode Island is a hotbed for design.

Providence is home to the third-highest number of industrial designers per capita in the nation. And a study of the creative industries in Rhode Island between 2007 and 2012, which included a recession, found the design sector added 500 new businesses.

Design is clearly a thriving sector in the state. And while we see the numbers, we also see the energy through this year’s Design Week R.I. The 2nd annual 11-day event, which ends Sept. 27, encompasses more than double the happenings from the first year – with 34 events in nine communities across the state.

Presented by DESIGNxRI and our partners, this level of activity stems from a simple call to designers to participate. The response is a growing amount of design businesses sharing their innovations, their ideas and successes.

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This activity is not surprising when we look at the trajectory of design and its impact on today’s connected world. Design represents some of the fastest-growing jobs across the nation. A 2014 study of online job-matching service TheLadders found the fastest-growing jobs include user-experience design, iOS and Android development, and business intelligence – which didn’t exist before 2007.

These are jobs utilizing the strategic design skills needed in today’s global economy. Moreover, design is impacting company growth at exponential rates.

The Design Management Institute’s Design Value Index finds that good design drives shareholder value. The index, tracking companies with significant investment in design, shows 10-year returns of a remarkable 219 percent over that of the S&P 500 from 2004-2014.

The study points to a trend in which design capabilities are moving higher on the strategic agenda of companies across America. The integrative thinking and human-centered approach designers bring are increasingly sought after for cracking new markets, as well as providing a competitive advantage in customer experience.

At DESIGNxRI, we’ve been working to coalesce the Rhode Island design talent and shine a spotlight on it – to educate our local community about this field and also to put Rhode Island on the map nationally and beyond for the design talent that’s brewing in this state.

To build on the skills and talent that is driving tomorrow’s jobs, DESIGNxRI is also diving into a Real Jobs RI grant to create pathways to advance the strategic design skills and meet these growing job opportunities. The governor’s Real Jobs RI strategy fits the innovative approach that’s needed to maximize design in RI.

Rhode Island has the assets and all of the critical components to become a national leader in design. •

Lisa Carnevale is a co-founder of DESIGNxRI and principal of MYRANDA Group.

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