Historical Archive
The Original Design Factfinder
Understanding the history and our relationship to the Design Council's pioneering resource.
What was the Design Council Factfinder?
The "Value of Design Factfinder" was an online resource created and operated by the Design Council — the UK's national strategic body for design. It was designed to help business leaders, policymakers, and students explore evidence about how design investment affects business performance, innovation, and competitiveness.
The tool drew on a rich dataset of UK companies and allowed users to filter evidence by sector, company size, and design activity, presenting quantified findings about the relationship between design investment and commercial outcomes.
The research behind it
The Factfinder was underpinned by the Design Council's own research programmes, including the Design Index — which tracked how design-led companies performed against the FTSE 100 — and ongoing surveys of UK business attitudes to design. Key findings included the widely cited "£1 invested in design returns £20 in revenue" and evidence that design-active firms were significantly more likely to grow and export.
Design Fact Finder: an independent continuation
This website — Design Fact Finder at designfactfinder.co.uk — is an independently built and operated resource inspired by the spirit of the original Factfinder. It continues the mission of making evidence about design's commercial value accessible and useful.
We have no affiliation with the Design Council, no access to their proprietary data, and no permission to use their branding. Our research is entirely original editorial content citing publicly available sources.
In addition to the research mission, we have expanded the concept into a full design directory and awards platform — creating a more comprehensive resource for businesses looking to find credible design partners in the UK.
Official Design Council resources
The Design Council continues to operate as the UK's national strategic body for design. Their official resources include research reports, design economy data, and public programme information.