National mapping of the design industry

During the fall of 2024, Form/Design Center will carry out a national mapping of design companies in Sweden.

There is very little mapping of the design sector and design field. There is a lack of essential knowledge regarding the industry. This includes the cumulative impact of design companies, the number of design companies, and key performance indicators. While some studies have been conducted on sub-sectors within the design field, even these lack a clear picture of those actually working in the industry. Many surveys are very broad in scope, leading to a significant portion of the companies included being irrelevant as design practitioners.

The purpose of the mapping is to gain an overall and more comprehensive understanding of the design companies that exist in Sweden and to provide an overview of key figures for the design industry in Sweden - such as the number of companies, geographical distribution, turnover, number of employees, and legal structure.

The starting point for the mapping is the industry survey conducted as part of the project Southern Sweden Creatives in 2016-2017 regarding definitions and comparative figures.

There is ongoing dialogue with Dataspelsbranschen (Swedish Games Industry) and Kreativ Sektor (The Swedish Creative Sector), which is concurrently conducting a preliminary study on improving statistics for cultural and creative industries on behalf of the government.

The survey is conducted by Form/Design Center. Daniel Byström has been engaged to carry out the assignment, who has previously done a mapping of design companies in Skåne and Blekinge.

Follow-up will take place through an annual industry report presented by Sveriges Designers Riksorganisation.