Design spaces: agglomeration and creativity in British design agencies
Design spaces: agglomeration and creativity in British design agencies
Although there is a growing body of research into the cultural and creative industries, little work has focused specifically upon on the geography of design and its role in regional economies. The relative neglect of the geography of the UK design industry is surprising given recent assertions about the sector's role in national economic competitiveness; its contribution to product innovation; and its importance as an urban regeneration resource. This paper explicitly considers the extent to which existing conceptualizations of agglomeration and creativity provide insights into the realm of design. Our discussion reflects upon recent surveys of the design sector and analyses current design organization membership data, both of which reveal an overwhelming concentration of design activities in London and the South East. Our analysis of the strategies, organization and practices of agencies in London reveals that a number of the key features associated with cultural industries in general are significantly less discernible within design.
design, regional economies, clusters, creative industries, networking, projects
151-172
Reimer, Suzanne
d6594766-1967-4439-a8bb-14e52a6e2f5f
Pinch, Steven
39982453-bdf8-4686-8018-b5b8b2030c6a
Sunley, Peter
a3efb579-965f-4f39-812e-9e07caf15afd
June 2008
Reimer, Suzanne
d6594766-1967-4439-a8bb-14e52a6e2f5f
Pinch, Steven
39982453-bdf8-4686-8018-b5b8b2030c6a
Sunley, Peter
a3efb579-965f-4f39-812e-9e07caf15afd
Reimer, Suzanne, Pinch, Steven and Sunley, Peter
(2008)
Design spaces: agglomeration and creativity in British design agencies.
Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography, 90 (2), .
(doi:10.1111/j.1468-0467.2008.00284.x).
Abstract
Although there is a growing body of research into the cultural and creative industries, little work has focused specifically upon on the geography of design and its role in regional economies. The relative neglect of the geography of the UK design industry is surprising given recent assertions about the sector's role in national economic competitiveness; its contribution to product innovation; and its importance as an urban regeneration resource. This paper explicitly considers the extent to which existing conceptualizations of agglomeration and creativity provide insights into the realm of design. Our discussion reflects upon recent surveys of the design sector and analyses current design organization membership data, both of which reveal an overwhelming concentration of design activities in London and the South East. Our analysis of the strategies, organization and practices of agencies in London reveals that a number of the key features associated with cultural industries in general are significantly less discernible within design.
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e-pub ahead of print date: 5 June 2008
Published date: June 2008
Keywords:
design, regional economies, clusters, creative industries, networking, projects
Organisations:
Economy Culture & Space
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 55553
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/55553
ISSN: 0435-3684
PURE UUID: f2976c5c-892e-4698-aeac-5528eb795820
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Date deposited: 04 Aug 2008
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 03:36
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