Design has been one of the boom industries in Britain over the last decade with names such as James Dyson, Terence Conran, Ron Arad, Tomato, Neville Brody and Peter Saville becoming icons in their field. Some 4,000 UK design consultancies are involved in a broad range of services: brand identity, corporate identity, 2D and motion graphics, exhibitions, interiors, multimedia, new product development, packaging, television and websites. Overseas earnings from design projects are about 1 billion pounds.

British companies are very aware of the impact of design on their products and services. In the manufacturing sector, companies spend twice as much on product design than on research and development. Within this sector, the greatest design input goes into automobiles and aerospace although telecommunications is a fast growing area. British designers are also involved in some of the most futuristic aspects of the e-culture, including developments of the 'e-home'.

The UK has one of the largest fashion design industries in the world and its designers have become world-renowned. Paul Smith, Vivienne Westwood, Katharine Hamnett, John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Julien MacDonald, Phoebe Philo, Stella McCartney, Zandra Rhodes and Hussein Chalayan are at the forefront of their field.

British fashion has a symbiotic relationship with UK music & street culture, with Teds, Mods, Rockers, the Swinging 60s and Punk all proving massively influential in terms of direction and attitude.

Young British designers enjoy and excellent reputation internationally and are famously poached by the big brands: at one time or another Galliano, McQueen, McDonald, McCartney and Philo have all been in charge of Dior, Chloe and Givenchy.

These designers are all products of the UK's famous fashion courses at a wide range of colleges, including London College of Fashion and Central St Martins, attracting and nurturing not only home grown talent but also thousands of students from overseas.