This article aims to convey the strategic importance of industrial design in aspects related to competitiveness and company success within the context of the industrial fabric. It also studies the Spanish manufacturing industry, with particular emphasis on Catalan industry, related to the application of design factors. The text also comments on the two most significant factors of the study promoted by CIDEM: market success and design.

Designium, the New Centre of Innovation in Design, is built on close cooperation between the University of Art and Design Helsinki, University of Lapland, Helsinki University of Technology and the Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration, as well as other universities, polytechnics, businesses and public bodies. The mission of Designium is to promote the development of national design policy, the internationalisation of the sector, and enhance the competitiveness of Finnish industry through multi-disciplinary research and innovation. Tekes, the National Technology Agency provides funding and expert services for the development of internationally competitive products and production techniques. The agency annually spends over 390 million euros in grants and loans to technology development projects. Technology programmes create new technological expertise in Finland in cooperation with businesses, research institutions and universities. The purpose of the programmes is to raise the technological competitiveness of Finnish industry in the key industrial sectors of the future. Currently, the agency has about 50 ongoing technology programmes.

In this report Xavier Ferras introduces us in an imaginative way to the world of design as manifest through the container and packaging, a transversal sector which is now important in the economy today, and in which design is a key presence. The author places packaging, and, consequently, design, in the context of the Catalan economy today. This article shows how at a macroeconomic level the industrial tendencies are increasingly moving towards a concentration of perceived value at the extremes of the chain of production. This means that as time goes by the interventions effected at the beginning and end of the chain (research, development, design, personalization, logistics and marketing) add in more value (generally through greater margins) and that therefore design is taking on a greater role in the process. Another matter the author remarks on is that within a context in which there is a tendency towards the excess supply of goods, companies are increasingly basing their operational strategies on differentiating their products in terms of quality, functionality, brand value and their technical and/or aesthetic characteristics.

Jordi Berrio introduces us to the experience of Ireland, a small country which, over the last few years with its joining the European Union and the aid it has received, has seen a veritable revolution in its production structure. Industry and services have become the main components of this country's gross domestic product and its primary sector, as in all developed countries, has gone to 3rd position both in terms of employed workforce and wealth created. Within this context, and basically focusing on industrial design, the article outlines a model of possible policies to promote design, in which its importance in developing production is repeatedly demonstrated. The article also highlights the little interest and even mistrust which, to date, has been shown by Irish companies to design and the professionals working in this area. This fact is explained by the low turnover achieved by companies in this country. This article therefore shows us how a country that is starting its industrial adventure very late in the day in comparison with most of the countries in the European Union can arrive, per se, at the same conclusions with respect to design as the countries that started their industrialisation much earlier.

David Kester has directed a research programme promoted by the Design Council in order to analyse the effects of investment in design on the evolution of companies in the United Kingdom that are listed on the stock market. It is well known that the United Kingdom's design capacity places it at the forefront of the global experience. But, so that design is applied to companies, confidence must be increased in terms of its potential and precision in the measuring of its contributions. Companies must justify investment made in all their commercial activities and specific repercussions on productivity and profitability must be measured. This study also aims to establish objective global mechanisms to identify those companies that are active and effective design users, as well as compare their overall results with other companies listed on the stock market, thereby extending our understanding of investment and the value of company capitalisation. The study's conclusions state that companies that apply design effectively do better than the rest. There is therefore a direct relation between the effective application of design on the part of companies and an increase in performance in the share price and, consequently, in the increase of profits for shareholders.

This work summarises the findings of the study carried out by TNO Strategie, Technologie en Beleid (2004), commissioned by the Dutch design foundation Premsela and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science in the Netherlands. The work aims to evaluate the role of design in the economy of the Netherlands. Premsela offers us the results achieved with the study on the role of design in the economy of the Netherlands, showing that: a) The growing impact of design on the economy is due to the behaviour of society, which increasingly values lifestyle, ease of use and the experience of product quality, as well as the fact that this discipline greatly helps to develop new services and up-to-date goods. b) Design is a profession that requires the intensive use of highly qualified workers. In this respect, its contribution to the intensive labour market in terms of knowledge is highly valuable. This professional level of employment is closely related to the current western creative economy, difficult to transfer to other regions. c) Companies than apply innovations in design such as non-technological innovations experience larger increases in their market share than companies that do not apply them. d) In regions where design has traditionally been predominant, the specialised areas of design usually grow to a higher level that the corresponding local demand, the availability of teaching institutions and training centres, and the real implementation of the profession in the region. This means that the tendency to satisfy the needs of national and international markets has replaced the dependence that could have existed previously in the local market. Therefore, the success of design with respect to these regions depends on finding clients and on exploiting markets outside the region, preferably abroad. Design directly and considerably influences the process of innovation and can strengthen the competitiveness of a country outside its borders, helping to develop the international market, guaranteeing many employment opportunities for highly qualified workers and generating an increase in the added value of products.

Summary of the study organised by the Danish Design Centre in collaboration with Advice Analyse, I&A Research (information gathering) and with the participation of Anders Holm and Bella Markmann from the University of Copenhagen (methodology and IT), directed by Professor Anders Krezschmar. The aim of the study is to initiate the creation of a database on the economic effects of design, while taking the Danish economy as its reference point. The work is based on the hypothesis that there is no study presenting a complete view of the economic parameters related to design and, consequently, it aims to establish a methodological platform to further this. The study, which analyses the economic effects of applying design, is based on 1017 telephone interviews with private Danish companies of a minimum of 10 workers, and aims to examine: a) Total investment in design, b) The performance of gross income, the trends in hiring and the increase in exports related to the turnover of Danish companies with at least 10 workers, c) The differences in the areas of gross income, employment and exports between companies adopting a comprehensive approach towards design and those that do not apply design in any way. The conclusions of the work indicate a very clear correlation between the use of design and economic success obtained by the firms, in turn benefiting the whole of society. This is such an evident correlation that it cannot be ignored nor doubted. The correlation is particularly notable in those companies adopting a comprehensive approach with respect to design.