This landmark European Design Policy Report offers a comprehensive mapping of design policies across 39 European countries. It highlights how design is embedded in national strategies spanning from cultural and creative industries, research and development, industrial competitiveness, circular economy, digitalisation to built environment.
The study reveals a significant shift in the policy landscape: design is moving from being addressed through dedicated design policies to becoming an integral part of broader policy frameworks. The analysis prompted the development of the Design Policy Spectrum—a new evaluation tool that maps the degree of integration into national policymaking.
The findings highlight strong integration in eco-design policies, driven by EU regulations, and frequent inclusion in creative strategies. However, design remains scarcely embedded in digital strategies, research and development, architecture and the built environment, signalling a critical gap that needs attention.
Regina Hanke, Project Lead MADres, points out those key findings that support the need for a revised approach to design policy:
- Only two dedicated design policies remain in Europe – Latvia and Iceland.
- Design is more present than ever, integrated across multiple policy domains.
- From explicit to embedded – design has shifted from stand-alone strategies to cross-cutting policy roles.
- Different policy families, distinct roles – design acts as a creative industry, an innovation method, a sustainability lever and a tool for user-centred public services.
- Dedicated policies can provide coherence, if they are firmly integrated in the governmental arena – where they exist, they can have the potential to connect agendas and strengthen visibility; where they don’t, the design’s role might be more fragmented and harder to sustain.
