Design Pulse

The annual Design Pulse survey provides a broad picture of the design sector and its outlook. The yearly labour market and economic survey was conducted in early 2026.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming designers’ work

The Ornamo Design Pulse 2026 survey reveals that artificial intelligence is becoming a key competitive factor in the design industry. At the same time, growing uncertainty in the labour market, income challenges for entrepreneurs, and concerns about future entry-level jobs are visible across the sector.

Nearly 40% of design professionals use AI continuously or fairly extensively in their work. More than 70% believe AI will become an important tool for designers in the future, and over 60% think it will change the industry’s revenue models.

Regular AI use is more common among employees than among students or entrepreneurs. It is most prevalent in digital design roles such as UI and UX design, service design, graphic design, and XR and 3D visualisation. In more physical design disciplines, such as industrial design and interior architecture, AI still functions mainly as a supporting tool.

AI is seen as both an opportunity and a risk

Nearly 40% of design professionals use AI extensively in their work. At the same time, more than 70% believe it will significantly change how work is performed, and most respondents see AI expertise becoming a competitive advantage.

Designers currently use AI primarily for content creation, information retrieval, ideation, and concept development. Respondents believe that AI is shifting the focus of work away from execution and toward directing design processes, curating outputs, evaluating quality, strategic decision-making, and defining constraints and requirements.

Respondents also expect AI to increase efficiency pressures and transform business models, requiring design companies to adapt and adopt new operating methods.

However, 28% view AI’s impact somewhat or very negatively. More than 80% identify environmental impacts as a major challenge, and over 70% are concerned about the transparency and reliability of AI systems. Questions related to the value of creative work and the protection of intellectual property rights also raise significant concerns.

Designers increasingly work outside traditional design agencies

Only 4% of employed designers work in dedicated design agencies. Most are employed in technology industries, the IT sector, public administration, or architecture and engineering firms. Design is now utilised across virtually all industries.

In recent years, designers have increasingly found employment in the public sector, while employment in the software industry has declined.

Design is becoming an increasingly important component of competitiveness, innovation, and service development across industries. Design expertise is no longer limited to individual products or visual solutions; it influences digital service development, customer experience, business transformation, sustainability, and the effectiveness of public services. Developments in the design sector therefore directly affect the ability of all industries to innovate and renew themselves.

Stability and uncertainty coexist in the design labour market

By many measures, employed designers are doing well. Three out of four work in permanent full-time positions, salary levels have risen, and most are satisfied with their jobs.

The average monthly salary for employed designers is approximately €4,641, with a median salary of €4,500. Around 73% report their salaries have remained largely unchanged, while 23% have seen increases. However, only 48% are satisfied with their earnings, and more than half feel their pay is too low relative to their responsibilities.

Despite these positive indicators, uncertainty is increasing. Approximately 38% of employed designers are concerned about the security of their jobs. Around one-third report that staff numbers have declined in their workplace during the past year. Many organisations continue to prepare for layoffs or redundancies, although their frequency has decreased compared with the previous year.

Young professionals are particularly affected. Design students report low confidence in the labour market and view the transition into working life as challenging.

Among respondents to the Design Pulse 2026 survey, 69% of students rated the labour market situation in their field as weak. At the same time, students emphasised the importance of industry connections, internships, and practical work experience as part of their studies. However, the challenging business environment has made finding internship placements more difficult.

Unemployed designers tend to be younger than average, and the proportion of long-term unemployed individuals has increased. More than half of unemployed respondents consider their chances of finding work within the next year somewhat or very unlikely.

Design entrepreneurship relies on diverse business models

Most design businesses are run by sole entrepreneurs, but they operate in a wide variety of markets and offer services, products, or combinations of both.

Companies work in areas such as design and service design consulting, interior architecture, arts and crafts, product design, and creative-industry expert services. More than half combine both physical products and services in their business activities.

Their customers range from consumers to business clients, the public sector, and international markets. Some businesses operate mainly through local networks, while nearly one-quarter reported focusing primarily on international markets.

The design sector therefore represents a diverse group of companies working in the fields of the creative economy, professional services, innovation, and the arts. This diversity enables design expertise to contribute to a wide variety of business, export, cultural, and development environments.

Sustainability is part of design competence, but organisational readiness varies

Sustainability has become an established component of professional design competence. According to the survey, 72% of design professionals consider sustainability expertise to be a very or fairly important part of a designer’s skill set.

More than 70% of employed designers report that they can apply sustainability-related expertise in their work at least to some extent.

The strongest areas of competence include equality, accessibility, inclusion, circular economy practices, collaboration, and co-creation. Areas requiring further development include knowledge of sustainability regulation, lifecycle thinking, value-chain understanding, and sustainability measurement.

From a business perspective, sustainability work remains incomplete in many organisations. Only 38% of surveyed companies have a sustainability strategy, and only about one-quarter follow industry-specific or product-specific sustainability standards, certifications, or commitments.

At the same time, one in two companies report having applied sustainability expertise in client projects.

Looking ahead

The development of the design sector reflects a broader transformation of working life, where technological progress, changing skill requirements, and new ways of working are rapidly reshaping professional expertise.

According to the survey, the key question is not only how many designers will be needed in the future, but also what kinds of skills and career paths future working life will require.