How Brexit will effect innovation and design in England

DesignUpdate
Jul 7, 2016
2 min read

As everyone is more than aware, it was made official on June the 23rd that the UK will leave the European union. We could get all nitty gritty and discuss statistics but where is that going to get us. What is done is done and now we need to try and make the best out of this situation.

My View

Firstly being an English designer, I have lived and travelled all over Europe. I love Europe and I would go so far in saying I’m devastated that our Country has made this decision to leave. Nothing is going to happen over night, but there are a few things we should look out for and be aware of.

Jobs

This is very up in the air right now. I mean all of our super talented designers and artists are not leaving, that’s a given (of course that’s if their not feeling utterly betrayed). Young designers on the other hand are going to be hit the hardest. It’s critical that we support them by whatever means necessary to keep the UK from loosing out long term.

Trade

Trade deals will need to be negotiated inside Europe but with the depreciation of the pound alone, trading inside Europe will become expensive. As a huge amount of our construction materials are imported, quality may begin to suffer. We have to find a way around this.

Study

As higher education becomes MUCH more expensive, the quality of education needs to reflect this. However the reality is that the amount of young people will think twice about studying in the UK. This means the amount of young talent bringing fresh ideas and innovation to the UK may plummet. Maybe other opportunities for higher education will become available in the near future?

Relationships

It is absolutely understandable that many people are shocked and outraged by this vote. The UK has put itself into a very isolated place, which will have an effect on international relationships. This is very sad for the huge number of people who did not agree to the Brexit result. Hopfully in time we can amend this.