Lots of Design Firms Calling Brooklyn Home These Days

The Center for an Urban Future just released a study called “Growth by Design” (download it here) showing that there are more companies in the design sector than in any other creative field in New York, and that the number of architecture and design companies based in Brooklyn grew dramatically from 2001 to 2009. From the study: “A vast majority of the city’s design firms are located in Manhattan, but, the number of companies in Brooklyn has exploded in recent years. Overall, the number of Brooklyn-based firms grew from 257 in 2001 to 430 in 2009, a 67 percent increase. The number of graphic design firms in Brooklyn grew by 62 percent in that time, from 86 to 139, and the number of architectural firms nearly doubled, from 65 to 129.” It also notes that while there are no labor statistics on furniture designers, the growth in that industry has “fueled a resurgence in small scale, high-end manufacturing in the Brooklyn Navy Yard and pockets of Greenpoint and Bushwick in northern Brooklyn.” The report advocates for the city’s economic agencies to do more to support design industries and recommends that officials work to bring back the Brooklyn Designs show, which was shut down this year after the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce didn’t receive expected state funding.
Growth by Design [Center for an Urban Future; PDF]