Big things are afoot for creative industries in the UK. Signs of upward momentum are appearing all over the place.

A few months ago, I helped launch a Curated Bookshelf. It is now an ongoing campaign that allows us to ask British entrepreneurs we’ve come to know and love for an act of kindness: “If there is one book that you could share with more than 100,000 entrepreneurs- something to inspire or empower, what would that be?” Well from that bookshelf, a book by Richard Florida was shared numerous times: The Rise of the Creative Class. It contains a compelling proposition: creative people are linked to economic growth.

As the theory goes, “…cities with high concentrations of creatives tend to experience higher levels of economic development.”

Fabulous idea? It’s much more than that. This idea has been echoed by a handful of advocates and organisations across the UK that aim to nurture our creative industries with thoughtful research and the correct support network.  They also aim to empower creative entrepreneurs with resources, mentoring and funding.

A quick online search for these organisations and their respective research projects will produce hundreds of documents. Hundreds, I kid you not. It spawned this project to map out Creative Britain, with an infographic below.

The Creative Industry Playground and 7 Key Players of Creative Britain

Whether you’re a student considering your prospects; a secret entrepreneur looking to change career paths; or are contemplating the idea of starting up your own business in one of these seven industries, we hope this creative piece has helped inspire you to explore your next playground. Once ready to start, do feel free to check back on our StartUp 101 Guides refreshed weekly and visit our guides to help with forming your own company.

But in the meantime, what do YOU think? What can be done to ensure ‘The Creative Industry Playground’ remains viable?

Published Tuesday January 8, 2013