Smashing ageism in design
The story we tell about creativity is still far too young.
In later life, David Hockney reimagined the landscape with enormous multi‑panel vistas (A Bigger Grand Canyon); Pablo Picasso pared painting back to essential lines (The Kitchen); Louise Bourgeois turned sculpture into visceral, walk‑in psychology (The Destruction of the Father); and Muriel Cooper pioneered information design that foreshadowed today’s 3D interfaces (Information Landscapes). These late‑career leaps weren’t nostalgic reruns; they were radical, category‑shifting moves that shaped the culture. And yet, across the UK’s creative economy, we still act as if “new” must equal “young.”
That’s a problem for the sector and for business. UK MPs warn the country’s culture is “pervasively ageist,” calling for stronger legal protections and a cross‑government strategy. In its February 2025 report on older people’s rights, the Women and Equalities Committeefound ageism widespread, culturally embedded, and poorly deterred by current enforcement. It urged the Government to strengthen employers’ “reasonable steps” duty to prevent age discrimination and consider a Commissioner for Older People.
In May 2025 the Committee reiteratedthat the UK risks a “missed opportunity” without a coherent ageing strategy that cuts across departments.
How ageism shows up in design and the creative industries
The UK creative economy is world‑class but it has sticky inequalities. Parliamentary analysis highlights persistent issues around representation, retention and progression, and points to informal networks and “cultural matching” that skew who gets in and who gets on. The workforce is also younger than most sectors, raising concerns about institutional ageism and the precarious nature of freelance, project‑based work.
Inside design specifically, the age profile tells its own story. Designers in their 50s are rare (4.1%) and over‑60s are vanishingly small (0.8%) in industry surveys highlighted by Design by Women. Meanwhile more than half of designers are in their 20s. This fuels the myth that creativity is a “young person’s game,” despite abundant counterexamples in art and design history.
While older creatives face structural barriers, there’s growing evidence that younger professionals may also disengage from or undervalue older creatives and peers. The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) ‘Time for Some New Age Thinking’ flags how assumptions about digital fluency and “freshness” often skew toward youth, reinforcing the idea that older creatives are less relevant. King’s College London’s Policy Lab similarly notes that youth-centric commissioning and cultural pessimism about ageing can suppress intergenerational collaboration. In practice, this means older creatives are not only underrepresented—they’re often excluded from the networks and narratives that shape the sector’s future. Without intentional cross-age teaming, the myth that creativity is a “young person’s game” risks becoming a self-fulfilling loop.
Recruitment: where bias bites hardest
Older candidates face barriers at every stage: age‑coded ads (“digital native,” “recent graduate”), speed‑driven screening, and interviews valuing cultural sameness over capability. The Centre for Ageing Better’s GROW guidance notes 36% of people aged 50–70 feel disadvantaged and recommends five steps: add age to ED&I, track data, debias ads, check processes, and build awareness. It also cites evidence that firms with 10% more workers aged 50+ are 1.1% more productive, thanks to lower churn and deeper experience.
As UK employers adopt AI in hiring, biased historical data risks scaling past discrimination. Corporate Vision’s 2025 analysis warns: if your hiring history favours youth, your algorithm likely will too and age‑coded language in ads further deters older applicants.
We already know what “good” looks like
The CIPD, with the Centre for Ageing Better and REC, offers an Age‑Inclusive Recruitment Toolkit—structured interviews, bias‑screened ads, multi‑rater scoring, and flexible‑working prompts. Yet CIPD research showsthe gap: only 28% of UK employers train all interviewers on legal obligations, and fewer than 20% test job‑ad wording or validate assessments.
Advertising agencies aren’t exempt. The IPA’s Time for Some New Age Thinking urges age‑diversity targets, intergenerational teams, reverse mentoring, and leadership models that retain experienced talent—because losing it hurts creativity and clients.
By 2043, one in four UK residents will be 65+. As the Design Age Institute warns: exclude older users, and we design obsolescence into our own future.
Why sensible recommendations still stall
Voluntary, not mandatory:Employers often act on age inclusion only when pushed. Without policy “teeth,” adoption is patchy. GROW research shows most employers are unlikely to introduce new age-related policies soon, leaving change ad hoc.
Low process maturity: Few organisations train every interviewer or check ads and assessments for bias. Inconsistent practice = inconsistent outcomes.
Informal markets: The creative sector’s short-term, networked hiring makes bias harder to track; “cultural fit” often masks “youth fit”.
Weak incentives in the value chain: Brands, agencies, award bodies, and regulators rarely embed age as a standard of good practice, so market signals for age-inclusive creativity remain faint.
What agencies and in‑house creative teams can do this quarter
Fix the hiring funnel: Track age data across applications, shortlists, and offers via your ATS; publish annually. Use GROW and CIPD toolkits to standardise interviews, scoring, and debiased ads.
Rewrite briefs and brand codes: Require age-diverse casting, storylines, and user panels; test with age-diverse research groups.
Quantify inclusion: Add age KPIs to ESG reports, client reviews, and award entries; encourage clients to do the same.
Train all interviewers: Make legal and objective interview training mandatory; audit quarterly.
Pair experience with edge: Use reverse mentoring and cross-age teams on high-profile work; better retention, better outcomes.
The business case is clear, and so is the creative case
Mixed‑age teams deliver an edge, blending pattern recognition and craft memory with fresh culture and tech fluency. In a world where audiences span teens to centenarians, that mix matters. The payoff is measurable: a 10% increase in 50+ workers boosts productivity by 1.1%. That’s not theory, it’s margin.
Closing thought
Ageism in design isn’t inevitable, it’s a choice. We have the frameworks; what’s missing is action. When policy, process, and incentives align, age inclusion stops being a slogan and becomes standard practice, future‑proofing creativity in an industry that shapes how the world sees itself at every age.
Cohesion Design is a creative agency working within the insurance sector. Established in 2003 they have over 35 years knowledge working in the insurance sector.