Guess Who's No. 2 on Interior Design Magazine 100 Giants 2020 Survey?

The 2020 Interior Design Magazine 100 Giants Survey is out now, and Jacobs continues to advance in key market sectors, earning us spots in multiple categories.

Our expertise and knowledge in Government Design kept us securely in the No. 1 spot on the survey. We also made a significant upward movement in the Office Design market sector and moved up from No. 4 to No. 2.

“Jacobs’ increase in the office market reflects our transformation to a solutions-based organization, which has opened significant cross market opportunities,” shares Jacobs People and Places Global Interiors Solutions Director Nancy Siefert. “The need for workplace solutions which focus on the human experience goes beyond the traditional corporate market and is as important a focus to our transportation, life sciences, water and infrastructure clients who also must build strong employment brands to attract and retain talent.”

This is the first installment of the two-part annual business survey of Interior Design Giants comprising the 100 largest firms ranked by interior design fees for the 12-month period ending December 31, 2019. The 100 Rising Giants ranking will be published in July. Interior design fees include those attributed to:

• All types of interiors work, including commercial and residential.
• All aspects of a firm’s interior design practice, from strategic planning and programming to design and project management.
• Fees paid to a firm for work performed by employees and independent contractors who are “full-time staff equivalent.”

This report indicates the 2019 total design fees which came in at $4.87 billion. That's an 11% jump from last year—the highest total Interior Design Giants has ever recorded.

Corporate work remains by far the biggest moneymaker for the Top Giants, with 77 firms working in that sector accounting for nearly 40% of all revenue ($1.87 billion).

“Organizations are no longer simply investing in space for growth but rather for staff engagement, to create a sense of belonging and be a representation of their corporate culture. Technology advancements and globalization is having an ever-greater impact on how we work,” explains Nancy. “The function and purpose of the physical workplace is evolving to support these new ways of working. Our team brings the thought leadership needed to design these new workspaces with strategic insight and a knowledge driven approach.”

Sector breakdowns remained mostly steady compared to last year’s survey, with the next highest-performing being hospitality (15% of total fees, $708 million) and healthcare (13%, $598 million). Retail, government, residential and educational remain in the single digits percentage-wise, but generally more than half of the firms work in each of those areas.

Jacobs’ Global Built Environment network of strategists, planners, architects, interiors, designers, engineers, managers and constructors provide strategic leadership, design innovation and project execution to government, commercial, institutional and industrial clients across diverse markets and services. We’re more than 5,000 innovators, dreamers and doers strong, and in addition to traditional services, we also tackle specialty consulting in asset management, economics, business development and scientific advancement to challenge the standards of how we live today and dream a better vision for tomorrow.

Technology companies and related sectors such as health care and life sciences will continue to be dominate drivers of office space across all regions in the coming year, Nancy concludes. Given workplace mobility trends, broadening employee and corporate interest in sustainability and growing economic pressures on businesses; our user experience focused workplace strategy transcends markets and provides our clients with integrated solutions.