Global design company, Figma, has reported a 63% increase in design investments by Australian companies over the past five years, significantly outpacing the APAC average increase of 46%.

The data is based on two surveys conducted by Figma: 'How Australia Builds By Design Report' and 'Design: APAC's Growth Engine'.

According to Figma, Australia is emerging as a key hub for designers and leading investment in design regionally. In the government sector, design tool usage is over 4.5 times higher than the global average. In the finance sector, adoption rates of design tools are 30% higher than international benchmarks.

Two-thirds of weekly design tool users in Australia are non-designers, such as marketers, product managers, and developers. 64% of Australian respondents rate designer-developer collaboration as effective, while 32% see room for improvement.

38% of Australian businesses have adopted cloud-based design tools. Nearly two-thirds of companies using cloud-based tools report gaining a competitive edge through early adoption. 54% of APAC businesses using cloud-based tools attribute increased sales and revenue to improved digital experiences, compared to only 29% among non-adopters.

41% of businesses using cloud-based tools report quicker time-to-market, nearly double the 22% of non-adopters. Figma is increasing investment in Australia and opening its first office in the country in November. Figma's expansion is part of its commitment to deepening relationships with its growing local community and key partners, such as Atlassian and Telstra.

The 'Design: APAC's Growth Engine' report is based on surveys with 700 businesses across Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and South Korea. The 'How Australia Builds By Design' Report is based on data from Figma's user base in APAC.