How did group 74.1 split into four design classes?

Group 74.1, specialised design activities, split into four new classes in NACE Rev. 2.1: class 74.11, industrial product and fashion design activities; class 74.12, graphic design and visual communication activities; class 74.13, interior design activities; and class 74.14, other specialised design activities. Paragraph 182 of the manual states the split. Section 4 does not reproduce the notes for the four classes. The split does not determine a code for a specific reader.

What does the split separate?

The split separates design work by the object designed. Industrial product and fashion design are grouped together in the first class. Graphic design and visual communication form the second class. Interior design forms the third class. Other specialised design activities form the fourth, residual class. The titles state the dividing lines in heading form, and the explanatory notes state the contents in full, including the treatment of design work that spans two objects, such as a product that is also a visual communication, where the notes for the neighbouring classes govern the boundary in general terms. The notes must be read before any design work is placed in a class on the strength of a title.

The grouping of industrial product design with fashion design in one class deserves attention, because the two kinds of design are often treated separately in other contexts. The manual groups them together, and the note for the class states the scope of the combined class. A reader who assumes that fashion design sits in a class of its own, or that industrial design sits with engineering, has not read the manual’s grouping. The grouping principle is the character of the design activity, as the manual presents it, and the note is the authority for the scope of the combined class, not a general notion of what design means.

What is the role of the residual class?

Class 74.14, other specialised design activities, is the residual class in the split. The word other signals that the class holds the specialised design work that does not belong in the three specific classes. The residual character does not make the class a general container for any creative work. The note for the class states what it includes and excludes, and work that belongs in a different division, such as architectural design in division 71 or advertising design in division 73, is excluded by the notes for the neighbouring classes. The residual class must be read with the three specific classes, because its scope is defined by what remains after the specific classes have been applied.

The residual class also illustrates a general rule for reading splits. A split that creates three specific classes and one residual class does not create four equal alternatives. The specific classes are applied first, in the order the notes state, and the residual class applies to what is left. A reader who starts with the residual class, and places work there because it resembles design in general, has reversed the order the manual implies. The notes for the four classes, read together, show the order, and the correspondence table shows how the old group content relates to the new classes.

How is the split shown?

| NACE Rev. 2.1 class | Title in the manual | Character |

|---|---|---|

| 74.11 | Industrial product and fashion design activities | Specific class |

| 74.12 | Graphic design and visual communication activities | Specific class |

| 74.13 | Interior design activities | Specific class |

| 74.14 | Other specialised design activities | Residual class |

The table follows paragraph 182. It lists the four classes, their titles and their character, and nothing more, because section 4 states nothing more about the split. The explanatory notes for the four classes, and the correspondence table, supply the content and the mapping. The table in this guide is a summary of the manual summary, and it must not be quoted as a statement of the content of any class.

What does a split not decide?

This cluster presents no correspondence mapping as a one to one guarantee where a split or rearrangement is recorded in the table. The recording is one to many where the split is clean, and many to many where content has been rearranged across several categories. In both cases, joint scopes are recorded in the table, and each new class note must be read. The guardrail states the limit in direct terms, and the body below restates it afresh for this guide.

Where is a split class confirmed?

To check a service split, read each new class explanatory note and the correspondence table entry for the old group or class, then confirm the entry for the unit concerned with the national statistical institute or business register holding the record.

Apply the three specific design classes first, use the residual class only for what remains, and confirm the entry with the institute or register that holds it.