Designers are responsible for the almost every manufactured good we use in our lives. The style, function, quality, and safety of these products come from the careful work of those with careers in design.

"Maybe we could jump-start our economy," if design and business know-how were more closely merged, suggests Dr Larry R. Thompson of the Ringling College of Art and Design, noting that "product design, advertising design, interior design affect every single thing we do."

Ringling College has created the nation's first four-year program to teach business to creative types, a project whose goal is to make companies more innovative, according to Dr Wanda Chaves, lead faculty member of the program.

"We're convinced this revolutionary new academic program will produce the business leaders of the future," Chaves said. "It integrates the study of business and the study of studio art and design -- marrying the right and left brains into one practice."

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there are approximately 1.8 million jobs in the field of arts, design, entertainment, sports and media with almost 300,000 of them in commercial, industrial and graphic design.