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CURRENT ISSUE
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GDUSA SPECIAL WEB DESIGN REPORT: PART 1SPONSORED BY PHOTOS.COMPUBLISHER’S NOTEFor the second year in a row, we release our national web design survey online. It just seems appropriate. As you will see, results of the 2008 survey shows that graphic designers are embracing internet and interactive projects — out of preference or pragmatism or both — in record numbers. Part 1 of this special report focuses on the quantitative. In April, we will release Part 2, a more personal exploration of how designers feel about web design work. A special thanks to Photos.com, a leading stock photography subscription solution, for sponsoring this special report and for their continued commitment to the creative community. — Gordon Kaye
JUMPING ON THE BANDWAGONThe internet has changed everything: how we communicate, interact, gather information, do business and conduct politics. As noted in last year’s survey report, the impact has been good, bad, ugly and all points in between, with the final tally known only to the big web developer in the sky. Graphic design, as a mirror of culture and society, cannot help but be affected.
In 2007 we found that, in terms of how graphic designers earn a living, internet projects had broken into the mainstream. The 2008 results show a continued upward trajectory in frequency, involvement, time and commitment. Perhaps even more important, the data — combined with extensive commentary by respondents — reveal a fundamental transformation in the way designers think about internet and interactive design: the language of futurepromise, potential and possibility has given way to a consensus that the opportunity is here in the present and that the future is now. Dick Bernard, Bernard Graphic Design, Powhatan VA nicely captures the spirit: “Internet design has been a positive development for my business and career. It’s a huge bandwagon clattering towards us. Either we jump on it or we get flattened by it.”
FOUR IN FIVE DO WEB DESIGNLast year, 73 percent of GDUSA readers told us they performed online projects as part of their mix. Now, in 2008, that number climbs to a record breaking 83 percent. As such, it places internet and interactive design squarely in second place among the myriad projects that graphic design professionals address, behind the perennial leader Print & Collateral and just ahead of such staples of the business as POP and Package Design. CREATIVITY IS KING (OR QUEEN)Graphic designers continue to be engaged in a broad range of online activities. Last year, maintenance of existing websites ranked as the most frequent type of assignment. This year creativity is king. “Creating The Design For New Websites” tops the list of projects, followed by “Upgrading The Design Of Existing Websites.” Maintenance falls to third place, albeit a close third, followed by a host of other activities, most notably the development of email marketing campaigns.
ABOUT 30% OF THE TIMEWe asked how much time graphic designers who are involved in online design actually devote to such projects in their professional mix. The answer, on average, was 30% of their time, up from roughly 20% the previous year. Consistent with this finding, the category of designers who say they spend between a quarter and half of their time on such projects swelled to a clear plurality this year.
MORE CONSUMER SITESWhat types of sites are graphic designers hired to design, upgrade or maintain? The simple answer is that business-to-business, consumer and inhouse sites are all well represented. Drilling down a bit, it appears that work on business-to-business sites fell modestly this time around, while work on consumer sites (driven in part by a boom in social networking businesses) rose solidly. And who are the clients? Beyond the grab bag category of “business-to-business clients,” the most common identifiable industry categories are healthcare and financial services. In truth, it is hard to generalize: the diversity of clientele is remarkable as the accompanying chart shows. DIVERSE IMAGERYFor the first time this year, we asked readers to identify the broad categories of imagery they use in connection with their internet and interactive projects. Photography topped the list of choices here, with illustration, animation and footage also well represented.
INTERNET DESIGN MATURESIn the next installment of this special report — coming in April — we will take a closer look at the emotional side of web design, i.e., how do creatives feel about the growing role of web design, the ongoing relevance of print, the technical obstacles they face, the typographic issues, and much more. For a taste of this robust discussion, here are a handful of the hundreds of comments to analyzed in Part 2 of this survey.
“Designing for the web opens the door to communicate thoughts, ideas,
information in ways never before imaginable. Now that design professionals have a
meaningful seat at the table, the future only looks brighter. “The issue is not whether web presence is growing: it is here. It is now part of
a normal marketing package.”
As the internet continues to mature (long gone are the days of frivolous, overly
flashy websites from the initial internet hype), many websites have gone through several
evolutions by now and keep getting better and more effective... Website projects are
getting bigger and more complex as businesses want to accomplish more things through
their online presence, and as web technology matures and continues to innovate. I see
no reason why this trend will not continue upward in the future. Web design is alot of fun and it is very rewarding to see the fruits of your labor
immediately rather than waiting for a print piece to be published.
More clients are more aware that a web presence is an effective way to grow their
business, and that planning, designing and maintaining their site requires skills, tools and
experience they do not possess.
The internet is the future of all business. It is how the world communicates. It is only
going to get better as the technology improves. There is no reason for anyone in the business
of communication arts not to be involved with web design.” Web design is a growth area for us now. But the future looks a bit scary because
foreign, cheap competition is becoming easier for clients to access.
The design is easy. It’s working with outside programmers in general and then
dealing with platform issues and software updates that is most frustrating. There isn’t
enough of a standard yet. I do enjoy web design. It is a much more relaxed kind of design. With a print project, I
design something, get it as perfect as possible, send it to print, and it’s over. I cannot
afford mistakes because once the piece is printed, there is no changing it. On the web, I create
a page and publish it. I can change it tomorrow and publish it again if I need to. Of course, it
should be as perfect as print materials. But if not, you can change it and publish again.
I enjoy the richness and relative permanence of print. There just seems to be more value
associated with print, whether I am working on creating the project or functioning as a consumer
of print. New electronic media has its place but will likely never be more than a supplemental
communications tool for me. Consumers do not understand how complex designing a website can be. They price and
value a web page at the same rate as a static book page. PHOTOS.COM SPECIAL PROMOTIONFor more information about a very special stock visual subscription offer from Photos.com. Click here
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