FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING

For the first time last month, we used our enewsletter to break the results of a major reader survey. In Part One of this feature, we reported that web design has emerged as a mainstream business activity for creative professionals, second only to print design. In Part Two of this feature, we repeat just a bit to provide you with context, and then drill down the results. A special thanks, once again, to Getty Images which sponsored this enews report to the professional design community.

— Gordon Kaye

THREE-IN-FOUR INVOLVED IN ONLINE DESIGN

The internet has transformed our lives, personally and professionally. It has changed the way we communicate, altered social behavior, reshuffled the economy, democratized media and politics, and generally opened the floodgates of information to a public that is only partly ready to deal with it. Graphic design, which both shapes and is shaped by culture and society, cannot help but be transformed as well.

This new GDUSA reader survey tackles a thin slice of that transformation, i.e., that the business of web design and related activities is now integral to the way creative professionals work and make a living. In particular, the poll reveals that a record 73 percent of GDUSA readers are involved in internet design or maintenance projects and related online endeavors.

The previous post-2001 high (the year the dotcom bubble burst) was 62 percent. The 2007 results place Web Design squarely in second place in terms of the kinds of projects that graphic design professionals have worked on in the past year, behind the perennial leader Print & Collateral and ahead of such traditional and important staples as POP & Sign Design and Package Design.

COME ON UP FOR THE RISING

Looked at in an historical sweep, the results also suggest a rising tide of online design projects available to Graphic Designers, Inhouse Designers and Advertising Agency Creatives, and a rising level of confidence in the ability of creativity professionals to handle internet-related projects. The survey reveals several other facts, some noted last month and some not. Among these notable conclusions: creative businesses work on a range of different types of online projects led by website creative design, website maintainence and email projects; these projects result in an equally divided mix of consumer and b-to-b sites; those creative professionals who are involved in internet design spend roughly 20 percent of their time on such projects.

DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS

Although we tend to talk about "Graphic Design" as a monolith, the truth is that Graphic Design USA serves three main creative business segments — Graphic Design Firms, Advertising Agencies and Inhouse Design Departments. As the survey uncovers, the level of interest and activity online design varies among these categories. For example, Advertising Agencies are the most intensely involved in cross media projects that involve the internet. Inhouse Designers lead the pack in web maintenance assignments. Graphic Design Firms have a broad, consistent and fast-growing role in the entire range of activities, but they also have the largest continuing stake in the print, collateral, packaging and p-o-p business and, therefore, are somewhat more reluctant to jump in whole hog.

GROWTH OPPORTUNITY

What to make of these developments?

As we noted last month, creative professionals view web design as an important and challenging activity, and as a growth opportunity going forward. We quoted survey respondent Stacy Lizzo of Studio 167 in Vancouver WA, among many others on this point:

"Familiarity with web design is becoming essential.The internet is the number one way companies communicate with customers. If that is where companies are going to spend their money and resources, designers need to adapt. I enjoy designing for the web as much as any other media. Not only does it require many of the same principals as print, but it adds a whole other level of interactivity."

We also noted that, even as creatives increasingly embrace the web, they are careful to note that the internet is one part of a complex communications puzzle. They often note the continued importance of print, packaging and point-of-sale in the mix. On this point, we provided the perspective of Joe Gebbia of Juice Studios in San Francisco, among many others:

"The web is quicker, more immediate and more environmentally friendly than print. However, I do not think it will replace or match the tactility of paper anytime soon. I see the two media — print and web design — working together in tandem to create meaningful experiences over the next few years."

MORE WORK FOR US

In the few weeks since we published Part One of the survey, we have received tons more insights and comments about graphic design and the web business. Here are a select cross section.

"Web design is 'de rigueur' for graphic designers. This year, especially, the standard client request was fo logo and stationery and web design. While I personally miss hands-on art supplies, the exciting thing about webwork it its immediacy. Certainly, because of the extent of the audience, it is far more effective than print media. It requires the designer to visually and contextually organize information. One of my clients tracked a 300 percent increase use of his website after redesign. It has replaced his product catalog, which was always out-of-date by the time it was printed. Further, it led to more design work for me in terms of e-blasts followed by a direct mail/postcard program. Additionally, clients want to see materials made downloadable, posted on their websites, all meaning more work for us. In between, all this work, the hardest part of staying current with software innovations and cross-platform issues which, thankfully, are starting to diminish."
Julianna Kovach, Kovach Design, Cleveland Heights OH

"This is a growth opportunity. However, there is more to web design than just design. Some of the biggest problems we run into with inherited projects is that the website has been built in an unbalanced fashion. Poor speed, security, SEO, flexibility/scalability/compatibility. The list goes on and on. Graphic designers should, by all means, look to the web... but it is more than just another canvas to paint on. If they do not understand the technical and philosophical implications involved in effective web design and intro marketing, they will fail their clients."
Eric Hanson, August Ash Inc., Bloomington MN

"I am amazed by the number of redesign projects my company bids on. Organizations wil try to save money by designing their sites inhouse, which is fine in theory. The problem that usually arises is that the inhouse teams are often web developers and programmers, rather than actual graphic designers. Our Human Factors Team estimates that 50 percent of our web work in the future will come from this field of poorly designed initial websites."
Mark Shorter, Delphia Consulting, Columbus OH

Web design has been and will continue to be a growth opportunity for designers... The need for web design is always changing and growing. Currently the demand is for flash applications and interactive media as well as conversion from tables-based design to CSS for adaptibility with mobile devices. Next year something new will most likely pop up that demands learning a new skill, but eventually it will mean more business and projects for me to work on. It's an exciting medium to work in with a good return on investment for clients.
Patti Glenn, Pericom, San Jose CA

"I do not believe web design is still a growth area for graphic designers because 'Database and web site design led the way in the most likely projects to be outsourced. The survey was sent to over 89,000 executives of large and mid-sized companies and of focused specifically... to offshore firms.' (Venice Consulting Group survey results October 2006 'Computer User' Magazine). In addition to offshore competition, designers have competition from all sides in this market, from large companies with legions of programmers on staff, to cheap services against which real design firms cannot compete on a price basis."
Benjamin Wolff, Wolff Graphics, Stillwater MN

"I do believe web design has unlimited opportunities for graphic designers... One only needs to look at web pages to see the dire need for someone with design skills to apply it to this field."
Bill Patterson, Patterson Graphics, Dayton OH

"I love web design but think it is unfortunate how it is overpowering general graphic design. Print is a media that requires an outgoing and creative designers. With web design, there are two sides to the coin: the designer and the coder. I enjoy designing for the web, but the encoding I leave to someone else. It takes too long... Thank God my primary job is print. It's straightforward and to the point. In some cases print materials end up modified for use on the web. We have a web developer; he does not design, just encodes our materials. Designers should never be replaced by coders."
Particia Ortiz, POS Design, Fort Lauderdale FL

"Print and web together are necessary in today's market. Both should support one another. Digital printing plays a role here, too!
Joe Zeller, ZGraphics, East Dundee IL

"Web design is overwhelmingly a growing revenue stream. More and more clients want a combined program of print and web promotions. While I enjoy web work as constantly challenging, I find having a physical product at the end of the design process (book, magazine, brochure) much more satisfying."
Robert Garcia, Garcia Publishing Services, Woodstock IL

"Web design is integral to the graphic design profession but the training in typical design schools is lacking. Also, many firms want an already experienced web designer but are unwilling to train someone entry level. Where should this experience come from when it is necessary for most designers to have it?"
Elizabeth Anderson, KKE Architects. Minneapolis MN

Web design is a growth area, part of extending the identity of a company or brand to perhaps the most important application - one that validates and makes tangible the brand's existence.
Alan Colvin, Cue Inc., Minneapolis MN

I believe that web design is a must for small as well as large businesses. It is constantly growing and is the most easily and commonly accessed medium, in my opinion. I am constantly trying to develop more web-based designs and utilize the web more.
Andrew McKenzie, AJ Mac Design, Chippewa Falls WI

"I think it's silly for any graphic designer to be close-minded and thing 'I'm not going to design for the web...' The web is the present and future, and now with the W3C standard and symantic design using CSS, a designer should have no problem converting some, most or all of their time on designing the 'new' web."
Mike Nakowicz, Mindcast Design, Manchester CT

"Web design is a growth opportunity to a certain extent. The web is here to stay. If we do not evolve to meet the needs of a changing environment, we will soon find ourselves obsolete. Therefore, we must make a solid effort to be adaptable, both in creative processes as well as in our own skill sets."
Katie Kesten, Ted Bertz Design, Middletown CT

HOUSEKEEPING

To read Part One of the Web Design Survey, click here.

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