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92%
Work In Print
The 2004 survey
shows how deeply graphic designers are involved in print
work, from brochures, collateral and annual and corporate
reports, to cards, invitations, posters and publications,
and on and on. The benchmark question each year is how
many readers - art and design professionals at graphic
design studios, advertising agencies, corporations,
publishers, media companies and other institutions -
design for print as part of their jobs. This year 92%
of respondents say they design for print, a huge number
that is more or less consistent with every survey in
memory.
If more than nine in ten respondents design for print,
for what other media are they designing, and how does
print compare? Here the we find that 73% of readers
also working on point-of-purchase, 65% on packaging
and 55% in web design - virtually the same percentages
as last year. Interestingly, design for tv, film and
video projects, which rounds out the top five media,
jumped several points and reached 30% for the first
time.
Taking the big picture there are a few key conclusions
to note. First, creative firms and departments continue
to be involved in varied and complementary projects
in diverse media. The phenomenon of the content creator
at the center of responsibility and control over multiple
media is the basis for the graphic design community's
growing influence on communications, as well as its
buying and specifying power. Second, print remains the
most frequent activity of graphic designers, suggesting
its continuing relevance, whether as the lead solution
or as a complimentary part of an integrated communications
approach. Third, point-of-purchase and package design
remain mainstays of the creative business mix, which
makes eminent sense since, if anything, they are even
less impacted by new electronic media than print, given
their purpose.
A final observation. Web design fell for the third straight
year, albeit only slightly. Clearly the internet is
a compelling force in society, and certain aspects of
it, such as email and online shopping, are having a
direct effect on print and paper. Nevertheless, it is
also clear that the creative community's case of internet
fever - whose primary symptom is the delusion that the
web will swamp all other media - has broken. Indeed,
a recent study conducted by our TrendWatch Graphic Arts
strategic allies confirms and underscores this conclusion.
The study found that web page design declined once again
as a sales opportunity for graphic design firms. The
reason: "Back in the heady days of the web boom,
'web page design' was the number one sales opportunity
for design and production firms, even outpacing 'collateral
print projects.' Alas, web design has now dropped to
the number four position ... In this day and age, marcomm
campaigns can use any or all (or any combination of)
media - print, web, wireless, whatever. Like print before
it, the web is now simply one medium among many, and
the challenge for creatives has become to figure out
which medium is right for which application."
(TrendWatch
Graphic Arts Design & Production #15, www.trendwatchgraphicarts.com)
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