What kinds of print projects are creative firms working on? In general the relative frequency of Brochures and Collateral is fairly consistent. The perennial leader continues to dominate for the umpteenth year. Sales Promotion and Direct Mail and Catalogs tie for the next spot, followed by Identity and Letterheads, Posters, Signs and Displays, Cards and Invitations, Annual and Corporate Reports, Print Advertising, Publications and Periodicals, Packaging and, last but not least, Calendars. Needless to say, there is some overlap in these categories.

Brochures and Collateral is no surprise; the category is broad and its utility is proven. The same is true of Sales Promotion, a close cousin of collateral. More interesting is the growth of Direct Mail, perhaps partly a counterreaction to the insane blizzard of phone and email solicitations. The continuing strength of Posters, Signs and Displays and Packaging makes sense, given the relative importance of point-of-sale during a year in which consumer spending is the sole bright spot in the national economy. Also an attack on conventional wisdom: the bright showing of Identity and Letterheads and Annual and Corporate Reports, both categories one might think would be tramped down by competing electronic options. On the dark side, the Print Advertising and Publications and Periodicals categories continue to score historically low in our findings. Anyone living through the slump in media advertising, or who read a recent article in The New York Times entitled "Turnaround in Advertising Does Not Extend to Magazines," can testify to the accuracy of these survey results.