To those who believe what the press tells them, the UK economy is on a downward spiral, and we'l be paying for the mistakes of our financial sector for generations to come. As someone who is about to graduate in the depths of what is alledgedly the worst recession for 70 years, im a little concerned about my prospects. This report examines how the recession has affected the design industry, what can be learned from it, and ultimately how can someone in my situation make the most of it?
My inspiration for writing on this subject comes from the fact that all the scaremongering from the media contradicts quite dramatically with what my industry contacts have said. In general, the illustrators that i have contacted have noticed little difference in workload over the past 9 months, but have become wary of turning down any work. However one concern raised by Canadian illustrator Carl Wiens that could seriously affect the illustration industry is the fact that, if newspapers continue losing alot of money, to the point where they go out of business, he would lose alot of important, regular clients. He also added that some clients are taking slightly longer to part with their money.
In the UK, the last year has seen salaries in the design sector drop by up to 10%. As dramatic as this sounds, the significant and probably excessive rises in previous years realistically makes this only a minor concern. What i did find alarming, however, is that as of the begining of 2009, it is reported that 60 small businesses were going out of business every day. Whether this is due to the economic climate, poor business management i dont know, but this loss of competition provides an excellent opportunity for the expansion of new enterprises. Biddy Moroney, an illustrator based in Australia, is involved with two relatively new businesses and has been lucky enough to see them grow over recent months.
The reduction in illustration work is currently making times hard for freelancers, especially those who are not yet established. Its interesting that the first signs of economic recovery for the design sector are predicted to come from an increase in the commisioning of freelance work; a lack of confidence in the market means limited availability of permanent positions, but as clients begin to regain their faith and business improves, they are likely to employ designers on a freelance basis first to avoid having to pay out salaries. Another group likely to struggle this year is graduates. During unstable periods, companies will be less willing to take risks, and place far greater value on experience and those with a proven track record of reliability. The value of a good work experience placement cannot be underestimated.
The best placed to ride out this economic downturn are those involved in the internet and digital markets. This is the only industry to have continued growing through the last quarter of 2008, though at a reduced rate, and 2009 is predicted to be the first year when companies expenditure online will overtake TV advertising. The fact that businesses are still spending money in this area shows the strength of this growing market; "technology needs to be concieved, designed, packaged and promoted". (Exton, Vision 2009. Design Week)
Though some areas of design will struggle and some business will inevitably lose money, we cannot afford to focus too hard on what is at least partially media driven gloom. The last economic downturn in 2001 saw well run companies emerge stronger, with lessons learnt. Attick studios in New York was forced to make half its staff redundant, a difficult decision at the time for owner James Sommerville - but one that resulted in Attick going from being "a sprawling organization to a more focussed studio". Another benefit gained from this last recession was an increase in the quality of design work; fewer jobs made tough competition for illustrators, basically forcing everyone to be more creative and produce better designs, which can only be a good thing.
This will inevitably not be the last recession. As someone who is about to enter the design industry, i should take notice of who is riding out the downturn most effectively and why. Apart from the digital industry becoming increasingly important, it is those capable of working in several disciplines who are least likely to be caught out when one area of design suffers financially. "Those working in overseas markets will be especially well placed to weather the downturn", says Anna Richardson of Design Week, a sentiment echoed by James Sommerville. He feels that designers pitching for work outside their own country have an immediate advantage over any local designers simply because they will have a slightly different outlook and their work is likely to stand out. As the Asian markets begin to compete with the US for dominance, designers would do well to look there for work.
So although the next year is predicted to be a tough one for most areas of the design industry, i feel that those who are capable of working in several disciplines and are creative in terms of design as well as the way they market themselves, will always be able to find work.
My inspiration for writing on this subject comes from the fact that all the scaremongering from the media contradicts quite dramatically with what my industry contacts have said. In general, the illustrators that i have contacted have noticed little difference in workload over the past 9 months, but have become wary of turning down any work. However one concern raised by Canadian illustrator Carl Wiens that could seriously affect the illustration industry is the fact that, if newspapers continue losing alot of money, to the point where they go out of business, he would lose alot of important, regular clients. He also added that some clients are taking slightly longer to part with their money.
In the UK, the last year has seen salaries in the design sector drop by up to 10%. As dramatic as this sounds, the significant and probably excessive rises in previous years realistically makes this only a minor concern. What i did find alarming, however, is that as of the begining of 2009, it is reported that 60 small businesses were going out of business every day. Whether this is due to the economic climate, poor business management i dont know, but this loss of competition provides an excellent opportunity for the expansion of new enterprises. Biddy Moroney, an illustrator based in Australia, is involved with two relatively new businesses and has been lucky enough to see them grow over recent months.
The reduction in illustration work is currently making times hard for freelancers, especially those who are not yet established. Its interesting that the first signs of economic recovery for the design sector are predicted to come from an increase in the commisioning of freelance work; a lack of confidence in the market means limited availability of permanent positions, but as clients begin to regain their faith and business improves, they are likely to employ designers on a freelance basis first to avoid having to pay out salaries. Another group likely to struggle this year is graduates. During unstable periods, companies will be less willing to take risks, and place far greater value on experience and those with a proven track record of reliability. The value of a good work experience placement cannot be underestimated.
The best placed to ride out this economic downturn are those involved in the internet and digital markets. This is the only industry to have continued growing through the last quarter of 2008, though at a reduced rate, and 2009 is predicted to be the first year when companies expenditure online will overtake TV advertising. The fact that businesses are still spending money in this area shows the strength of this growing market; "technology needs to be concieved, designed, packaged and promoted". (Exton, Vision 2009. Design Week)
Though some areas of design will struggle and some business will inevitably lose money, we cannot afford to focus too hard on what is at least partially media driven gloom. The last economic downturn in 2001 saw well run companies emerge stronger, with lessons learnt. Attick studios in New York was forced to make half its staff redundant, a difficult decision at the time for owner James Sommerville - but one that resulted in Attick going from being "a sprawling organization to a more focussed studio". Another benefit gained from this last recession was an increase in the quality of design work; fewer jobs made tough competition for illustrators, basically forcing everyone to be more creative and produce better designs, which can only be a good thing.
This will inevitably not be the last recession. As someone who is about to enter the design industry, i should take notice of who is riding out the downturn most effectively and why. Apart from the digital industry becoming increasingly important, it is those capable of working in several disciplines who are least likely to be caught out when one area of design suffers financially. "Those working in overseas markets will be especially well placed to weather the downturn", says Anna Richardson of Design Week, a sentiment echoed by James Sommerville. He feels that designers pitching for work outside their own country have an immediate advantage over any local designers simply because they will have a slightly different outlook and their work is likely to stand out. As the Asian markets begin to compete with the US for dominance, designers would do well to look there for work.
So although the next year is predicted to be a tough one for most areas of the design industry, i feel that those who are capable of working in several disciplines and are creative in terms of design as well as the way they market themselves, will always be able to find work.
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