Dear Ricardo,
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On 17/02/2018, 15:37, Ricardo Martins" <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> on behalf of [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
According to AIGA Designer 2025 Report, the US Labor of Statistics tracks and predicts changes in the employment of Americans. It estimates 0-1% growth in traditional graphic design positions between 2014 and 2024, below the 7% growth in all sectors of employment.
Does this means that the graphic design profession is disappearing?
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A fascinating discussion that caught my imagination but unfortunately I can only contribute to momentarily but with some specificity.
It could mean a number of things that we can only speculate on.
One speculation is that as the popularity of graphic design has continued to grow, other occupations spin off and eventually disassociate with graphic design, perhaps giving the impression that graphic design as a 'thinking-through-making’ activity, to use Gunnar’s term, is becoming less prominent. The list below (from Dziobczenski and Person 2017) will illustrate how complex and sophisticated the practice is today, compared to past definitions, and how some employed may never be directly involved in the creation of graphic form.
I read through the AIGA documents ‘Current undergraduate competencies’ and ‘Why design education should pay attention to trends’ but found these confusing in terms of the core concept/s. I can’t help thinking that others following this thread might also find it difficult as well.
The first document emphasises ‘baccalaureate degrees in design’ referring to ‘various design specialisations’. Then it repeatedly emphasises ‘communication, objects, environments or services’ leading to a section on 'Communication Design’ that also includes 'visual communication design’ and then ‘graphic design' and ‘advertising design’. I’m left wondering what concept/s are being highlighted here exactly?
With regards to the AIGA Designer 2025 Report, what concerns me is that claims made more than 25 years ago – that graphic design had evolved into visual communication and then communication design (Buchanan 1992, 2001) – has not yet resulted in reliable data on employment in the US Labor market. How much longer must we wait, and therefore how much speculation must we do in terms of future employment? Furthermore, I was recently told at a university forum we do not know 50% of the jobs graduates will do in 2025.
It may well be that there is less growth in traditional graphic design positions, but this seems to be balanced with increased growth in more contemporary applications of the practice. If you are interested in what graphic design employers are actually looking for, I suggest you concentrate on the list of competence areas, knowledge and skills outlined in recent research by Dziobczenski and Person (2017). If you are unable to access their research I list their findings immediately below. You might also want to consult Karel van der Waarde’s (2009) work in this area, also listed below with a link.
From Dziobczenski and Person (2017):
Competence areas
• Brand Visual Identity
• Digital Design
• Film and Animation
• Packaging and Point of Sale
• Print and Advertising
• Retail and Environmental Design
Process management skills
• Client relationship
• Interpersonal (teamwork)
• Presentation and communication
• Project planning and administration
• Team management
Technical design skills
• 3D modelling
• Coding and platform management
• Detailing and production
• Digital photo manipulation
• Illustration
• Layout and composition
• Motion design
• Photography
• Typography
• Visual coordination
Conceptual design skills
• Briefing
• Business orientation
• Design research
• Idea generation and concept development
• Problem solving
• Process understanding
Software skills
• 2D software
• 3D software
• Animation/video software
• Office software
Some, in fact quite a few, of these are specialist activities most likely undertaken by people not necessity trained in the 'thinking-through-making’ tradition that Gunnar speaks of. Hence, this may explain why graphic design (in the traditional sense) is reducing in size, perhaps because the practice has enlarged to the extent that it now accommodates other specialist training to supplement the production of graphic objects.
If employability prospects is your main concern, I’ve generally found that students who focus on being very good at select aspects of these competencies, knowledge and skills, find work very soon. In my own case, I remember my tutor saying 'a good typographer will never be out of work', and I found that to be the case during a fifteen year period in graphic design practice through during a radical period of technological change during the 1980-00s.
Regards,
Robert.
Dr Robert Harland<http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/aed/staff/academic/robert-harland/>
Publicatio<http://publications.lboro.ac.uk/publications/all/collated/acrgh.html>ns<http://publications.lboro.ac.uk/publications/all/collated/acrgh.html>
Leicester Urban Observatory<https://leicesterurbanobservatory.wordpress.com/>
Loughborough Urban Graphic Object Archive<https://lboro.figshare.com/Urban_Graphic_Object_Archive>
Graphic Design Educators' Network<http://www.graphicdesigneducators.network/>
Sometimes my messages arrive outside of the standard working day but I do not expect a reply outside of normal working hours.
References
Buchanan, R. (2001). "Design Research and the New Learning." Design Issues, 17(4), 3–23.
Buchanan, R. (1992). "Wicked Problems in Design Thinking." Design Issues, 8(2), 5–21.
Dziobczenski, P. R. N., and Person, O. (2017). ‘Graphic Designer Wanted: A Document Analysis of the Described Skill Set of Graphic Designers in Job Advertisements from the United Kingdom.’ International Journal of Design, 11(2).
van der Waarde, K. (2009). On graphic design: listening to the reader: Avans Hogeschool Research Group Visual Rhetoric AKV | St. Joost. https://issuu.com/karelvanderwaarde/docs/kvdw_listeningtothereader
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