A new survey by Design Industry Voices, which looks at the design workforce, paints a portrait of a sector in flux. 460 design professionals who work within design or digital agencies were asked to share their views anonymously about how it feels to work within their agencies right now.
The report, which was produced and published by Fairley & Associates, Gabriele Skelton and On Pointe Marketing, suggests that almost 60% of professionals are looking to change jobs in the coming year. Only half of respondents had been with their current employer for more than two years.
Almost two thirds say are employing fewer staff than last year, while 66 per cent say more freelancers are being used, and more than two fifths say more unpaid interns are being used.
Among the quotes on the state of the industry:
“I wish that the design industry would get together regarding the issue of free pitching. The amount of work that is expected is shocking. It can put small firms out of the running and out of business.” explained one
Among the other findings:
· Almost nine out of ten agree that ‘clients expect more work for less money’ (87%) and four fifths believe that client budgets have been reduced (80.8%).
· Respondents perceive a crisis of leadership. The widest perceived delivery gap is for ‘has a management team that demonstrates strong leadership skills’ (-53.1%). Owners have a rosier view of agency performance than their staff.
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