My 2007 Crystal Ball
As always, there seems to come about in this month the end-of-the-year recaps and forecasts for the New Year. Most of the time, they're simply a memory test of the past year to see if we've been on our toes and can actually remember what happened 11 months ago. There are also forecasts from crotchedy professors from some obscure college on how the world will be in the next year based on some crazy algorithm. My favorites are the so-called psychics who predict catastrophic events, alien invasions, or past presidents raising from the dead (I saw that one in the Star). Anyway, I will make my own feeble attempt to make a forecast on what I think the world of graphic design will likely be in 2007.
My crystal ball sees that the economy for design professionals will continue to improve in the next year and that design opportunities will continue to grow. I also see that freelancers will continue to be in demand (yippee!) and many firms will outsource work to them to assist with their influx of projects. There will also be the possibility of permanent hiring from these outsourcers - if the freelancers can prove themselves.
Web and interactive technologies will continue to grow, change, and these designers will be in high demand. We will all need to brush up on our skills with software training as upgrades and enhancements keep coming. (My head hurts on that thought.) I also predict that the page-layout software wars between Adobe and Quark will continue, but each organization will cut out their own nitches to capture their markets. Maybe the prices will go down a bit.
Speaking of money, this soothsayer feels that fees for our services will grow at a modest pace, as the competition from the many freelancers and small firms continues to get fierce. All is not lost though, as there will be pieces of the pie available for all - well, at least the good ones.
We'll all continue to use stock photography and font houses - but we will do all of our purchases online and our products will be delivered digitally (if we're not doing that already).
My last prediction is that we will still struggle with the education of our clients and public at large in the value and importance of good design, but will continue to chip-away at the do-it-myself-ers.
My crystal ball is getting cloudy now and I can't see through the fog. I do see that I will continue to blog and entertain you all through the next year, however - whether that is a catastrophe or not.
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