Be Part Of The $162 Billion Design Industry

The creative industry is making its all-time peak. Thanks to COVID-19 (well, not really), digital has become the primary way of communicating with colleagues, customers, friends and family. And here, design is of the key essence. A brand’s digital presence has never been more crucial through its website, social media, and apps.

Creative designers are becoming increasingly in demand, as industries such as marketing, manufacturing, advertising, publishing, and other specialized areas are constantly in search of qualified and talented designers.

Forrester has recently published a new look at the design industry and the trends driving it. Forrester estimates the size of the global design industry to be $162 billion and believe multiple software categories used in design will grow more than 20% this year.

And right on the heels of the report, even more signals have emerged that point in this direction:

• The number of designers is probably going to grow even faster. Last month, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released updated employment projections for the next 10 years. In it, BLS doubled its pre-pandemic “web developers and digital interface designers” growth projections for the next decade. Our recent global survey of design teams found that half expected to grow in 2021 and one-third expected to grow by more than 25%. And that’s probably low, as that survey was fielded during the summer and fall of 2020, when economic conditions were more uncertain.
• Tech spending forecasts are being revised upwards. Forrester predicts in a new tech forecast 6% growth in spending in 2021 and 6.5% in 2022.

This spending reinforces existing trends like:

• Digital transformation and cycles of design. Once you start doing design well, it’s hard to stop. Once you’ve transformed any process or experience digitally, it’s hard to do it the old way. It’s hard to go back to a lack of iteration, to not testing with users, and to a lack of monitoring for insight into performance. Multiple vendors in the design categories are seeing more demand and growing more than what we estimated they would.
• Better design in the workplace. Companies are finding bad design for work can cost them millions. This justifies added funding for design — from both the buyers and vendors of software. Stripe was recently valued at $95 billion because, as the Financial Times put it, “Stripe’s is not the cheapest rate available but key to its appeal is speed and simplicity of integration … Its online tools are designed to be easy for businesses to adopt without needing a large sales force or support team.” Add this to Forrester’s documented trends in B2C and B2B buying behavior that emphasize usage, the growth in AI adoption (design is key), and the expanding extended reality opportunity. Finally, Forrester studies show design buyers are coming from across the organization, and design reports into many parts of the organization. That tells us design is an enterprise-wide priority that shows no sign of slowing down. On the contrary — it’s accelerating.

According to a recent study by Brookfield Institute, Creative Designers and crafts persons in Canada, with a higher than average employment share in 2020, grew by 70% based on the forecast projections.

For Graphic designers and illustrators, over the period 2019-2028, new job openings (arising from expansion demand and replacement demand) are expected to total 21,500, while 23,600 new job seekers (arising from school leavers, immigration and mobility) are expected to be available to fill them.

As part of its Creative Exports Strategy, the Government of Canada had successful trade missions to China in April 2018 and Latin America in February 2019. The Government recently also had its first and second virtual trade missions in The Netherlands and Germany.

The Canadian Government is trying to bolster Canada’s creative industries trade by encouraging business-to-business networking opportunities, increasing the visibility of Canadian companies established in different regions, and strengthening existing networks and partnerships.

There hasn’t been a better time to grow in the design industry. And the right way to start in the industry is by having the proper education that meets the requirements of the employers. CAM Institute of Design and Studio is a one-of-a-kind institute in Atlantic Canada to offer Communication and Industrial design programs.

To enquire about our programs, visit CAM Enrolment or call 506-635-3000.