Changing the Game: the digital revolution

For the most part good graphic design in the 20th century has been equated to the ability to tell a compelling visual narrative, which finds value within an otherwise inert product. This valuable skill of storytelling has been the backbone of the modern western design field, within the commercial realm, for all of its existence. Clients understood the advantage good design gave a product or service, and they hired designers to tell the story.

But we have reached an inflection point within the profession where simply creating a product narrative is no longer the most effective way to approach design. The digital revolution has without a doubt changed the game. Products are no longer just analog, and some products and services have became completely digitalized. One great example of this switch to digital is the music industry. Brick and mortar record stores are no longer the place to hang out and discover new music. Digital storefronts and social networks are now the driving forces in the evolvement of the music industry.

This switch to intangible has sparked two radical changes within the design profession. First, clients can no longer afford to depend on outside sources to fulfill their storytelling needs. And second, designers are no longer dependent on clients to practice their profession.

The first change in the design field holds a more negative connotation. In a digital economy products and services are more intimately tied into the company its self. The products they sell have become synonymous with the company they are. Clothing stores must constantly optimize and design their online storefronts, which makes it impossible or the client to entrust the project to a designer outside the company. So for many designers this means that they will have to leave the studio model behind and embrace the in-house model. Negatively this will mean that the range of projects will diminish substantially and areas of focus will narrow.

But the second change cause by this digital crossover greatly broadens the possibilities within the field. Digital tools have become democratized within the last decade and it is now possible to build a digitally based business at a fraction of the funds once needed. This puts designers in command of their own destiny by allowing them to channel their creativity into a viable business. Without demanding deadlines, strict budgets, and painfully ignorant clients, the designer is left to create and prosper at he or she wish.