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NEW TRENDWATCH REPORT PREDICTS THE FUTURE OF CREATIVE
BUSINESSES AND THEIR TECHNOLOGY THROUGH 2005
HARRISVILLE, RI -- February 1, 2000: In the new report just released,
Design and Production 2005, TrendWatch predicts how the business of creating
and producing creative ideas will change between now and 2005. TrendWatch
Design and Production 2005 is available now through TrendWatch.
"We all know how quickly creative shops have adopted digital technologies," said Jim Whittington, TrendWatch Partner. "One of the issues owners now face is re-inventing their business models to address the increasing demands by their clients for electronic and on-demand services. While this may sound simple on the surface, it is keeping many owners awake at night as they try to recapture and bill for time their designers spend sending emails and making PDF files for proofs."
According to TrendWatch Design and Production 2005, creative businesses of all sizes will need to solve the following problems:
- Recapturing lost markup from outside services on jobs that were once sent to service bureaus and color separators;
- Managing prepress internally as desktop technology continues to evolve enabling these tasks to move out of printing plants and trade shops;
- Finding qualified employees who understand traditional design and have Web design and production experience;
- Finding freelancers whose quality and experience can meet the needs of their clients in a timely and reliable manner;
- Providing the "big picture" strategic focus to help clients deliver a fully integrated message that includes a variety of media and customer service via website visits and requests;
- Developing a true digital workflow to allow for a seamless job-flow with direct-to systems;
- Acquiring the expertise for in-house critical color management and job proofing;
- Finding experienced mid level and executive management who know both web and print media and can interface with clients at the highest strategic levels.
"Although there are some interesting challenges to solve, this business will be further defined by the continued evolution of the Internet and creative shops' understanding of how use and integrate its power to produce bottom-line results," noted Whittington. "Our research shows that well over half of the traditional print-focused creative shops are now doing Web design and production jobs for their clients who increasingly want all of their outbound media to be strategically integrated, coordinated, and highly targeted."
"This puts tremendous added pressure on designers who now must design in 8-D to fully consider their clients' media requirements," said TrendWatch Partner, Dr. Webb. He further states, "Designers now need to think about how their designs will be used across all media, not just print. Understanding website architecture is a big piece of this puzzle as designs must work as drill-downs, links, and streaming media are become expected and must work on a 17-inch computer monitor with standard browser elements and colors."
In the section titled "Myths and Truths," there is a lively discussion focused on how misconceptions about the creative business and markets are believed and how many truths are not fully understood. Also in this section is valuable information about color proofing, stock images, desktop publishing software, and how workflow is changing.
In another section, "Design and Production After the Millennium," TrendWatch covers the many changes creative shops will experience in the areas of initial design, employee skills, communication with clients, justifying how time is billed, how shops make money, tapping into "direct to" workflows, digital jobs, and the influence of the Web.
Who will benefit from this report:
- Creative shop owners (agencies and design shops) can use this report to get a head start on managing the changes that are coming at them - especially people and technology;
- Publishers will find valuable information on what to expect;
- Corporate design department managers can use this report to help them keep their edge compared to other outside resources;
- Printers reading this report will find new ideas for selling non-print services to creative shops and new ways to make money with the Internet;
- Software companies can use this report to help them stay in-step with tomorrow's workflows and employees' skills;
- Hardware companies will get a solid view of the power of tomorrow's desktop and how technology is creating demand for more on-demand capability;
- Dot-com companies will pull many ideas for new services they can offer to creative shops as their clients demands increase in the next few years.
Whether a shop owner, vendor or analyst, Design and Production 2005 delivers a solid view of what's next in this business. It discusses both problems and opportunities presented by the increasingly fast pace of the creative business. And the TrendWatch perspective is based on facts collected from owners and executives of creative businesses.
Availability and Cost of Complete Report:
TrendWatch Design and Production 2005 is available now and will include
these and other discussions for 2005. You can purchase and download this
report from the TrendWatch eStore (www.trendwatch.com)
where major credit cards are accepted. Also you can order by calling TrendWatch
(800-283-8063). The price of Design and Production 2005 is $1250. Special
prices are available for current TrendWatch Report Subscribers.
Contact: Dr. Webb at 401-568-9899 and Mr. Whittington at 415-380-8561. You can also reach TrendWatch via email (partners@trendwatch.com) or visit their website (www.trendwatch.com).