The year 2023 was crushing with almost no–design related jobs, I'd love to know how everyone survived or didn't?
So many collegues and friends I know left or got upset to the industry that they started doing part–time/freelance gigs for different industries or left the design community completely. How has it effected you? Or were you one of the lucky ones who hasn't felt it?
Replies17
- @Murat Tarcan Great insight, although not as relevant for me as many creative studios don't tend to look at Squarespace as much as they do Webflow, Framer, or custom web builds. That's just on my end, at least that I've seen.
- @Murat Tarcan this is correct https://adage.com/article/agency-news/why-agencies-are-quietly-laying-mid-level-and-senior-employees/2539371 but I didn't realize you need to be a subscriber.A short extract from another website:"Shops including R/GA, Ogilvy, Grey, Huge, Anomaly and Mother cut staff in January as they restructure, adapt to shrinking client budgets and deal with client lossesAgency employees who survived last year’s wave of layoffs are once again holding their breath as cutbacks resume.“We continue to hear of challenges for some agencies regarding the ability of marketers to commit beyond a short-term view and that creates instability for some as they manage costs. An increase in project-based work vs. retainer reinforces the challenges of forecasting and planning for long-term needs. As a reminder, most agency costs (~75%) are people related,” 4A’s CEO and President Marla Kaplowitz wrote in an email.
- @Anna Negrini Would love to read Anna, the link seems to be broken?
- @Justin Mabee Very similar experience to mine actually Justin, I landed some great gigs but then there were weeks where it was just very quite.I have nothing against recruiters but I got to understand the importance of building 1 on 1 connections with the Ops teams from the creative studios, because they are our direct invitation for new gigs. I work with very few recruiters and it's really hard to find legit ones that actually have a proven record of working with those companies that they put on ads all the time.There's nothing more efficient and/or quicker than working directly with studios.
- @Milo Marinov I noticed this too. Also I came across contract job ads that required branding, packaging, website, social media templates etc and the timeframe was 2 days!
- Apparently also the big ones have been affected (I think this article is US realated, though) https://adage.com/article/agency-news/why-agencies-are-quietly-laying-mid-level-and-senior-employees/2539371.
- Last year was the most up and down my business has ever been in 12 years of running it. I'm a website designer and while I made close to the same amount of money last year compared to previous years, it was really low some months, and really high other months, with no consistency. As of now, I'm pretty much working part-time.
- Yeah 2023 was my worst year ever! Definitely knocks your self worth and I don't even know is how I got through it. Terrible year for work!
- @Murat Tarcan Quite tough and exhausting. I don’t know what it is with most employers, but asking an individual to do web design, video editing , illustration, motion and 3D design with a minimum experience of 3-4 years for entry jobs is just absurd and disheartening. For someone who is out of university it was quite tough to even get an interview or be considered.. I do hope this year things improve as those expectations are just unrealistic and impossible.
- @Daniel Hawley-Lingham couldn’t agree more with this Daniel!
- I have spent the last few years moving away from any design work. I managed to get some research and development grants in 2022 which allowed me to switch focus - partly due to my background and earlier self started projects. After the first quarter of 2023 I realised that a lot of the work that had flowed in my direction had actually dried up (mainly web design, and some print and publishing work). I was lucky enough to get a role as National Director of an arts organisation and I thank my lucky stars. I have seen colleagues freelancing for institutions like the BBC lose their work or have it severely reduced. My opinion is that it's the culmination of a few factors - including brexit, covid, cost of living, poor economy, AI (to some extent), increase in cost of money (borrowing) - which has culminated in a risk averse, cautious and dangerously fragile place for business. I don't think we've seen the end of it.The irony is that there is still money around - it didn't just dissapear - what dissapeared is incentive to move money (investments, funding, lending etc). It is the movement of money that is key. This is why it is fundamentally important for a government to invest in times like this rather than continuing austerity. And for our sector we are regularly overlooked in terms of support and wider investment. Until there is a shift in that mentality we may not see an upturn in work and the sector will shrink.
- @Luke Freeman ✓✐ Thanks Luke, sometimes we have to look at the past and learn what went wrong or right. By doing this, we as designers can adapt and put realistic goals.To your example if AI is a threat to our industry we must update, unlock and find new ways to stay relevant. In my opinion design will never be forgotten. Pursuing a design career is easy, said nobody and it's only becoming more harder to succeed. It's almost like playing in the champions league, where there are only so few who shine.
- Can we not talk about 2023, for designers it has been the worst with small minimal work being outsourced to online DIY without a designer need attitude, while AI has become the go to for creatives to express their visual outcomes.The design side of the industry is becoming more and more less needed. At the sametime companies have adopted a fast food approach to rush projects out the door for the sake of profits.
- @Anna Negrini I feel you Anna, good that you had previous clients to keep you going during these times!I'm almost certain this is just a phase we're going through and this is not only for our industry but most. I guess it's wise to use this time to experiment with other mediums, styles and design approach in general.I'm constantly in touch with many recruiters (that I trust) they all say the same that it's a difficult period we are in but staying positive is really the only option we have at this point. 🍀
- Last year was awful for me! I went back working part time as a nanny and truly I don’t regret. I worry this year won’t be too different. I feel extremely tired of keep looking for opportunities and always getting frustrated.It’s sad
- Still feeling it too. I'm lucky to have a couple of recurring clients (for now) but I'm working part time at the moment. I'm trying to stay positive and use this time to update my skills but my big question is in which direction should I go?
- Still feeling it. The industry has always had too many ups and downs but this silence for the past 5-6 months is a little bit unusual.
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