55th Annual Print Design Survey

Sponsored by Verso Corporation

Fake news, clickbait, spam, data misuse. Who and what can you trust?

In 2018, this question strikes at the heart of what is right and wrong with our society, our politics, our media, our commerce, our connectedness. In GDUSA’s 55th annual print and paper survey, the question of trust bubbles to the surface. Understandably so. In an era of fake news, fake solicitations, fake identities, fake imagery, our readers engage in a lively debate as to whether print communications provide a greater degree of credibility for the senders and to the recipient.

For many, the answer is yes: a quality printed piece is inherently suffused with authenticity. For others, the answer is no: the medium is not the message and a delivery system does not make one more or less credible. And yet for others, the answer depends: on the quality of the piece and the paper it is printed on, the type of message, the nature of the audience. Reality? Perception? Perception as reality? More on this below.

More broadly, the debate speaks to how and why print endures in a digital age. GDUSA has been conducting a reader survey about the state of print design for more than five decades. When print and paper were dominant in graphic design, our surveys got into the weeds: details about projects, presses, papers, practices. Today, print is a choice and an option, and the questions now tend to focus on more existential issues: the role, relevance and purpose of print now and in the near future.

1. Print and Trust
2. A Message From Verso Corporation, the Sponsor
3. The Numbers
4. Select Comments: Print’s Place in Your Life
5. Select Comments:Permanence & Credibility
6. Select Comments:The Rise of Facebook and Google