Our 2021 poll was sent to a random selection of 10,000 GDUSA print magazine and e-subscribers. The benchmark results make clear that, even in a digital age, print remains essential to the graphic design profession. The highlights: 90% of GDUSA readers work in print as part of their mix, 55% of their projects have a print component, and 56% of their time is devoted to print work. With so much at stake, designers also continue to assert control over the process: 76% buy or specify paper and 81% buy or specify printing. At the same time, as digital messaging is increasingly the default position, a new high of 40% of designers forecast less print rather than more going forward. In testimony to the strangeness of the past year, Posters and Packaging rank higher than usual in terms of projects executed while Brochures and Collateral, Point-of-Sale and Event Invitations are relatively light. This makes sense in a pandemic year; will these patterns hold if and when normalcy returns?
(Click on the arrows below to traverse the gallery of statistics.)
