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Future of American graphic design industry looking good

Graphic design industry in the US looking rosy

A report, into the United States graphic design industry, provides food for thought for all creatives. The report, from Strategies for Management, looks at the state of the current graphic design industry and also into the future, to predict trends that will affect the creative industry in the years to come.

Particularly interesting, is the prediction of an increase in revenues for both graphic design agencies and freelancers by the end of the decade - with freelance designers, in particular, looking to benefit. The report predicts that freelancers gross revenues will increase from over $3.4 billion in 2004 to over $3.8 billion in 2009. Additionally, the number of graphic design freelancers is expected to grow from the current figure of 74,000, to well over 86,000 by the end of the decade.

But you'd also better be ready to open your wallet. Graphic designers are expected to be spending more on equipment in the future. Industry-wide equipment purchasing, by design firms and freelancers, is expected to grow from $211 million in 2004 to $250 million in 2009. Other extracts from the report also claim an overall growth:

• Graphic design firms currently employ about 60,000 people, a level that is expected to reach nearly 68,000 employees by 2009
• 15% of the industry's graphic design firms are newly created each year
• The 50 largest graphic design firms comprise less than 1% of the number of establishments, but account for over 16% ($1.3 billion) of the industry's total billings
  

Interestingly, much of this appears to be at odds with a review of the UK graphic design industry, which we reported on recently. This report showed a gradual drop in turnover in recent years for British designers. A two-page project summary can be downloaded in PDF format and a 16-page presentation-style project summary can also be downloaded. The complete report is available from here. But let's hope that some of those predictions are accurate, because the report comes at a whopping price of $2,875.

What's the design market like where you are? Also worth checking out is the 2006 design salary survey.