Stephen Burton
Director, POMO Creative
Written by Lisa Harrison on 2008-10-15
What do you see happening in the next five years in the Graphic Design industry?
The graphic design industry is becoming increasingly fragmented and democratised. There is a flood of graduates entering the industry as well as graduates setting up their own businesses. I see this as a threat to traditional agency structures but I don’t see that as a bad thing. Competition is healthy and if it contributes to a general rising of creative standards in the industry, then great. Overall I suggest that in the next five years we will see a diffusion of creative work from large agencies to small agencies or freelance designers, which is already happening.
What are the biggest challenges you and your organisation face as a member of the Brisbane media community?
In relation to the industry in Brisbane, we are all faced with enormous pressure being applied on our physical workspace due to rapidly increasing commercial rents and the evaporation of traditional creative precincts, due to irresponsible urban redevelopment (e.g. Fortitude Valley). In five years there will be no creative, affordable urban areas left in Brisbane that would traditionally have been a breeding ground for small creative businesses. Without these areas, new creatives face serious barriers to entering the industry, meaning the industry won’t be challenged with new edgy ideas and the industry won’t renew.
What are the most important/valuable skills that graduates can bring to your industry?
Graduates are generally quite well trained for this industry, with the exception of graduates who are not taught the Adobe suite, which is a must. The injection of fresh ideas into the industry is important, but so too is a willingness to come to terms with the commercial limitations of the design industry in general. Most graphic design is a function of marketing, and marketing is a function of commerce. Whether it is designing a CD for a band, or a brochure for a retailer, it’s generally about creating a visual message that appeals to a target market which results in a transaction. The graduates who bring a sense of this to the industry are well placed.
How would you rate the performance of Brisbane-based media organisations in comparison to other national and international media hubs?
In Australia we would have to assume Sydney and Melbourne would be our points of comparison, to which Brisbane really can’t compare unfortunately. The entire output of the graphic design industry in Brisbane would only represent a tiny fraction of what comes out of Sydney. For example, especially when you consider that most magazines are designed in Sydney – I can’t think of one major magazine designed in Brisbane, although a few minor and Indy mags certainly are. Brisbane can’t be compared to international hubs such as New York or London for creative output. We need to be realistic. Compared to the Brisbane of ten years ago, Brisbane has come a long way, but compared to other centres, well, the comparison just can’t be made.
How has new media such as the Internet and mobile communications revolutionised your workplace?
Internet has had a major impact primarily in the speed in which information gets received and acted upon. In days gone by, we might wait a day for a client to get back to us after receiving a design but now it’s almost instantaneous. Same with getting designs to clients: no more prints being couriered across town in a tube, now it’s emailed in seconds. Overall this means we as an industry can be more responsive and more productive. Digital changes to the print industry have been enormous; getting jobs to print now is much easier and requires less knowledge of the print process than it once did.
Ten years ago the media was expected to go through a massive process of convergence, where on line content, TV, video etc would be delivered seamlessly into every household. Has this concept of convergence been an issue in your industry and if so how has it impacted upon you, if at all?
Overall, I would have to say media convergence has not been a real issue for our industry. The idea that on-line content will be delivered in one way or another really only impacts upon those who are in the business of content delivery or production. For us, convergence has really only happened in so far as graphic design has flourished in the on-line environment. And now designers who traditionally did print only are now likely to offer both services. Convergence between print and digital media has probably been the major area of change in our industry in the last ten years. As for the impact of this, it has created a new opportunity for design to be carried across more mediums and therefore reach more people, not to mention it has created a new source of work for designers.
Do you see the current economic crisis affecting your business?
If this translates into a real economic slump, then sure: nobody will be immune from that. Recently I have re-structured the business to be leaner and reduce overheads, I think anyone who has not done that in the last 6 months will be more likely to suffer over the next 6. If the government’s spending plan works then I doubt we will feel much of the pinch, most of our work does not come from customers who would be the first to feel a downturn (like retailers) so I think we are quite well placed. Agencies who are reliant heavily on property related or retail related work would be anxious about this turn of events.