Survey Results

DMI Survey Shows Optimism for 2004

In the December 2003 eBulletin, DMI hosted a short survey about economic trends and the state of design management. The results show that overall, eBulletin subscribers are optimistic about economic trends during the coming year, and a majority of the organizations represented expect to increase design staff and expenditures on design. Nonetheless, a significant minority expected that economic conditions would continue to be challenging in 2004. Respondents working in consultant organizations were significantly more optimistic than those working in corporate organizations. Just over half of the responses were from consultants, many of them from small firms. Because the sample size (41) was relatively small, some caution is advised in interpreting these results; nonetheless some clear trends emerged.

1. During 2004, what change do you expect in the size of the overall workforce (design and non-design) at your organization?

53% of the respondents expected the workforce to increase in 2004. Conversely, a significant minority of 20% expected the workforce to decrease.

2. During 2004, what change do you foresee for the size of the design staff at your organization?

Responses to this question closely mirrored the previous question, showing little difference between changes in size of the design staff relative to the overall workforce.

3. During 2004, what changes do you see for expenditures on design at your organization?

40% of the respondents expected expenditures on design to increase. 32% of the respondents expected expenditures on design to decrease.

4. During 2004, what changes do you see for expenditures on marketing at your organization?

56% of the respondents expected marketing expenditures to increase, a significantly higher percentage than expenditures on design.

5. During 2004, what change do you expect to see in how design services are obtained for your organization?

39% of the overall respondents expected no change in outsourcing, with the remaining responses approximately evenly divided between increased and decreased outsourcing.

5B. What change do you expect to see in how design services are obtained for your organization? (Corporate responders only)

When the responses from corporate organizations were tabulated separately, a clear trend towards increased outsourcing was evident, with 43% expecting an increase in outsourcing of design services.

6. In your business, how would you rate the current economic climate?

Responses to this question were dominated by the ‘fair’ response. As can be expected, few responded ‘very good’, but surprisingly, many more (34%) felt the economic climate was good rather than poor or very poor (12%).

7. In your business, do you feel that the economic climate is improving?

Clearly, eBulletin subscribers are very optimistic about the economic climate in 2004. An impressive 75% felt the economy is improving, while 10% felt that it was getting worse.

Corporate responses versus consultant responses

The responses to questions 1-4 and 6-7 were aggregated into three categories: optimistic, neutral, and pessimistic. Results were compiled separately for corporate and consultant responses. The consultant responders were notably more optimistic, with 65% giving optimistic responses. By contrast, only 36% of corporate responders gave optimistic responses.

8. What specific design disciplines (i.e., graphic design, industrial design, interaction design, etc.) will be the most valuable to you in 2004?

The most highly valued disciplines in 2004 included:

• Graphic design (24%)
• Interaction/Web design (22%)
• Industrial design (17%)
• Research (12%)
• Brand (7%)

Other disciplines included architecture, design strategy, environmental design, exhibit design, information architecture, and usability engineering.

9. What do you feel will be the primary challenge you will face in 2004?

Some sample responses:

• Becoming more productive so we can execute a larger volume of work with the same headcount.
• Balancing new client development with existing client expectations.
• Conditioning employees to reinforce and expand our corporate POV.
• Changes in the market distribution channels and the move to a more strategic approach in the new product development process.
• Competing with cheap, inexperienced labor.
• Deciding on appropriate levels of internal investment to support controlled growth.
• Delivering on reduced budget/resources.
• Developing staffing resources to meet client needs.
• Doing more work with less staff. The new economic norm!
• Shortened deadlines and increasing workload with no increase in resources to meet those needs.
• Performance measurements.
• Enabling clients to prepare better design briefs.
• Finding talented, high-caliber candidates who can work within fast-paced, aggressive corporate environment.
• Managing growth.
• Finding the right skilled labor to get the work done reliably so that I can focus on the bigger picture.
• Generating enough income to stay in business. The economy is forcing me out.
• Increase client base while holding expenses and staffing.
• Internal communications unifying a workforce spread over several offices in several countries
• Juggling multiple projects, many with limited budgets.
• Keeping expenditures below outsource cost.
• Keeping the business growing and moving in the direction planned, and not just reacting to circumstances.
• Transforming Design from a commodity resource to a strategic resource.
• Our own people who take short-term views.

10. How would you best describe your organization?

A slight majority of responders represented consultant organizations.

11. How large is your organization?

The large number of responders from small organizations reflects that many represented small design consultancies.

12. In what part of the world is your organization or department located?

North America produced the majority of responses, with a significant minority from Europe.

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