How the graphic design industry has changed over the years, with Elizaveta Pogossov and Bielke&Yang

The graphic design industry is always moving at a breathless pace. At any given point in time, there are fresh trends cropping up and spilling over our feeds, swanky new tools and techniques that are waiting to be mastered, and exciting yet daunting technologies throwing up new challenges along the way. In navigating these changes, it’s often easy to lose sight of the softer, subtler shifts in the industry. How is the culture within studios changing? How about the evolving relationship between designers and clients? We speak to freelance design director Elizaveta Pogossov and Christian Bielke, Co-founder & Managing Director of Oslo-based design studio Bielke&Yang, to find out how the graphic design industry has changed in the past years, and the work that’s yet to be done.  

When Pogossov looks back at her time in the industry, she can clearly put her finger on a few things that feel starkly different now, than when she started out. The culture at studios and agencies – both within their teams and in the way they interact with their contemporaries – seems to have gone through tectonic shifts. “Studios are sharing their processes, work-in-progress projects and inner workings a lot more, and not holding their cards so close to their chests,” she explains. “When I first entered the industry, it felt more secretive and closed off between different studios and agencies; more competitive.” She points to social media and platforms “such as yours, The Brand Identity” to have somewhat levelled the playing field by allowing more openness and honesty about what goes on behind the scenes. “People want to know the ups, downs and the mess behind the shiny output,” she adds. “The more we give away, the more we have to gain.”

Clients are becoming part of the team and the creative process.

The relationship between clients and studios, and the creative process itself, has witnessed a gradual, organic evolution. As the scopes, shapes and formats that any project takes on change, the work too has had to keep up the pace – and as a result, the process has become even more iterative than before. “Gone are the days where you get a brief, spend months working on it and then arrive at the big ‘ta-da!’ reveal to the client,” says Pogossov. “Now creatives are working more closely with clients throughout the whole project: learning, testing and iterating. Clients are becoming part of the team and the creative process, rather than just being handed over the end product on a due date.”

As Bielke has noticed, clients have also developed a sharper intuition in choosing the right studio for the right project, which perhaps leads to a better equation between the two teams. “This is a positive shift because successful collaborations thrive on close teamwork, shared goals, transparency, and mutual respect,” he explains. However, that’s not to say that significant challenges don’t persist. “We’ve also noticed more instances where clients request unpaid work, engage in unfair agency competitions, or push for lower prices,” adds Bielke. “In situations like these, the industry needs to join forces and say no to such terms. As designers, we’re in a unique position to shape the world, and we must do so responsibly, carefully considering how we engage with clients.”

The goal is to create a workplace where people take pride in what they do.

Within studios themselves, leaders like Bielke are working towards fostering a healthier environment, encouraging a work-life balance, and pulling focus towards the importance of mental health – which often translates to less overtime, more emphasis on building a positive culture, and increased transparency. “The goal is to create a workplace where people take pride in what they do, and look forward to coming to work every day,” he says.

While it’s apparent, at a glance, that much within the industry is changing for the better, as Bielke and Pogossov both note, much work still remains to be done, by both individuals and collectives. Design plays a pivotal role in the world around us, and it’s becoming increasingly important for designers to prioritise ethical and environmental considerations as fundamental factors in project choices. “We play a central role in shaping a better future and must make the most of this position,” says Bielke. 

Studios and agencies, in turn, have critical responsibilities as well, such as ensuring diversity within creative teams. “Diversity is an important factor to consider, not just in terms of gender, age and cultural backgrounds (of course, that too), but also diversity in skills, experiences and passions,” notes Pogossov. It’s important to notice who finds a place at the table – in recent years, studios that have broadened their teams beyond just designers to include “other creative minds such as writers, animators, strategists, 3D artists, creative coders, and product designers, are not only producing more interesting and unexpected work but have a more collaborative, less competitive culture,” she adds. “The more diversity there is, the more a team leans on each other’s different strengths to elevate the work – it encourages collaboration rather than comparison.”