Thursday mornings, in the design industry, herald the arrival of industry publication, Design Week. When I first landed in this industry, I considered Design Week my bible; I soon became hooked. I avidly read everything – from the latest in design news, to successful marketing campaigns, to voxpops, to the latest exhibitions and more.
So when this week’s issue dropped, with a mint green front cover simply stating; ‘The Last Issue Design Week closes after 25 years’, I was disappointed to say the least. I soon found out that Design Week wasn’t exactly shutting down – they were instead choosing to go down the Digital-only route.
Sources cited that the main reason they’d chosen to go digital was because they already generate more advertising revenue via their website than they do in the printed editions of Design Week, and in an economic downturn, who can blame them? It’s a fairly obvious move in principle, which benefits both Design Week and their advertisers – after all, digital advertising is significantly easier to monitor and measure. Design Week can give a better insight into advertising that’s really going to benefit those who want to advertise with them.
Aside from the obvious benefits to going from print to digital, to me, it signifies a sad shift. I’ll miss taking fifteen minutes out of my Thursday to really enjoy Design Week – to flip through the news and announcements, to really appreciate stunning campaigns in all their printed glory. In a world where the popularity of tablets such as the iPad and the Blackberry Playbook is constantly on the rise, how long will it be before other favourite publications go digital only?
As we progress evermore into ‘The Digital Age’, will it become the norm to download and view our favourite publications, rather than to go to the local shop, buy them and spend time enjoying and consuming published pieces?
Design Week is many creatives’ bible – from juniors, through to execs.
For me, it gave me an insight into a brand new industry and a good insight at that too! Whilst I’ll still be able to view Design Week digitally, I don’t think I’ll be as compelled to log on. As the creative industry continues to be led by the Digital Age, it’s important for not only the team at Thought by Design, but for our clients – and even competitors to remember the significance, importance and impact printed pieces have.