Design-led thinking is boosting creative careers: Adobe Study

Indian companies are taking steps to involve creatives in strategic plans and boardroom discussions, says Adobe's 2016 Creative Pulse survey...

With the Government of India's focus on resurgence of design, innovation, and creativity-led entrepreneurship (D.I.C.E), the last year saw businesses emphasise upon the importance of design and creativity in businesses across the country. The rise of design-led thinking and the incorporation of design approaches into business and strategic problem-solving is seeing a positive impact on careers of creatives in India.

According to Adobe's 2016 Creative Pulse survey of more than 1,700 creatives across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region including graphic designers, web designers, and artists, 98 per cent creative professionals in India believe that creativity and design thinking are more important to businesses in the country. This is higher than the APAC average of 89 per cent. The report also found that Indian creatives have a higher desire to learn (83 per cent), and feel motivated to find new solutions to design-led challenges (61 per cent), which is higher (by 11 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively) than their peers in the APAC region.

Overall, the findings of Adobe's 2016 Creative Pulse survey highlight that creatives in India are today driving a bigger impact within their organisations. The study provides insights into the beliefs, difficulties, and ambitions of the region's creative vanguard, including graphic designers, user experience/interface designers, web designers, photographers, and film makers.

"Adobe has always been at the forefront of the changing creative environment, and it is encouraging for us to see how changing market dynamics and the Government of India's DICE agenda are together furthering the progress of creative professionals in the country. Today, we are seeing businesses in India increasingly acknowledge the value of creativity in driving business results, and find several companies taking steps to involve creatives in their strategic plans, as well as boardroom discussions. The results of Adobe's 2016 Creative Pulse survey are a testament to this fast-emerging trend and also provide an apt view into the sentiments of creative professionals in India today," says Kulmeet Bawa, managing director - South Asia, Adobe.

The report adds that creatives believe that proficiency in technology and access to best-in-class tools, combined with intuitive creative excellence will be the deal breaker, with 96 per cent of Indian respondents agreeing with this. Creatives in India cite that the most important skills over the next year would be to acquire user experience/interface design (37 per cent) and app development (20 per cent).

The study also states that one of the main concerns of creatives is the fear of losing inspiration and motivation (37 per cent). Most creatives mention that they are very reliant on desktops (73 per cent) for work, which suggests that a lot of them are still deskbound, despite the popular belief that creative ideas typically come from mobility and change. While the increased pace of business is putting pressure on creatives to churn out more ideas and content faster than ever (49 per cent), 43 per cent of them feel that they are not being sufficiently trained in new skills.

"The rapid growth of mobile devices and emergence of technologies such as augmented reality and virtual reality are challenging creatives the world over to create content faster than ever before. Today, businesses expect them to adapt to the market dynamics to help design for multiple platforms and a broader set of customers, collaborate with team members across different devices and geographies, and measure the impact of their work on business results. We certainly see this as a big opportunity for creatives to contribute more and make a real impact to the business," adds Bawa.

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