PRESS SUMMARY – An annual survey of 1,139 Graphic Design USA (GDUSA) readers shows designers rely on stock imagery today more than ever. The survey, which the magazine has been doing for 24 years, shows that 95 percent of designers use stock in their work and more than half use stock at least 20 times a year. Both represent new highs in the survey.
The survey demonstrated how important innovations like subscription models, micropayment, robust search capabilities and royalty-free licensing have contributed to the use and acceptance of stock. A short follow-up survey revealed that 70% of the respondents who have a “go-to” microstock agency prefer iStockphoto.
“Looking back at the past 24 years, it is easy to see why and how stock has become ubiquitous in the world of design,” said Gordon Kaye, editor and publisher of GDUSA. “Gone is the arduous task of dealing with color separations and gone are the ‘Mad Men’ days of three-martini lunches and unlimited budget. Designers today are being asked to do more with less. Fortunately, new business models and technologies have made it possible for them to continue to produce brilliant work.”
In general, designers are satisfied with the range of choices and the quality of images available today, and most believe collections continue to improve. However, many respondents pointed out a lack of originality, contemporary imagery and a tremendous need for greater diversity in cultural, ethnicity, gender and age offerings. Those same designers indicated that they are willing to pay a premium for this kind of content.
Use of Stock
According to the survey, 95 percent of designers use stock photography in their work as opposed to 64 percent in 1990. In 2005, only 21 percent had used a micropayment site as opposed to 67 percent today. Perhaps the most drastic change has been the way stock is reviewed and selected. In 1995, only 29 percent of designers searched for stock online. Today virtually all of them do.
Volume of stock used is also up. More than half of the respondents use no fewer than 20 images per year and 20 percent use more than 100. Part of the reason these numbers are so high is that multiple images are used on a per project basis. The majority of the designers – 62 percent – use between 1 and 4 images per project. However, 29 percent use between 5 and 9 and 9 percent use between 10 and 29.
Additional Findings:
Designers use a mix of rights managed and royalty free images
- Rights managed – 41%
- Royalty free – 94%
- Both – 37%
Designers spend more total dollars on royalty free images
- Rights managed – 13%
- Royalty free – 67%
- About the same – 20%
Designers use multiple stock sites
- Use only one – 21%
- Use 2-3 – 17%
- Use 4-5 – 51%
- Use 5 or more – 11%
When further queried about their choice preferences if visiting multiple sites, iStockphoto emerged as the favorite/go-to microstock agency
- 70% of designers who have a preference use iStock
- 13% list no favorite
- No other microstock agency was favored by more than 7%
Top 3 reasons for choosing a particular site
- Affordable pricing
- Quality of collections
- Search/ease of finding the right image
Top 5 categories of images used most often
- People
- Business/industry
- Lifestyle
- Abstracts/backgrounds/concepts
- Food and Beverage
The overwhelming majority of readers say aspiring graphic designers should attend art school
- 93% yes
- 7% no
For more details on the survey, check out the September issue of GDUSA, which hits the streets September 15 and will be available online and as a download at gdusa.com starting September 30.
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Founder of Current Photographer, co-host of The Digital Photography Cafe Show, Designer, Photographer, and overall tech geek.