Design leaders expect design to outperform national economy in 2008

NEW YORK, February 7, 2008. At the start of the new year, AIGA’s Design Leaders Confidence Index reveals overwhelming strong concern that the national economy will be faltering in the next six months, yet buoyant confidence that the design economy will fare much better than other sectors. The overall confidence index—declining to 70.02 from last quarter’s 86.66—documents the anticipation of a severe drop in overall business activity. The positive signs are in the assessment of design business, which only one-third of respondents feel will decline in the next six months. Only one in four reduce their likelihood of hiring new employees, and only one in six expect to reduce the acquisition of equipment and software.

Nonetheless, if the general consensus about the economy is true, there is likely to be shift in the character of designers’ business in the coming months, as businesses launch fewer new products and as budgets tighten.

The next survey will be conducted in late April 2008.

For more information, visit www.aiga.org/confidence-index.

About AIGA

AIGA, the professional association for design, is the oldest and largest membership association for design professionals engaged in the discipline, practice and culture of designing. AIGA’s mission is to advance designing as a professional craft, strategic tool and vital cultural force.

Founded in 1914, AIGA is the pre-eminent professional association for communication designers, broadly defined. In the past decade, designers have increasingly been involved in creating value for clients (whether public or business) through applying design thinking to complex problems, even when the outcomes may be more strategic, multi-dimensional and conceptual than what most would consider traditional communication design. AIGA now represents more than 22,000 designers of all disciplines through national activities and local programs developed by 59 chapters and 200 student groups.

AIGA supports the interests of professionals, educators and students who are engaged in the process of designing. The association is committed to stimulating thinking about design, demonstrating the value of design and empowering success for designers throughout the arc of their careers.

For further information, please contact:
Katie English
AIGA | the professional association for design
Tel 212 710 3136   Fax 212 807 1799
katie_english@aiga.org