GDUSA’s 28th Annual Stock Visual Survey | 8 Key Takeaways

Graphic Design USA (GDUSA) have been documenting the stock industry over the past three decades, documenting the evolution of stock from marginal to mainstream to essential as a creative resource. In the 28th Annual Stock Visual Survey, a consensus has started to emerge: society and business have become more visually hungry and more visually sophisticated, and stock imagery provides a vital lifeline for creative professionals who must keep up with this burgeoning demand.

The increasing dependency on stock visuals also relies on a robust supply: it helps that the great stock visual providers have stepped up their game with more and better offerings, more efficiently searchable and deliverable, and at more price points to help meet this demand and for creative professionals, rarely has there been such a confluence of a product and its times.

In this article we are exploring eight key takeaways that we can learn from the report that attempts to explain the increased reliance on stock photography.

1. Stock satisfies a hunger

In 2014, the world is an image-centric place and stock visual use has evolved into an essential designer resource. Nearly every designer uses stock visuals in his or her work, and it is not unusual to utilize several images in a project and hundreds over the course of a year. This year, for the first time, the survey finds that two-thirds of designers use stock imagery more than 20 times a year and one-third use stock imagery more than 100 times.

2. A cornucopia of choices

Stock visuals provide a meaningful option for creative professionals because the central value proposition ‒ choice, accessibility, convenience, affordability, breadth and depth of content ‒ dovetails perfectly with the intense demand for more imagery. his is especially true in the context of the tight budgets, short turnarounds, challenging assignments, multiple media, demanding clients and digital workflow that now shape the graphic design business.

3. A post-skeptical era

Stock has achieved legitimacy. It is a widely accepted, largely appreciated and often preferred source of imagery. Stock providers are perceived as helpmates who make it possible for creatives to work smarter and stay balanced on the tightrope, as gracefully as possible, that is the creative business of today. Indeed, given the current proliferation of amateur photography, some designers now laud stock photography as a defender of the faith.

4. Desire for control

Given the importance of stock imagery in the creative and budgetary process, it is no surprise that designers want to control the decision as to source, image and method of license. Search methods are a particular area of interest to respondents: improvements in this area get a particularly loud shout out from the survey. From what devices do designers search for imagery? Desktops and laptops largely still hold sway versus hand-held devices.

5. Same Project – multiple channels

The subjects for which stock is utilized and the media in which imagery appears continues to expand. The perennial subjects ‒ people, business, concepts, lifestyles, technology ‒ remain popular. But many categories are now in demand, reflecting a constantly evolving economy and culture: for example, multicultural/ethnic images, education and healthcare recently joined the top ten most licensed categories.

6. Robust rise in subscriptions

Considering the various methods of licensing, today’s survey reaffirms that royalty free dominates the creative marketplace. Fully 94 percent of designers use royalty free images, more than 80 percent tap royalty free microstock, and a majority engage exclusively in royalty free licensing. Awareness of subscription options is high and those actually purchasing one ‒ often more ‒ rises to a robust 70 percent. It is important to note that, despite the obvious appeal of the royalty free model, two other licensing methods show life. Rights managed collections remain viable when they add value. More than one-in-three designers license rights managed as part of the mix because of perceived advantages in originality, distinctiveness, depth and personality.

7. Camera phones and crowdsourcing

This year, the insatiable hunger for images gives rise to a lively debate about the place and value of camera phones and crowdsourcing as sources. the vast majority of creatives say that these tools have absolutely no impact on their work because they lack the quality, discipline, and deliberateness that characterize the professional design process. Still, the survey reveals a growing band of contrarians who contend that: the quality is adequate in most cases, especially for social media and blogs; content can be fresh, friendly, democratic and timely; the output represents a new kind of art form; and clients like this approach because it enables them to participate in the process by supplying ideas or images.

8. Lose the ‘Thumbs Up”

What more do creatives want from stock visual suppliers? At the top of the wish list is greater diversity in collections in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, workplace and lifestyle. Conceptually related, creatives also want to see more realistic and edgy people and situations, especially in lifestyle and workplace shots. That means, they say, fewer “shiny, happy people,” lose the “thumbs up” models, and lighten up on sexually suggestive shots. But it all boils down to this: the abundance of available images can be overwhelming and users need more help finding the right solution.

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