Creativity and Design Becoming Increasingly Important for Businesses in India: Adobe Study

With the Government of India’s focus on resurgence of design, innovation and creativity led entrepreneurship (D.I.C.E), the last year witnessed a clear increase in the emphasis laid on design and creativity in businesses across the country.  This rise of design-led thinking and the incorporation of design approaches into business and strategic problem-solving is having a positive impact on the careers of creatives in India. Adobe’s 2016 Creative Pulse survey of more than 1,700 creatives across Asia Pacific (APAC) – including graphic designers, web designers, artists, web designers and more – discovered that 98 percent creative professionals in India believe that creativity and design thinking are more important to business in the country, which is higher than the APAC average of 89 percent. The report also found that Indian creatives have a higher desire to learn (83 percent) and feel motivated to finding new solutions to design led challenges (61 percent), which is higher (by 11 percent and 20 percent respectively) than their peers in 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 organizations. The study provides insights into the beliefs, difficulties and ambitions of the region’s creative vanguard, including graphic designers, UX/UI 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. Going ahead, we expect more and more businesses in India embrace a design-led approach to problem solving and leverage creativity to deliver standout customer experiences. The results of Adobe’s 2016 Creative Pulse survey are a testament to this fast emerging trend and also provide an apt view into sentiment of creative professionals in India today,” said Kulmeet Bawa, Managing Director – South Asia, Adobe.

Given that using design as a tool has now become a business mandate to stand apart and reach out to consumers, creatives are no longer relying on their present achievements. To fulfil this mandate, creatives know they must automate the creative process with new skills, new tools and new digital technology. They believe that proficiency in technology and access to best-in-class tools, combined with intuitive creative excellence will be the deal breaker – with 96 percent of Indian respondents agreeing to this. Creatives in India cite that the most important skills over the next year would be to acquire UX/UI design (37 percent) and app development (20 percent).

Despite their increasing importance to business, creatives in India still stay up at night with uncertainties, just like the rest of the workforce. One of their main concerns is the fear they will lose inspiration and motivation (37 percent). Employers need to take note of this, especially since most creatives mentioned that they are very reliant on desktops (73 percent) for work. This suggests that a lot of creatives 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 creative ideas and content faster than ever (49 percent), 43 percent of creatives 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 world over to create content faster than ever before. Today, businesses expect creatives to adapt to the market dynamics by helping designing for multiple platforms and a broader set of customers, create on-the-go, 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,” said Kulmeet Bawa.

Adobe’s 2016 Creative Pulse report included 12 percent of respondents from India and reached out to some of the biggest names creative professionals in the country, of which, 18 percent are film makers and 13 percent are UX/UI designers.