Design isn't just an after-thought for corporations now. In the US alone last year, there was a 30% increase in graphic design spending. Graphic and other forms of design (e.g. packaging & retail) is becoming a $10 billion industry.

Whether it's adopting a design-mindset or developing an entire design system, companies are providing ample opportunities for designers of all specialties and niches to get involved. And with the trend of mammoth-sized freelance design websites like 99designs or toptal, there's plenty of ways to promote your specific design skillset, depending on the level of autonomy you want.

Our take is that this trend is not showing any signs of stopping. If you've committed to design, then you've chosen wisely because the demand for design is growing.

.DESIGN SITE SPOTLIGHT

This week's .design Site Spotlight goes to...

absurd.design

absurd.design's purpose is to remind us of the human side of design: "In a digital era, we sometimes feel the need to interact with something more human, that will make us appreciate both the beauty and the imperfection of something made by hand." This site presents differently themed illustrations to use on landing pages. Depending on whether it's commercial or personal use, these illustrations can be a nice change of pace for the highly technical feel of most websites these days.
 

Have a .design site you'd like to nominate? Let us know and we might feature it in the next .design digest.

THE DIGEST