Predicting 2024 - Designers version

The Absurd Architect decodes expectations and realities for the creative clan for the year 2024. Read on to find your prophecy on creativity, work and life as a designer.

What if I told you, your future as a creative professional looks rather appealing to me? New years positivity, you would say. Okay, millennials I have done the research (the obsession with numbers, I say). 

Research says, if you play the cards right, 2024 can be a game changer for your creative profession. Because, (drum rolls), this just in, every other management is looking for creatives to lead their teams. Apparently, there is a sudden boom of creative professionals shifting to entrepreneurship and leadership, and the CEOs aren’t complaining! 

Against such a scenario, what exactly should you expect for the year 2024? Delve deep, shall we?

E for Entrepreneur

How many of your friends are either startup founders or work with a startup foundation? I bet you can pull up some names and trust me, this isn’t coincidence. The boom in entrepreneurship is a matter of major research and most studies point in the same direction - the Covid pandemic.

The uncertainty of the pandemic and work from home culture forced people to break the grind and think what work could be. And with the rise of hustle culture, increased digital content and subsequent self learning and a very prominent culture of risk taking among the Gen Z, entrepreneurship has taken a new limelight. 

What the future beholds - 2024 version

So what does this mean for you being a creative professional? Depends very much on what your goals (and roles) are.

If you are a beginner

• Learn not all, but the right skills - Focus on honing up your software skills, but also your communicative, organizational and team building skills, as these tasks cannot be taken over by a bot.

• AI is in, but so is user specific design - With the outbreak of AI generative design, the demand for curated user competent design is expected to rise. There is always a market for exclusivity.

• Watch out for specializations that are in demand - Sustainability and energy modelling is in high demand.

• Remember, options are aplenty.

..... the demand for curated user competent design is expected to rise. There is always a market for exclusivity.

If you are the boss

• Architecture, as we know it, will change. And no, bots aren’t getting your job. - Focus on how to tune work to suit present times. Utilize the availability of collaborative tech, generative AI etc. to automate tasks. Meanwhile, humanist tasks like brainstorming, client interactions, ensuring user specificity needs to take center stage.

• Data driven, user specific design is in demand - The availability of data is a boon and a bane. Designs are increasingly expected to be foolproof and highly specific to user requirements.

• Make AI your ally - If its stronger than you, work with it, rather than fight it.

• Identify true leadership and use it to your advantage. In the rising age of tech driven outputs, human sensitive leadership and management is required to maintain the balance.

If you are shifting gears

• Now is the time. New entrepreneurial opportunities are high. New ideas are accepted and considered better than any given time in history. Digitalization and instant content has made many menial tasks of starting a business much easier.

• Use your creative skills as a strong suit in your resume. Most leadership jobs see creative skills like strategizing, problem solving, concept generation, system building etc. as assets. Be sure to highlight them in your resume.

Opportunities and surprises are aplenty this year. But there is an imminent bottom line. Flexibility and an ability to use changes as an advantage will be the defining factor of your success rate as a creative professional. Ride the wave with no fear and this year will be one to remember!